Best Production Accounting Software
Production Accounting Software Overview
| FEATURE | GREENSLATE | WRAPBOOK | SMARTACCOUNTING (EP) | PSL+ (C&C) | MEDIAWEB (C&C) | PROBOOKS (REVOLUTION) | ABS PAYROLL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platform type | All-in-one SaaS | All-in-one SaaS | Integrated suite | Integrated suite | All-in-one SaaS | Integrated suite | Integrated suite |
| Core accounting | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Payroll integration | All-in-one | All-in-one | Seamless (EP Payroll) | Seamless (C&C Payroll) | Seamless (Media Services) | Seamless (Rev Payroll) | Seamless (ABS Payroll |
| Union payroll support | Extensive | Extensive | Extensive | Extensive | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Digital onboarding | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Digital timecards | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PO management | Integrated | Integrated | Yes | Yes | Yes | Integrated | Yes |
| P-card integration | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Real-time cost reporting | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tax incentive | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-currency support | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Sustainability tracking | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
List of Production Accounting Softwares
1. Greenslate
Overview:
Standing out as an all-in-one alternative to traditional production finance platforms, the software is designed by production accountants, emphasizing efficiency, user autonomy, and a fully paperless workflow.
Core Strengths:
GreenSlate’s standout advantage lies in its unified ecosystem. It combines payroll and accounting into a single platform and eliminates the need to transfer data between disparate systems. This reduces errors and gives the production teams a real-time financial oversight from one centralized dashboard.
Key Features:
The platform includes digital approval workflows, streamlined accounts payable tools, and the ability to post payroll directly to the general ledger with a single click. The signature feature is called Eco Tracker, which quantifies the environmental impact of paperless workflows. This adds a measurable value for productions with sustainability goals.
Potential Considerations:
Although powerful, some users report the interface lacks polish and mobile-friendliness compared to newer platforms focused heavily on UX/UI design.
2. Wrapbook
Overview:
Known for its intuitive, mobile-first interface and rapid innovation, the platform has carved out a strong foothold in the production finance space. The software is primarily used in productions relating to commercials, music videos, and independent films.
Core Strengths:
Designed for speed and usability, Wrapbook simplifies the most labor-intensive aspects of production finance. Its key features include smart, compliant crew onboarding, user-friendly mobile timecards, and real-time cost tracking accessible from a streamlined, modern dashboard. The platform’s “concierge service” support model and responsiveness to user feedback have also earned it consistent praise.
Key Features:
The software offers a centralized dashboard to manage payroll, purchase orders, and petty cash. It includes a customizable startwork packet creator and integrates with enterprise-grade accounting systems like Sage Intacct and Acumatica. The platform provides access to a Production Incentive Center, helping productions identify and compare tax credit opportunities across jurisdictions.
Potential Considerations:
While Wrapbook is ideal for more complex productions, it has traditionally been seen to be less equipped for the intricacies of union-heavy, studio-scale projects compared to legacy platforms like EP or Cast & Crew.
3. Entertainment Partners (EP) SmartAccounting
Overview:
For decades, Entertainment Partners (EP) has been the staple, go-to industry software used in the production industry. Its flagship product, SmartAccounting, is widely considered the benchmark, particularly among major and large-scale production studios.
Core Strengths:
SmartAccounting’s greatest advantage is its seamless integration with EP’s broader set of tools. It includes Movie Magic Budgeting, SmartStart for digital crew onboarding, SmartTime for electronic timecards, and SmartPO for purchase order management. Together, these tools form an efficient ecosystem that minimizes data duplication, error reduction, and ensures accuracy and compliance through the production lifecycle.
Key Features:
The software features 250 pre-built report templates, giving producers flexibility to meet diverse reporting requirements. Security is paramount with ISO 27001:2022 certification, ensuring the safeguarding of data in transit and at rest. It supports ACH digital payments and fully complies with the UK’s Making Tax Digital (MTD) mandate. A major advantage of the software is the direct integration of CASHét, which enables automatic imports of all production card expenses for streamlined tracking.
Potential Considerations:
While the ecosystem is its key strength, it can pose challenges for productions that wish to incorporate third-party tools. Furthermore, its higher cost and steeper learning curves make it less suitable for independent and lower-budget productions.
4. Cast & Crew (PSL+)
Overview:
Cast & Crew stands as another global heavyweight, serving a diverse range of clients, from indie films and commercials to international blockbusters and major live events. The company has adopted a dual-platform strategy: PSL+ for high-end, complex productions, and MediaWeb for broader industry needs.
Core Strengths:
PSL+ is a robust, enterprise-grade solution for managing complex film and television finances. Its standout feature is its global readiness, supporting eight currencies and payment processing in over 150 countries, which makes it an ideal choice for international co-productions. The software integrates directly with CASHét and Eved, allowing efficient, global-scale vendor and p-card payment workflows.
Potential Considerations:
PSL+ may be out of reach for smaller or domestic-only productions. Some users have noted that while the system is highly capable, its interface may feel dated compared to modern, cloud-native alternatives.
5. Media Services
Overview:
MediaWeb is a flexible and user-friendly true SaaS platform that requires no local installation. Its most compelling advantage is its pricing; the software is offered for free to all Media Services and payroll clients. MediaWeb features an automated payroll feed, seamless purchase card data import from CASHét and PEX and a robust set of standard and customizable reports ideal for a wide range of production types.
Strategic Positioning:
MediaWeb’s dual-platform approach enables it to address the needs of the production market. PSL+ solidifies its presence in the high-end studio segment while MediaWeb expands its reach into the independent and mid-tier space.
Potential Considerations:
This software is a natural fit for independent films, digital series, branded content, and lower-budget productions, especially those already using or intending to use Media Services for payroll processing.
6. Revolution Entertainment Services (ProBooks)
Overview:
ProBooks is a flexible, fully web-based production accounting software known for its clean, intuitive user interface. It serves as a core component of Revolution’s broader suite of production management tools, designed to streamline workflows across multiple departments.
Core Strengths:
ProBooks gains significant value through its integration with the large Revolution ecosystem that includes ProHire for digital onboarding and timecards, ProCal for production scheduling, and SetKeeper for coordination and documents. Together, they offered a unified, end-to-end production management experience.
Key Features:
The platform fully supports paperless operations and includes advanced search capabilities for fast, precise transaction retrieval. It standout feature is its dual reporting flexibility, allowing users to generate reports based on both accounting periods and effective dates, a capability not often found in competing systems. The software offers ProBooks: Corporate, a specialized version aligned with the AICP chart of accounts, making it particularly attractive to commercial production companies.
Potential Considerations:
User feedback indicates that ProBooks might be less robust than some of the other software in terms of deep accounting functionality. It is best suited for mid-range productions, typically withing the $3 million to $5 million budget range.
7. ABS Payroll
Overview:
ABS Payroll is the go-to software for independent and low-to-mid-budget production pace. Its services and software are purpose-built to address the specific challenges faced by producers operating with tighter financial and staffing constraints.
Core Strengths:
ABS Payroll operates with a deep understanding of clients’ day-to-day realities. The software is widely praised for its highly personalized and responsive services, treating smaller productions with care and attention. The software is designed for small projects within a $2 million to $20 million budget range.
Key Features:
The software offers real-time cost reporting, including “hot costs,” which allows producers to spot deviations. The platform supports multiple budgets within a single project and includes seamless payroll integration, making it useful for productions that lack a full-time accounting department.
Potential Considerations:
The software is not geared for large-scale productions, international co-productions, or complex, multi-location TV series.
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