Chart of accounts: Meaning in Film Production

Chart of accounts

Definition

A chart of accounts is the numbered structure of accounts a production uses for its budget and its accounting ledger, such as 1400 for cast or 3300 for camera. Every invoice, purchase order, time card, and petty cash receipt is coded to an account, which lets the production accountant compare actual spending with the budget line by line.

What the structure looks like

A feature chart usually has three levels: category, account, and detail line. An excerpt:

Level	Code	Name
Category	3300	Camera
Account	3301	Director of photography
Account	3302	Camera operators
Account	3305	Camera equipment rental
Detail	3305-01	A camera package
Detail	3305-02	Specialty lenses
Account	3310	Camera expendables
Account	3399	Camera fringes

Categories roll up to the top sheet, accounts appear on the cost report, and detail lines live in the budget. Most charts leave gaps between numbers (3305, then 3310) so accounts can be added later without renumbering.

Coding a real transaction

A week into prep, the 2nd AC buys batteries and lens tissue for $86.40 from petty cash. The receipt is taped into the petty cash envelope with a code:

3310  Camera expendables   $86.40   Loc: GA   Set: n/a   Ep: n/a

The location code ("GA") matters if the production is claiming a Georgia incentive and needs in-state spend totals. On a series, an episode code splits costs between episodes or amortizes them across the season. The same account number goes on the purchase order for the lens rental and the invoice when it arrives, so the actual cost lands against the right budget line.

Mistakes that are hard to fix later

Using one chart in the budget and a different chart in the accounting software creates a crosswalk nobody maintains. Coding everything to a catch-all like "general expenses" makes the cost report meaningless. And changing account numbers mid-production breaks every prior week's comparison. Agree on the chart before the first check is written, and give department heads a one-page list of their own codes so their purchase orders come in coded.

Where it connects

The chart ties the production budget, the ledger, and the reports together. The production accountant owns it, and assistant accountants code the daily paperwork. The film chart of accounts post has a full sample, and the film budget template uses a standard numbering you can adopt.

Frequently asked questions

What are standard film budget account numbers?

There isn't one universal chart, but most feature templates follow a similar pattern: above-the-line in the 1000s, production in the 2000s and 3000s, post-production next, then insurance, legal, and general costs. Studios and payroll companies each have their own versions.

Who sets up the chart of accounts on a film?

The production accountant, usually at the start of prep, often matching the studio's or financier's required chart and the budgeting software the line producer used.

Why do tax incentives care about account codes?

Incentive audits break spending into qualified and non-qualified, and often resident and non-resident labor. Productions add location or incentive codes to each transaction so those totals can be pulled without re-coding thousands of entries.