How to set up a production budget

Storiara calculates the budget with fixed formulas. It builds line items from the rates you've entered on cast, crew, equipment, assets, and locations, fills gaps from built-in rate tables for the union tier you pick, and takes cast paid days from the Day Out of Days. Treat the tier rates as placeholders and replace them with numbers from your current agreements and quotes.

Steps

1. Open Budget under Financing. With no budget yet, the page shows Production Budget and a Setup Budget button.
2. Click Setup Budget. The dialog has three steps: Production, Schedule, and Financial.
3. On the first step, choose a Format (Feature Film, Short Film, Documentary, Commercial / Ad, Music Video, Web Series, or Series Pilot) and a Union Agreement (Non-Union, SAG Ultra Low Budget, SAG Modified Low, SAG Low Budget, SAG Basic Agreement, or Full Union). Check Shooting Days. It's marked From schedule when the production schedule is set. Click Next.
4. On Schedule, set Prep Weeks (6 by default), Post-Production Weeks (16), Stage / Backlot Days, and, if you like, Principal Photography Start. Click Next.
5. On Financial, check Script Page Count (marked From PDF when read from the script) and Target Pages / Day, pick a Contingency of 5%, 7.5%, 10%, 12%, 15%, or a custom figure, and set the switches for Script clearance & legal, Sequential Account Codes, and Completion Bond. Choose a Currency.
6. Click Setup Budget. A message shows the grand total once the budget is built.

Reading the result

The top sheet groups accounts into above-the-line, below-the-line production, post, and other, using film-style account numbers (1100 Story/Rights, 1400 Cast, 2000 Production Staff, 3300 Camera, 4500 Editorial). Line items show Acct, Description, Qty, Unit, Rate, Fringe, and Total. Contingency and the completion bond sit as separate amounts under the accounts.

Keeping it current

Click Sync after adding cast, gear, or schedule changes. It recalculates from story data and keeps line items you added by hand. Reconfigure reopens the wizard to change format, union tier, or contingency. The menu beside them has Export to Excel, Print, and Delete budget.

If it doesn't work

• "Budget Access Restricted" means your collaborator role can't view the budget. Ask the story owner for the Producer or Accountant role.
• A greyed-out Setup Budget button means your role can view but not edit.
• "Subscription required" appears when the free plan's monthly AI allowance is used up. Budget builds count toward it.
• Cast totals look low? Check the Day Out of Days. Cast who aren't assigned to characters have no paid days.

The Budget guide covers editing line items.