Three levels: category, account, detail
A chart of accounts is a numbering system with a hierarchy. The top level is the category that appears on the top sheet, such as 3200 Lighting. Under it are accounts (3201 Gaffer, 3210 Lighting equipment rental), which appear on the cost report. Under those, the budget has detail lines (3210-01 Lighting package, 3210-02 Condor, nights only), where the units and rates live.
Two conventions show up in almost every feature chart. Numbers leave gaps so accounts can be added later without renumbering (3201, 3205, 3210, not 3201, 3202, 3203). And the last number in a department range is often reserved for that department's fringes, so 3299 collects the payroll taxes and benefits on lighting labor.
A sample chart for an independent feature
This chart follows a common feature layout. Your studio, financier, or accounting software may use different numbers for the same things, which is fine as long as the budget and the ledger match.
| Range | Category | Example accounts |
|---|---|---|
| 1100 | Story, rights, and writing | 1101 Rights purchase, 1110 Writers, 1120 Research |
| 1200 | Producers | 1201 Producers, 1210 Producer's assistant |
| 1300 | Director | 1301 Director, 1310 Director's assistant |
| 1400 | Cast | 1401 Principal cast, 1410 Day players, 1420 Casting, 1430 Stunts |
| 1500 | Above-the-line travel and living | 1501 Airfare, 1510 Lodging, 1520 Per diem |
| 2000 | Production staff | 2001 Line producer, 2005 1st AD, 2010 Coordinator, 2080 Production equipment rental |
| 2100 | Extra talent | 2101 Background, 2110 Stand-ins |
| 2200 | Art department | 2201 Production designer, 2210 Art director |
| 2300 | Set construction | 2301 Labor, 2310 Materials |
| 2600 | Special effects | 2601 SFX coordinator, 2610 SFX rentals and materials |
| 2700 | Set dressing | 2701 Set decorator, 2730 Dressing purchases and rentals |
| 2800 | Property | 2801 Prop master, 2830 Property purchases |
| 2900 | Wardrobe | 2901 Costume designer, 2930 Wardrobe purchases |
| 3000 | Picture vehicles and animals | 3001 Picture cars, 3010 Animals and wranglers |
| 3100 | Makeup and hair | 3101 Key makeup, 3120 Kit rentals, 3130 Supplies |
| 3200 | Lighting | 3201 Gaffer, 3210 Lighting equipment rental, 3299 Lighting fringes |
| 3300 | Camera | 3301 DP, 3310 Camera equipment rental, 3320 Expendables |
| 3400 | Production sound | 3401 Mixer, 3410 Sound package rental |
| 3500 | Transportation | 3501 Drivers, 3510 Vehicle rentals, 3520 Fuel |
| 3600 | Locations | 3601 Location manager, 3610 Site fees, 3620 Catering, 3650 Travel and living, 3655 Lodging |
| 4200 | Stage and facilities | 4210 Stage rental |
| 4400 to 4900 | Post | 4400 VFX, 4500 Editorial, 4600 Music, 4700 Post sound, 4800 Color and DI, 4900 Titles |
| 6500 to 6800 | Other | 6500 Publicity, 6700 Insurance, 6800 General, legal, and accounting |
Where does a grip department go? In this chart it would sit in its own 2500 range or share 3200 with lighting, and different charts do both. The film budget template and budget top sheet template use one consistent version you can adopt.
Coding a real week
Once shooting starts, every piece of paper gets a code before it's entered. Here is part of week 2's stack for a fictional feature shooting in Savannah, Georgia, with location and resident codes added for an incentive claim. Figures are examples, except the $80 per diem, which is the GSA's fiscal year 2027 meals and incidentals rate for Savannah.
| Document | Description | Math | Account | Loc | Resident | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PO #0142 | Lighting package, week 2 | Weekly rate | 3210 | GA | n/a | $9,000.00 |
| Time card | Gaffer, week 2 | Weekly rate | 3201 | GA | Y | $2,400.00 |
| Payroll | Gaffer fringes, 18% example | $2,400 x 0.18 | 3299 | GA | Y | $432.00 |
| Petty cash | Prop purchases, envelope 07 | Receipts | 2830 | GA | n/a | $186.45 |
| Check request | Per diem, 4 traveling crew | 4 x 7 days x $80 | 3650 | GA | N | $2,240.00 |
| Invoice | Stage rental, 1 day | Day rate | 4210 | GA | n/a | $2,500.00 |
| Invoice | Hotel, 4 rooms | 4 x 6 nights x $150 | 3655 | GA | N | $3,600.00 |
| Invoice | Catering, 2 days | 2 x 55 people x $30 | 3620 | GA | n/a | $3,300.00 |
| Invoice | Walkie rental, week 2 | Weekly rate | 2080 | GA | n/a | $320.00 |
| Total | $23,978.45 |
Check the total: $9,000 + $2,400 + $432 + $186.45 + $2,240 + $2,500 + $3,600 + $3,300 + $320 = $23,978.45.
The same account number goes on the purchase order when it's issued and on the invoice when it arrives. That's how the cost report shows the lighting package as an open commitment on the day the PO is signed and moves it to cost to date when the invoice is paid, without counting it twice. The petty cash envelope gets coded line by line on the envelope itself, so the assistant accountant isn't guessing a week later what a $186.45 receipt from a hardware store was for.
Episode and set codes on a series
A series adds another column. Costs that belong to one episode (a guest cast member, a location used once) get that episode's code, and costs that serve the whole season (standing sets, the camera package on a weekly deal) go to an amortization code and get spread across episodes by a formula the studio sets. Some shows also tag a set code, so the cost of building and shooting the diner set can be pulled across every episode it appears in. Decide which columns you need before the first transaction; adding an episode column in week 6 means recoding everything from weeks 1 to 5.
The location and resident columns
Production incentive programs usually separate qualified from non-qualified spending, and many treat resident and non-resident labor differently. The rules vary by state, so the codes you need come from the program you're claiming. Adding them at entry costs seconds. Adding them at the end means reopening thousands of transactions, and an auditor can ask for support on any of them. The incentive calculator estimates the value; the codes are what let you prove the spend behind it.
What one wrong code does
Suppose PO #0142 is coded 3310 (camera rental) instead of 3210 (lighting rental). On the next cost report, camera shows $9,000 more cost than it has, and lighting shows $9,000 less. If camera looks over budget, the line producer might deny the DP's request for a second camera operator on the big day. If lighting looks under, the gaffer's request for an extra condor gets approved from money that's already spent. Both accounts are on track, and the report sends the decisions the wrong way. Errors like this often start with a vendor or department head guessing at a code, which is why accountants hand each department a one-page list of its own accounts at the start of prep.
Rules that keep the chart useful
- Agree on the chart before the first check is written, and use it in both the budget and the accounting software.
- Don't renumber mid-production. It breaks every week-over-week comparison.
- Avoid catch-all accounts. A "miscellaneous" line that grows to $40,000 hides real overages.
- Keep fringes in department fringe accounts or a clear fringe line, and apply them only to wages.
- When the financier's chart differs from the budget's, build one crosswalk table at the start and have the accountant own it.
The production accountant sets up and owns the chart, and how to read a film cost report shows what the codes produce each week.
Storiara's budget module generates a four-digit, feature-style chart: 1100 Story, Rights, and Writing, 1200 Producers, 1300 Director, and 1400 Cast above the line; 2000 through 3600 for production departments, including 3200 Lighting, 3300 Camera, and 3400 Production Sound; 4200 Stage and Facilities; 4400 through 4900 for post; and 6500 Publicity, 6700 Insurance, 6800 General, and 6820 Payroll Service. It can also assign sequential sub-codes, and the budget exports to Excel for an accountant to map to their ledger.