The 5 Best ProBooks Alternatives for 2025 (And One That Pays You Back)
ProBooks is a great, user-friendly tool for getting an indie film or commercial off the ground. But what happens when you start to grow?
You hit a wall. You feel the “scalability limits,” the “integration gaps,” and the frustration of “basic reporting tools.” The manual work starts to pile up, and you realize you’ve outgrown your starter software.
You’re ready for a professional, scalable platform, but you don’t want to jump to a complex, legacy giant that charges $10,000 per project.
What if there were a better model? What if you could get a full-featured, professional-grade platform that scales with you, all for one low monthly price? What if that platform actually became a profit center for your company?
That’s Periscope. Here is an honest comparison of how we stack up.
Part 1: The Business Model Comparison (The "Big Picture")
| The Big Picture | Periscope (The Scalable Pro) | ProBooks (The Starter Tool) | Other Alternatives (Greenslate, Wrapbook) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scalability | Unlimited. Built to grow from indie films to a full studio slate | Limited. Best for indie films; falls short for larger projects | Varies, but often tied to payroll services |
| Pricing Model | One low monthly subscription for your entire company | Budget-friendly, but often per-project | Per-project fee or bundled with payroll |
| Business Impact | Becomes a profit center for your company | A simple cost center | A necessary cost center |
| Reporting & Automation | Full, professional-grade suite | Basic reporting, manual-heavy processes | Varies by provider |
| Payroll | Payroll-Agnostic. You have total freedom | Requires manual work for integrations | Often forces you to use their payroll. |
Part 2: Core Accounting Features: Head-to-Head
“Basic” reports won’t cut it as you grow. Periscope provides the full, professional-grade feature set you need to scale.
| Core Feature | Periscope | ProBooks | Greenslate | Wrapbook | ABS Payroll |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Budget Import | (Seamless 1-Click) | Manual | Limited | ||
| Film Cost Report | Basic | Limited | |||
| A/P Aging Report | Basic | ||||
| Check Printing | |||||
| Bank Reconciliation | |||||
| Petty Cash & CC Mgt. | |||||
| General Ledger Report | |||||
| Trial Balance | |||||
| The Bottom Line: | The scalable, professional-grade suite your growing company needs. |
A Detailed Look at the Alternatives
Here’s a breakdown of the most popular ProBooks alternatives.
1. Periscope Apps
Overview: Periscope is user-friendly, intuitive, and lightning-fast, delivering all the power of traditional legacy tools, now rebuilt on a modern, cloud-based platform. Get your production finances done 10x faster and experience the future of film accounting today.
Core Strengths: Periscope is both payroll-agnostic and accounting-first, giving you the freedom to choose your vendors while benefiting from our superior financial model. The platform features a cloud-based, professional-grade accounting suite that scales seamlessly across productions of any size, all under one affordable subscription. Providing users with a one-click import feature into Periscope Accounting, users can work and collaborate without wasting valuable time.
The Periscope Difference: With a modern, paperless workflow and a revolutionary business model, Periscope lets you manage your entire slate for just $7. Say goodbye to fragmented systems. Run your production accounting in one unified, cloud-based app, designed to keep data at your fingertips.
2. Media Services (MediaWeb)
Overview: MediaWeb is a more comprehensive solution than ProBooks, better suited for larger and more complex productions.
Core Strengths: Includes automated payroll integration, multi-budget creation, and customizable reporting, making it a step up from ProBooks’ basic tools.
The Periscope Difference: MediaWeb is a step up in features but a step backward in technology. It’s notorious for its “clunky, outdated” interface. It also locks you into their payroll service. Periscope gives you a more comprehensive and more modern, faster platform, plus the freedom to use any payroll provider you want.
3. Wrapbook
Overview: Wrapbook provides a more comprehensive and automated solution than ProBooks, especially for productions that require robust payroll capabilities.
Core Strengths: Manages payroll for all worker types (union/non-union), automates tax filings, and offers digital timecards and onboarding.
The Periscope Difference: Wrapbook is a great payroll company, but that’s the catch. It’s a payroll-first platform that locks you into their ecosystem. Periscope is accounting-first and payroll-agnostic. We give you total freedom to choose your vendors and a superior financial model.
4. Greenslate
Overview: Greenslate offers robust, customizable reporting and analytics that are far more advanced than ProBooks’ basic tools.
Core Strengths: Strong automation for approvals, timecards, and fringe calculations, reducing the manual work required in ProBooks.
The Periscope Difference: Greenslate is a powerful tool, but like Wrapbook, it’s a payroll-first “closed garden.” You are forced to use their payroll to get their accounting. Periscope gives you the same (or better) automation and reporting and the freedom to choose your own payroll provider, all while turning your accounting department into a profit center.
5. ABS Payroll and Accounting
Overview: ABS offers a more integrated payroll and financial management solution than ProBooks, with a focus on compliance and support.
Core Strengths: Manages union/non-union payroll, provides real-time cost reporting, and has live technical support, which is a step up from ProBooks’ “thin support network.”
The Periscope Difference: Switching from ProBooks to ABS is a lateral move. You’re still in the “starter tool” category. Periscope is the true next step up. It’s the professional, scalable platform you’re looking for, allowing you to grow from indie films to a full slate of studio features without ever having to switch software again.
Stop Using a Starter Tool for a Professional Business.
You’ve outgrown ProBooks. But don’t just jump to another “lite” tool or a platform that locks you into their payroll.
Graduate to a platform that is built to grow with you. Periscope is the only platform that offers a full suite of professional-grade tools, total vendor freedom, and a revolutionary business model that turns your accounting department into a profit center.
Join the Waitlist!
Be the first to experience our revolutionary film production accounting software, Periscope Apps. Experience real-time cost reports, payroll, P.O.s, Petty Cash Management, and more. Coming soon!