The full cost report
Budget, committed, actual and ETC on every line. EFC is actual plus ETC; variance is budget minus EFC. By account and by phase.
Cost tracking for film & TV
The cost report the studio and the set both trust.
ReelASage tracks budget, committed, actual and estimate-to-complete on every production, from development to delivery. Your line producer and accountant work in the detail. The executive watches the estimated final cost move, live and read-only.
A ScriptASage product.
Cost report · Example production
Low Tide · 8 × 60′ drama
Budget v3 · locked
| Account | Budget | Committed | Actual | ETC | EFC | Variance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Above the line | 1,850 | 1,720 | 1,310 | 520 | 1,830 | +20 |
| Shoot crew | 2,460 | 1,980 | 1,640 | 905 | 2,545 | −85 |
| Locations | 640 | 590 | 410 | 205 | 615 | +25 |
| Post | 1,120 | 380 | 95 | 1,010 | 1,105 | +15 |
| Unbudgeted | 0 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 18 | −18 |
| Total | 6,070 | 4,688 | 3,473 | 2,640 | 6,113 | −43 |
EFC $6,113K: $43K over (0.7%)
Who it's for
Same numbers. Two very different jobs.
The people paying for the show and the people making it need the same cost report at different depths. ReelASage gives each side the view it needs from one set of books.
Studio · production company · financier
See the final cost before it's final.
Get a live, read-only view of the top line, so you're not waiting for the weekly cost report to land. When the accountant posts a cost, the estimated final cost moves for you too.
- Every production in one view. Company owners and admins oversee every production in the company. Invited executives and financiers see read-only totals for the productions they're on.
- Sign off on a locked budget. Budget versions are locked, so the number you agreed to stays on the record.
- Nothing gets quietly edited. Transactions are append-only. A correction is a reversing entry, and the audit log shows who changed what, and when.
- See every commitment before it becomes a surprise. Unbudgeted costs show up as soon as they're posted, even after the budget is locked.
Company overview
Active productions
Read-only
Low Tide
−$43K
ProductionBudget $6.07MEFC $6.11M
Harbour Lights
+$90K
PostBudget $2.40MEFC $2.31M
The Quiet Year
$0
Pre-productionBudget $3.80MEFC $3.80M
On the record
- Unbudgeted cost posted · Low Tide · $18K
- Contract milestone paid · Harbour Lights
- Budget v3 locked · Low Tide
Example data · fictional productions
Line producer · production accountant · production owner
Run the detail. Keep the room informed.
You and your accountant edit and see everything. Post a cost, attach the invoice, and the EFC updates for everyone who's watching, so you aren't rebuilding the cost report for the Monday call.
- The whole cost report on every line. Budget, committed, actual and ETC; EFC (actual + ETC) and variance (budget − EFC) are worked out for you.
- Vendor contracts with milestone payments. Committed when the contract is created, actual when each milestone is paid, with partial cancellation when the deal changes.
- Lines that follow the schedule. Week-based budget lines follow the phase calendar or the shoot-day count.
- "What might be missing." Compares the shooting schedule with the budget and flags items that may not be budgeted.
- You decide who sees invoices. Department heads get read-only totals; invoices can be shown to or hidden from viewers.
Low Tide · Post a cost
New transaction
Accountant
AccountLocations · Site fees
VendorHarbourside car park
PhaseProduction · shoot day 34
Amount$4,800.00
Invoice INV-0412.pdf
Unbudgeted item
Posted. Locations actual is now $414.8K; EFC updated for all viewers.
Vendor contract
Grip & lighting package
$186,000 committed
Deposit$56,000 · paid
Prep week$65,000 · paid
Wrap$65,000 · unpaid
Example data
The production cycle
From the first draft budget to the last delivery item.
Every production runs on dated phases. Spend, forecast and cash flow line up against them, so everyone knows where the money is going and when.
Monthly cash flow · cumulative
Low Tide · Jan 2026 to Jan 2027
Example data
-
01
Development
Set the calendar and the budgetCreate the production, give each phase its dates, and build the budget. Week-based lines follow the phase calendar or the shoot-day count, so the shape of the spend matches the shape of the schedule.
-
02
Pre-production
Lock it and check itLock the budget version the financiers signed off. Run "what might be missing" to compare the shooting schedule against the budget. Contracts with vendors go in as commitments the day they're created.
-
03
Production
Post as you shootThe accountant posts costs with the invoice attached. Overages and unbudgeted items show on the cost report the same day, even with the budget locked. Mistakes are fixed with reversing entries, never overwritten.
-
04
Post
Watch the forecast settleAs ETC comes down, the EFC firms up. The monthly cash-flow report puts planned, actual and forecast spend side by side, with unpaid contract milestones marked month by month.
-
05
Delivery & wrap
Claim, close, archiveWork through delivery and tax-claim checklists with the files attached. Then close the production: its fee stops, and every report stays readable. Archive it when you're done.
Controls
Every change on the record.
Approval means knowing the numbers can't move behind your back. ReelASage keeps a permanent record of every figure and every change.
Locked budget versions
Sign off on a budget and lock it. The locked version is the baseline every variance is measured against.
Append-only transactions
Nothing is silently edited or deleted. A correction is a reversing entry that sits in the ledger next to the original.
A full audit log
Who posted it, who reversed it, who locked the budget, and when. The accountant signs off on how the reports are defined.
Low Tide · Ledger
Locations
Append-only
| 14 Jul | Site fees · Harbourside car park Wrong account | 4,800.00 |
| 15 Jul | Unit base · power hook-up | 1,150.00 |
| 16 Jul | Reversal of 14 Jul entry Reversing entry | −4,800.00 |
| 16 Jul | Permits · Harbourside car park Re-posted | 4,800.00 |
16 Jul 10:42 · Accountant reversed entry #2214
16 Jul 10:43 · Accountant posted entry #2216
02 May 16:05 · Line producer locked budget v3
Example data
What's in it
Built for the way productions actually spend.
Dated phases
Development, pre-production, production, post and delivery, each with real dates. Cost-by-phase reporting follows them.
Monthly cash flow
Planned, actual and forecast spend by month, with unpaid contract milestones, so you can see what falls due and when.
Contracts & milestones
Vendor contracts commit the money on creation and become actuals as milestones are paid. Partial cancellation included.
Invoices on file
Upload the invoice when you post the cost. Invoices and claim documents are stored securely, with access set by role.
Tax credits & delivery
Tiered tax-credit schemes with rate tables and per-account qualifying flags. Delivery and tax-claim checklists with attached files.
What might be missing
Compares the shooting schedule with the budget and flags the items that may not have been budgeted.
Team & lifecycle
Invite people by email link with a role. Productions go active, closed, archived. Closed productions stop billing and stay readable.
Pricing
Pay per production. Everyone watching is free.
You pay for the productions that are shooting, prepping or posting, and for the people who edit. Executives, financiers and department heads view for free.
Per active production
$99per month
- Editor users included (owner, line producer, accountant)3
- Each extra editor seat$25 / month
- Viewers: executives, financiers, department headsFree, unlimited
- Closed productionsNo fee, still readable
7-day free trial with 1 production and 3 editors.
Early access
Put your next production on one cost report.
ReelASage is opening to a small number of productions first. Tell us what you're making, where you are in the schedule, and who needs to see the numbers.
Or write to
hello@scriptasage.com