Crew members don't read cost reports, but everyone reads their paycheck. The payroll accountant is the reason those checks are right, and the person every crew member visits in the accounting office when one isn't. On a union show with 150 people, several agreements, and a mix of hourly, daily, and weekly deals, that's a full-time job for one person and sometimes an assistant.
The weekly cycle
Payroll runs on a fixed rhythm set by the production and its payroll company. A common version:
- The workweek closes (for example, Saturday night).
- Department heads collect and sign their crew's time cards and turn them in Monday morning.
- The payroll accountant audits every card over Monday and Tuesday: rate, hours, meal breaks, overtime, allowances, and any kit or box rental.
- The payroll is entered in the payroll company's system or submitted to them.
- The payroll company returns an edit report. The payroll accountant checks it line by line against their own calculations.
- Once approved and funded, checks or direct deposits go out, typically later that week.
The exact days vary by show and payroll company. What doesn't vary is that late time cards delay everyone, so the payroll accountant spends part of Monday chasing missing ones.
Auditing a time card, with the math
Here's a non-union day on a California show, for a nonexempt crew member on a $40 hourly deal with no guaranteed hours. The time card shows a 7:00 AM call, a 30-minute unpaid lunch from 1:00 to 1:30 PM, and wrap out at 8:30 PM. That's 13.5 hours on the clock, minus the half-hour meal, for 13 hours worked.
California's Department of Industrial Relations sets daily overtime at time and a half for hours over 8 up to 12 in a workday, and double time for hours over 12. So the day pays:
| Hours | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 8 straight time | $40.00 | $320.00 |
| 4 at time and a half | $60.00 | $240.00 |
| 1 at double time | $80.00 | $80.00 |
| Total, 13 hours | $640.00 |
The check: 8 + 4 + 1 = 13 hours, and $320 + $240 + $80 = $640. If the same person had been on a flat day rate with no overtime language, the payroll accountant would flag the deal memo to the production accountant before paying it, because a flat rate doesn't change the state's overtime requirement for a nonexempt employee. The overtime calculator runs this for other schedules.
Union time cards add layers: the agreement's own overtime tiers, meal penalty rules when lunch comes late, turnaround violations, sixth and seventh day rates, and pension and health contributions. The payroll accountant cross-checks the time card against the daily production report, which lists crew call, meal times, and wrap. If the production report shows lunch at 1:15 PM and the time card says 12:45 PM, the payroll accountant finds out which is right before paying.
Cast payroll
On SAG-AFTRA productions, cast payroll comes from the Exhibit G sign-in sheets and the production report. The payroll accountant checks each performer's work time, meal periods, fittings, travel, and any overtime or penalties against their contract. Background actors' vouchers go through the same process. Errors on cast payroll can trigger union claims, so the payroll accountant often reviews cast pay with the 2nd AD's paperwork side by side.
Beyond the weekly run
Payroll accountants also:
- Review start paperwork before a person's first paycheck: deal memo, payroll start form, I-9, W-4, and state forms
- Track payroll costs and fringes by account so the production accountant's cost report reflects real labor cost
- Handle retroactive adjustments, rate changes, and final checks at wrap
- Answer crew questions, which on a busy week can take as much time as the audit itself
Unions and getting the job
IATSE Local 871 lists payroll accountants among the crafts it represents in Los Angeles, and its published joining requirement is 30 paid union days with pay stubs. On the East Coast, Local 161 represents payroll and assistant payroll accountants. Local 161 says accountant coverage exists under its Low Budget Theatrical and Pay Television agreements and is otherwise negotiated project by project through sideletters. On shows without coverage, payroll accountants are paid a negotiated weekly rate.
Many payroll accountants come from entertainment payroll companies, where they learned union rules and time card processing from the vendor side. Others move over from an assistant accountant job. What makes someone good at this job is knowing the agreements well enough to catch an error before the crew member does.
Who they work with
The payroll accountant reports to the production accountant and works most with the 2nd AD (production reports and cast times), department heads (time card sign-off), the production coordinator (start paperwork), and the payroll company's account rep. The crew time cards guide covers the crew side of the process.