A sample top sheet
This is the top sheet for HARBOR LIGHTS, a fictional 25-day feature. The totals are illustrative, but the layout is a common feature layout, and the account numbers follow the pattern in our film chart of accounts post.
HARBOR LIGHTS Budget draft 4 Dated 09/10/2026
25 shoot days (5-day weeks), 5 weeks prep Savannah, GA
Based on shooting script dated 08/28/2026 and schedule v3
| Acct | Category | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1100 | Story and rights | $60,000 |
| 1200 | Producers unit | $110,000 |
| 1300 | Director | $95,000 |
| 1400 | Cast | $310,000 |
| 1500 | Above-the-line travel and living | $24,000 |
| Total above the line | $599,000 | |
| 2000 | Production staff | $185,000 |
| 2100 | Extra talent | $48,000 |
| 2200 | Art department | $96,000 |
| 2300 | Set construction | $60,000 |
| 2500 | Set operations (grip) | $118,000 |
| 2600 | Special effects | $22,000 |
| 2700 | Set dressing | $70,000 |
| 2800 | Property | $34,000 |
| 2900 | Wardrobe | $68,000 |
| 3100 | Makeup and hair | $42,000 |
| 3200 | Lighting | $132,000 |
| 3300 | Camera | $158,000 |
| 3400 | Production sound | $44,000 |
| 3500 | Transportation | $96,000 |
| 3600 | Locations | $210,000 |
| 3800 | Media and lab | $18,000 |
| Total production | $1,401,000 | |
| 4500 | Editorial | $120,000 |
| 4600 | Music | $60,000 |
| 4700 | Post sound | $70,000 |
| 4800 | Post lab and DI | $55,000 |
| 4900 | Titles and VFX | $45,000 |
| Total post | $350,000 | |
| 6500 | Publicity | $12,000 |
| 6700 | Insurance | $52,000 |
| 6800 | General expense, legal, accounting | $110,000 |
| Total other | $174,000 | |
| Total below the line | $1,925,000 | |
| Total above and below the line | $2,524,000 | |
| Contingency, 10% of above and below | $252,400 | |
| Completion bond fee (example quote) | $45,000 | |
| Grand total | $2,821,400 |
Below the line is production plus post plus other: $1,401,000 + $350,000 + $174,000 = $1,925,000. Add above the line: $599,000 + $1,925,000 = $2,524,000. Contingency is $2,524,000 x 0.10 = $252,400, and the grand total is $2,524,000 + $252,400 + $45,000 = $2,821,400.
What the header has to say
The three lines above the table are the most skipped and the most important once a budget has been revised a few times. A top sheet without a draft number and date can't be matched to its detail, and a budget without the script date and schedule version can't be checked against the pages it was built from. When a financier's lawyer attaches "the budget" to a loan agreement, this header is how everyone knows which one.
Add the assumptions a reader needs to interpret the totals: shoot days, prep weeks, week length, main location, and union agreements. A 25-day budget and a 22-day budget can have nearly identical top sheets, and only the header tells you which you're looking at.
What each block is telling you
Above the line (1100 to 1500) holds the deals made before anyone else is hired: rights, producers, director, cast, and their travel. These numbers are mostly contract amounts, so they don't move much with the schedule. The exception is cast, where day players and overtime do scale with days. See above the line for what belongs in it.
Production (2000 to 3800) is the shoot itself: staff, departments, equipment, locations, and transport. These accounts scale with prep weeks and shoot days, which is why a schedule change shows up here first. Post (4500 to 4900) runs from editorial through final mix and DI. Other (6500 to 6800) is insurance, legal, accounting, publicity, and office costs that aren't tied to one department.
Some budgets draw "the line" differently and put post and other in their own sections rather than inside below the line. Either works, as long as the subtotals are labeled.
Fringes are inside the category totals
On most budgeting programs, the camera total on the top sheet already includes camera crew fringes. Here is how the $158,000 in 3300 breaks down on the detail page:
| Detail | Amount |
|---|---|
| Camera labor (DP, operator, ACs, DIT) | $104,000 |
| Fringes on camera labor at 18% | $18,720 |
| Camera package rental | $30,000 |
| Expendables and media | $5,280 |
| Account 3300 total | $158,000 |
$104,000 x 0.18 = $18,720, and $104,000 + $18,720 + $30,000 + $5,280 = $158,000. The 18% is an example blended rate. Fringes explains what goes into it, and film budget fringes walks through the union pieces.
Some producers add a memo line under the grand total showing total fringes across all accounts, so a reader can see how much of the budget is payroll taxes and benefits. If you add one, label it "included above" so nobody adds it twice.
Contingency, bond, and fees at the bottom
The bottom block is where small wording changes move real money. Contingency here is 10% of above and below the line. If it were figured on below the line only, it would be $1,925,000 x 0.10 = $192,500, which is $59,900 less. Both methods are in use, so write the base on the line. Film budget contingency covers how to choose.
A completion bond fee, if the financing requires one, sits under contingency as its own line. The $45,000 here is an example figure standing in for a guarantor's quote. Guarantors such as Film Finances analyze the script, budget, and schedule together before they issue a guarantee, so the top sheet they see has to agree with the schedule and the detail. Completion bonds explained goes further.
Producer overhead fees, when a studio or financier allows them, also appear in this block. Keep them separate from contingency; one is a payment and the other is a reserve.
How investors read a top sheet in two minutes
People who fund films look at a handful of ratios before any single line:
| Check | In this example | What it tells them |
|---|---|---|
| Above the line share | $599,000 / $2,524,000 = 23.7% | Whether talent costs fit the scale of the shoot |
| Post share | $350,000 / $2,524,000 = 13.9% | Whether post and deliverables are funded |
| Locations per shoot day | $210,000 / 25 = $8,400 | Whether the location plan is realistic |
| Contingency present | Yes, 10% | Whether surprises are funded at all |
None of these has a correct answer. They are prompts for questions. A $95,000 director line next to a $310,000 cast line tells a reader the director is probably not the biggest name on the project, and they'll ask what the cast deals are.
Mistakes that make a top sheet useless
The worst one is a top sheet total typed in by hand. Suppose someone "fixes" locations on the summary page from $210,000 to $180,000 after a location falls through, but never changes the detail. The top sheet now shows $2,494,000 above and below, contingency of $249,400, and a grand total of $2,788,400. The detail still adds to $2,524,000. The two documents disagree by $33,000, and the first cost report will expose it.
Other common problems:
- Category totals exclude fringes while the grand total includes them, so the page doesn't foot.
- Account numbers on the top sheet don't match the chart of accounts the accountant uses, so actuals can't be posted against the budget.
- The contingency line doesn't say what it's a percentage of.
- There's no draft number, so an old version gets emailed to an investor.
Getting a top sheet from your data
Storiara's budget module generates a top sheet with account, description, quantity, unit, rate, fringe, and total columns, and a summary bar for above the line, below the line, post, other, contingency, and grand total. The totals come from the line items, which you can sync from the story's cast, crew, equipment, assets, and locations, and you can export the whole budget to Excel or print it.
For a spreadsheet version, the budget top sheet template has the same blocks and formulas that pull from detail tabs. The top sheet glossary entry has a shorter example if you need a one-page reference, and the film budget estimator gives a starting range for each block.