A sample of the first weeks
Here's the start of a cash flow for a $1,200,000 feature with 5 weeks of prep and a 4-week shoot. Payroll is funded one week ahead because the payroll company needs the money before it cuts checks.
| Week | Phase | Key payments | Cash out | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prep | Legal, insurance deposit, office rent | $48,000 | $48,000 |
| 2 | Prep | Casting, location deposits, dept heads start | $36,000 | $84,000 |
| 3 | Prep | Art department, construction materials | $52,000 | $136,000 |
| 4 | Prep | Equipment deposits, more crew | $61,000 | $197,000 |
| 5 | Prep | Full crew prep, payroll funding for shoot week 1 | $118,000 | $315,000 |
| 6 | Shoot 1 | Rentals, catering, locations, payroll for week 2 | $142,000 | $457,000 |
By the first day of principal photography the film has needed $315,000, which is 26% of the budget ($315,000 / $1,200,000 = 0.2625). If the financing only releases money after a closing that happens in week 5, the production can't pay week 5's bills.
How it's built
- Take each budget account and ask when it's paid, not when it's used. Insurance premiums and legal fees land early. Post-production, music licensing, and deliverables land late.
- Apply payment terms: deposits on equipment, weekly payroll funded in advance, net 30 vendors.
- Spread weekly-rate items across the calendar from the shooting schedule.
- Put contingency where the risk is, typically during shooting.
- Add incoming cash separately: equity, loan drawdowns, pre-sale payments, and tax credit proceeds, which may arrive long after delivery.
What it's used for
Lenders fund production in drawdowns tied to the schedule, and a completion bond guarantor reviews the cash flow to confirm money will be there when needed. During production, the production accountant compares actual weekly spend with the projection, and the burn rate tells the producer whether the film is spending faster than planned.
Cash flow errors that stall a shoot
Spreading the budget evenly across weeks, which understates early cash needs. Forgetting that a tax credit is paid after an audit, often months after delivery, so it can't cover production bills without a loan against it. And not updating the schedule after a shoot moves by two weeks. The cash flow schedule template has the week columns and account rows set up.