# Pre-Production Software for Unit Production Managers

Source: https://storiara.com/solutions/production-managers
Last updated: 2026-09-14
Author: Spencer Kaufman, Storiara

> A unit production manager spends the budget the line producer built, one deal and one rental at a time, so the UPM's prep work is checking every commitment against the current schedule. In Storiara, crew rates, equipment costs, and availability sit in the same project as the stripboard, the budget syncs from that data, and prep tasks can be assigned with due dates.

The line producer built the budget and the 1st AD built the board. The [unit production manager](https://storiara.com/roles/unit-production-manager) is the person who notices when the two stop agreeing, usually because a quote, a deal memo, or an invoice crosses their desk that doesn't match either one. Most of a UPM's prep is reading the schedule for cost and catching commitments before they're signed.

## Reading the board for money

A UPM reads a stripboard differently from an AD. The AD sees pages and cast. The UPM sees what each day pulls in: background count, picture cars, a stunt coordinator's day, night work, a second camera, a location fee, a generator. When a new version of the one-line comes out, the useful question for each change is what it adds or removes.

Some changes cost more than they look. Moving a night exterior from a Friday to a Tuesday puts the crew's turnaround into the middle of the week and can push Wednesday's call late, which pushes Wednesday's wrap into overtime or loses pages. Splitting a location across two non-consecutive days doubles the prep and strike, and sometimes the fee. Adding a single scene with a minor can change the hours available for that entire day. None of those show up as a line on the board, so the UPM does the translating.

## Renting against the days, a worked example

Take a 20-day shoot where the schedule needs a condor lift on days 4, 5, and 17. The rental house quotes $750 a day or $2,250 a week, with $300 for each delivery and pickup.

| Option | Rental | Delivery | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keep it from day 4 through day 17 (three weeks) | 3 x $2,250 = $6,750 | $300 | $7,050 |
| Two rentals: days 4 and 5, then day 17 | 2 x $750 + $750 = $2,250 | 2 x $300 = $600 | $2,850 |

Two rentals save $4,200. There's a third option worth asking about: whether the day 17 scene can move next to days 4 and 5. If it's at the same location, the AD might take it, and the rental drops to three consecutive days and one delivery. If it's across town, the added company move probably costs more than the second delivery. The UPM doesn't decide that alone. They bring the numbers to the AD and let the schedule answer.

The same check applies to every piece of specialty gear and every picture vehicle. Laying the [equipment checklist](https://storiara.com/templates/equipment-checklist) next to the one-line takes an hour in week three of prep and pays for itself on the first order.

## Deals, start paperwork, and the first payroll

Crew deals get made fast in prep, often by phone. A gaffer agrees to a weekly rate plus a kit rental, a production designer negotiates two extra prep weeks, a location manager asks for a car allowance. Every one of those needs to reach a [crew deal memo](https://storiara.com/templates/crew-deal-memo) and the accountant before the person's first day. Rentals like the gaffer's kit have their own tax and invoicing questions, covered in [kit rentals and box rentals](https://storiara.com/blog/kit-rentals-and-box-rentals).

The practical rule most offices use is that nobody works a day without completed [start paperwork](https://storiara.com/glossary/start-paperwork). Day players and last-minute replacements are where it breaks, so the coordinator should have blank packets ready for every shoot day.

## The prep calendar and the production meeting

Prep has a dozen dated deadlines that nobody owns by default: insurance certificates for each location, the tech scout van and route, camera tests, the production meeting, a fire marshal walkthrough for the stage, the safety meeting materials for stunt days. A simple [production calendar](https://storiara.com/templates/production-calendar) with an owner next to each item keeps them from sliding.

The production meeting is the UPM's best chance to catch cost before it's spent. Walk the schedule day by day, and for each day ask each department what it needs that isn't on the budget. The answers turn into the first entries on the [hot cost report](https://storiara.com/templates/hot-cost-report) once shooting starts.

## In Storiara

Storiara keeps crew rates, equipment costs and availability, and location data in the same project as the stripboard. Cast & Crew fills rates from the union and contract you select, Equipment has cost and rate fields, and the budget's Sync from story data reads those entries while keeping lines you've overridden. Durations that would push a day past the maximum length you set are labeled Overtime and blocked on the board. Shared To-Do handles assigned prep tasks with due dates, and Reminders schedules messages and call sheet emails. Storiara doesn't handle purchase orders, actuals, or payroll, so those stay with the accountant and payroll company. Quick checks on long days are in the [overtime calculator](https://storiara.com/tools/overtime-calculator) and [meal penalty calculator](https://storiara.com/tools/meal-penalty-calculator).

## Frequently asked questions

### Does Storiara track purchase orders or actual costs?

No. The budget module builds and edits the budget, but it has no purchase orders, actuals, or cost reports. Those stay in the production accountant's software.

### Can the accountant work in the budget without changing the schedule?

Yes. The Accountant collaborator role opens Budget and Funding without the Planning and Coordinating sections, so the schedule stays out of reach. A Custom role lets you choose sections one at a time.

### Can I import a crew list from a spreadsheet?

Yes. Cast & Crew, Locations, and Equipment accept CSV, XLSX, and XLS files, and Storiara maps the spreadsheet's columns to its fields.

### Does Storiara calculate overtime and meal penalties?

No. The schedule blocks work that would run past the maximum day length you set, but overtime and meal penalty math belongs in your payroll company's system. The overtime and meal penalty calculators on this site are good for quick checks.