Best Entertainment Payroll Companies for Film, TV, Events (2024 Top Picks)
One of the first things to do when getting your upcoming film production squared away involves picking out the right payroll provider.
It’s important to know that just as each film project has its own unique features and specialties, so does each payroll provider. Unlike typical payroll providers, entertainment payroll providers must step out of the typical norm to properly serve the needs of film productions. Finding the right entertainment payroll service will vary based on the scope of your upcoming project to find a payroll to best suit your needs.
In this blog, we’ll define the role payroll services play within your production and go over things to consider when deciding which provider is best for you. Additionally, we’ll provide you the industry’s top payroll companies and highlight the features of each company.
Entertainment Payroll Companies At a Glance
| Payroll Provider | Specialty | Clients |
|---|---|---|
| ABS Payroll | -Independent filmmakers -Feature films -Shorts -New media -Music videos -Commercials |
-No Man’s Land -JiuJitsu -Ana -Big Action -Big Adventure -Big Game |
| ART Payroll | -Independent filmmakers -Feature filmsShorts -New media -Music videos -Commercials |
|
| CAPS (Previous Media Services) | -Commercials | |
| Cast & Crew | -TV -New media -Live events -Independent film features |
|
| Entertainment Partners | -Film -TV -Digital -Commercials |
-The Voice -That’s My Jam -Abbot Elementary -Hacks -Ozark -The Bear |
| Extreme Reach | -Film -TV -Live event productions |
|
| Greenslate | -Feature films -New media -Live events |
-I, Tonya -Moonlight -Search Party -You Were Never Really Here -Sorry to Bother You -Say Yes To The Dress -The Devil All The Time |
| Revolution Entertainment | -Commercials -TV -Music videos -Feature films |
-Showtime -Netflix -Amazon -History -Paramount Network -AMC |
| The TEAM Companies | -Talent -Live events -Music videos |
-McCann Worldgroup - Verizon -Goodby Silverstein & Partners -Stellantis -High Dive -Squarespace |
| Wrapbook | -Commercials | -London Alley -Ghost Robot -Smuggler -JN -Tuff -College Humor -W&M |
The Role of Entertainment Payroll Companies
Entertainment payroll companies act as the official employee on record for your production. They handle and process payments and tax forms needed for all of the talent and crew members involved in your project.
Unlike general payroll companies, entertainment payroll companies understand the legalization and rules involved within the film industry such as tax rules, labor laws, union contacts and more.
Entertainment payroll companies also understand that your production will not run as any other typical job and must be responsive at all hours. This allows them to effectively process payments and paperwork on time for your production.
A few reasons you may want to consider hiring a payroll company include:
Compliance with labor laws:
The entertainment industry is heavily regulated when it comes to labor laws, and it can be challenging to navigate all of the different regulations and requirements. An entertainment payroll service can help ensure that all payments are made in compliance with local, state, and federal labor laws.
Simplified payroll processing:
Entertainment payroll companies can handle all aspects of payroll processing, from calculating pay rates to issuing paychecks or direct deposits. This can save producers a significant amount of time and allow them to focus on other aspects of the production.
Reduced liability:
By working with an entertainment payroll company, producers can reduce their liability for payroll-related issues, such as incorrect tax filings or missed payments. The payroll company takes on much of the legal and financial responsibility for these tasks, leaving the producer free to focus on creative and logistical aspects of the project.
Streamlined administration:
An entertainment payroll service can also handle other administrative tasks, such as setting up new employees in the payroll system, managing employee benefits, and handling paperwork related to taxes and insurance. This can help streamline the production process and make it easier for producers to manage their employees.
Commercial Production vs Entertainment Payroll Companies
A commercial production payroll provider typically specializes in managing the payroll and related administrative tasks for businesses involved in commercial productions, such as TV commercials, corporate videos, or advertising campaigns. They are experts in navigating the unique needs and requirements of the entertainment industry, including union regulations, talent contracts, and production schedules. These providers offer services tailored to the specific demands of commercial production companies, ensuring timely and accurate payment to crew members, talent, and vendors while also handling taxes, insurance, and other compliance matters related to payroll.
On the other hand, an entertainment payroll service provider offers similar services but caters to a broader range of entertainment projects, including feature films, television shows, theater productions, music videos, and live events. They may have a more extensive understanding of various entertainment industry standards, regulations, and union agreements across different sectors of the entertainment industry. Entertainment payroll providers may offer additional services tailored to the needs of their clients, such as production accounting, budgeting, and labor relations support.
In essence, while both types of providers specialize in managing payroll for entertainment-related projects, commercial production payroll providers focus specifically on the needs of commercial productions, whereas entertainment payroll services cater to a wider array of entertainment ventures.
Things to Consider When Choosing an Entertainment Payroll Service
Choosing the right entertainment payroll company is important to ensure they can meet any and all needs for your production. Which entertainment payroll company is right for you will vary on several factors:
Specialties
Every entertainment payroll company will be different in terms of the type of projects they service, the size of the budgets as well. Additionally, what makes them stand out are the digital software they have in place that can make paying talent seamless. They are created with the intention of being user-friendly, time saving and to keep all your records organized and in one place. It’s important to consider these factors as it will highly influence your overall experience paying talent.
Union contract knowledge
Your team will consist of talent and crew members that will come from different unions such as SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, Teamsters, AFM or others. Each of these organizations will carry their own set of rules and regulations, and their own terms of contract. Choosing an entertainment payroll service that has great understanding of union contracts for all of these unions will make your payroll process run smoothly.
Reviews
What their clients have to say on previous projects is another good way to see if the payroll company will work for your production. Most entertainment payroll companies provide good client testimonials on their page that only reinforces their solid reputation and track record of quality service.
Top Film Production Payroll Services in the Industry
Here, we have listed our top picks for film production payroll providers. Each payroll company has unique features that sets them apart from the rest; the type of projects they service, union contract knowledge, the digital software they have in place and more.
1. ABS Payroll
Overview of the company
ABS Payroll is best known for independent filmmakers, making feature films, shorts, new media, music videos and commercials. They are project flexible as they handle projects with a wide range of budgets, stating “no project is too small or too short” that has made them the ideal pick for independent filmmakers.
Number of employees
50
Age of company
30+ years
Specialty
ABS Payroll specializes in feature films, shorts, new media, music videos and commercials.
What they do
ABS Payroll is able to handle cast and crew payroll, production accounting and software, and residual processing.
Services
ABS offers a wide range of entertainment payroll services including:
ATL & BTL paycheck processing
Hour calculations based on time cards/Exhibit G’s
Federal and State employee tax withholdings
Employer payroll tax contributions and reporting—including year-end W2/1099 forms
Compliance with wage and hour laws in all States
Union pension, health and welfare contributions, reporting, and administration for all major unions including SAG-AFTRA, DGA, WGA, IATSE, and Teamsters
Unemployment insurance claim administration
Workers compensation insurance coverage & claim management
401(k) and other retirement/ insurance plan contributions or earning deductions
Clients they serve
Some projects they have worked on include:
No Man’s Land
JiuJitsu
Ana
Big Action
Big Adventure
Big Game
Digital Tools
ABS digital tools will give you the following features:
Cost reporting
Organize multiple budgets per project
Payroll integration
Navigation and User Interface
Reporting Functions
Live Tech Support
Contact information
Website: ABS Payroll
HQ Location: 7530 N. Glenoaks Blvd, Suite 100, Burbank, California 91504
Phone Number: (818) 848-9200
2. ART Payroll
ART Payroll provides payroll services to various organizations in the production of TV, radio, commercials, film, new media and in-house corporate film and video. They have the knowledge and experience to advise you on union contracts, and act as employee of record for both cast and crew.
Number of employees
15+
Age of company
30+ years
Specialty
ART specializes in talent for TV, commercials and new media.
What they do
Acting as employee of record for your production they are able to provide the following services:
Withholding and payment of taxes
Unemployment insurance and claims
Worker’s compensation insurance and claims
Processing of year-end W2 forms
Additional services they offer include:
Talent and Crew Payroll
Broadcast Business Affairs Support Services
TV and Radio Ad Traffic and Network Clearance
Secure Online Account Access
Contact information
Website: ART Payroll
Address: 26 Gregs Way, Suite A, Tamworth, NH 03886
Phone Number: (603) 367-9955
3. CAPS (Previously Media Services)
Entertainment Services company Cast & Crew has grown dramatically through its acquisition strategy in recent years, purchasing entertainment payroll company CAPS in 2016 and most recently Media Services in February of 2020. Since then, the parent company has merged the two companies with CAPS serving as the commercial payroll provider. CAPS is best known to provide services to commercial production companies. Their years of experience has allowed them to create a modern system with proper industry expertise and specialized software.
Number of employees:
200 employees
Age of company:
30+ years
Specialty:
CAPS specializes in commercials
What they do:
CAPS provides payroll services to commercials, tours and live events and venue industries. Services they provide include:
Commercial accounting software
Employer-of-record payroll for crew, union or non-union
Workers’ compensation and unemployment liability coverage
Crew onboarding, including mass hiring events
Digital hour collection and onboarding
Commercial industry experts
Live event and tour payroll expert
Contact information
Website: CAPS
HQ Location: 2300 Empire Avenue, 5th Floor, Burbank, CA 91504
Phone number: (818) 848-6022
4. Cast & Crew
Cast & Crew provides entertainment payroll services to productions in film, television, digital media, and live events. Their years of experience allows them to provide digital solutions, expert financial services, and cloud workflows that help streamline payroll processes.
Number of Employees:
1000+ employees
Age of Company :
45+ years
Specialty:
TV, New Media , Live Events and Independent Feature films
What they do:
Cast & Crew provides payroll services to productions in film, television, digital media and live events including:
Experienced and dedicated staff
ATL, BTL and back lot
Highly flexible, scalable and robust system
Customized reports
Tax filing and administration
Digital tools:
Cast & Crew has several digital softwares including:
Start+
Digital solution that lets you process start documents and crew deals.
Stay current with contractually stipulated union crew scale rates
Hours+
Digitally submit your crews time cards
Access to crew time cards and visibility to hours-to-gross pay
Contact information
Website: Cast & Crew
Phone Number: (818) 848-6022
5. Entertainment Partners
Entertainment Partners is an entertainment payroll company that specializes in film, TV, digital and commercial projects. Providing services in the US, Canada and the UK they are able to provide workforce management, residuals, tax incentives and other production management solutions.
Number of employees:
5,000+
Age of company:
40+ years
Specialty:
Entertainment Partners specializes in film, television, digital, and commercial projects.
What they do:
Entertainment Partners provide services to the US, Canada, and UK including:
US - EP US is the statutory employer for certain talent and crew for
Employment taxes
Workers’ compensation
Unemployment and state disability insurance
Handle of employer functions at federal, state and local levels
Canada - EP Canada is an employer for employment taxes and pays talent and crew under EP Canada’s name.
Handle of employer functions at federal and provincial levels.
Workers’ compensation
UK - Sole employer of the client’s talent and crew for all purposes
Process payroll for talent and crew in the name of the client
Clients they serve:
Entertainment Partners has serviced clients including:
The Voice
That’s My Jam
Abbot Elementary
Hacks
Ozark
The Bear
Digital Tools: Entertainment Partners has several digital software products, including:
EP SmartAccounting
Allows for payment processing, document uploading, and audit reporting. It is integrated with SmartStart and SmartTime for digital onboarding and timecard entry, SmartPO for digital PO’s and EP Payroll for paperless payroll and direct deposit.
EP Scenechronize
Cloud synced to organize, manage and distribute production documents
Military-grade closed-loop security
EP SmartResiduals
Interpret agreements
Process residual payments
Automate reporting
Military-grade security and audit protection
6. Extreme Reach
Extreme Reach services the advertising industry and entertainment industry, providing crew payroll and vendor payments for TV, film, new media, commercials, brand content, festivals and live events. They are known for their “world-class customer service” having implemented modern technology that gives their clients a more successful experience.
Number of employees:
5,000+
Age of company:
15 years
Specialty:
Extreme Reach specializes in all types of film, TV and live event productions.
What they do:
Extreme Reach provides the following services:
Preparation and calculation of payroll
Unemployment insurance
Payment, compliance and reporting for all unions, guilds and trusts
Complete ACA compliance management, tracking, analytics and reporting
Federal, state and local tax reporting and remittance
Guild reporting and pension, health and welfare (PH&W) remittance
Automated residuals payments, tracking, estimates, analytics and reporting
Workers’ compensation insurance
End of year W2 and 1099 distribution
Digital Tools:
Extreme Reach has the following digital tools in place:
Luca cloud for production accounting to manage and analyze budgets
Linx for onboarding, timecards and hours-to-gross
Contact information
Website Extreme Reach
HQ Location: 3 Allied Drive, Suite 130, Dedham, MA 02026
Phone Number: +1(818) 860-0410
7. Greenslate
Greenslate is a production accounting and payroll app and is best known for providing service to projects including film and TV, new media, commercials and live events. Their technology allows for high-touch payroll accounting and support to production companies, filmmakers and producers.
Number of employees:
500 employees
Age of company:
20+ years
Specialty:
Greenslate specializes in feature films, new media and live events.
What they do:
Greenslate offers entertainment payroll and business services including:
Process of union and non-union projects
Digital startwork to onboard crew
Digital timecard submissions
Payroll auditing features
Digital approvals with history tracking
Clients they serve:
Some projects they serviced include:
I, Tonya
Moonlight
Search Party
You Were Never Really Here
Sorry to Bother You
Say Yes To The Dress
The Devil All The Time
Digital Tools:
Greenslate is an all in one application that comes with the following features:
Customizable reports
Payroll auditing features
Purchase orders
Production dashboard
Incentives dashboard
Crew expenditure
Training platform
Contact information
Website: Greenslate
HQ Location: 333 N Glenoaks Blvd #415, Burbank, CA 91502
Phone Number: (212) 206-1099
8. Revolution Entertainment
Revolution Entertainment offers payroll services to commercials, music videos, TV, live events, animation, and feature films. They pride themselves with their slogan “we do more” providing entertainment payroll services, labor compliance, production software, healthcare administration, production accounting and tax incentive support.
Number of employees:
200
Age of company:
5+ years
Specialty:
Revolution Entertainment specializes in commercials, music videos, TV and feature films.
What they do:
Revolution Entertainment provides a variety of services including:
Entertainment payroll services
Healthcare insurances
State tax incentives
Modern digital softwares
Clients they serve:
They have served clients such as:
Showtime
Netflix
Amazon
History
Paramount Network
AMC
Digital Tools
ProHire - onboarding, hours-to-gross solutions, access to timecards and start forms.
ProBooks - Production accounting that minimizes manual processes with easy data entry and reporting.
SetKeeper - Cloud-based platform to organize, manage and distribute production documents.
TrueBudget - Budgeting platform for commercials, music videos, promos, and more.
ProCal - web-based production calendaring software.
ProAnalytics - Access data across disparate systems such as annual hiring trends, cost reporting, payroll, employment taxes, fringes, project performance, 1099 and more.
Contact information
Website: Revolution Entertainment
HQ Location: 1210 W Burbank Blvd, Burbank, CA 91506
Phone Number: (818) 562-7866
9. The TEAM Companies
The TEAM Companies offer payroll services to union and non-union talent, music touring and crew payroll for advertising, music, artist tours, production, visual effects and video game industries. Their years of experience has given them the knowledge to understand contracts from organizations such as SAG-AFTRA, AFM, ACTRA, DGA, UDA and IATSE. They were recently acquired by Cast & Crew ( # 4)
Number of employees:
500
Age of company:
20+ years
Specialty:
The TEAM Companies specializes in talent, live events and music videos.
What they do:
The TEAM Company provides the following serves to your production:
Computation of payroll
Issuing paychecks
Payroll tax remittances
Union benefit contributions
Unemployment claims
Year end W2 statement
Employee onboarding
Training
Union and non-union crew payroll
Tax incentive
Clients they serve
McCann Worldgroup - Verizon
Goodby Silverstein & Partners
Stellantis
High Dive
Squarespace
Digital Tools
Talents and Rights Management - Session and residual estimating, completion reports and residual payments authorization. For concert tours; streamline payments for crew, musicians and singers.
TTC Online - Web-based onboarding and timecard system specifically for commercial and short-form content production.
TTC Clear - Manage the clearance of commercials.
KAT AI (Knowledge At Team) - AI-powered assistant for talent and production business affairs.
Contact information
Website: The Team Companies
HQ Location: 2300 Empire Ave, 5th Floor, Burbank, CA 91504
Phone Number: (818) 558-3261
10. Wrapbook
Wrapbook provides payroll services to commercial projects only at this time. They have an effective app based system that automates the onboarding process.
Number of employees:
200
Age of company:
5 years
Specialty:
Wrapbook specializes in commercials.
What they do:
Wrapbook help set your production with a variety of services, such as:
Business ACH Connector
Ongoing project payrolls
Auto-calculation overtime rates
Timecard review
W2
Payroll tax withholding
ACH direct deposits
Invoiced based payments
Tax documents
Payments and pay stubs
Employee workers’ compensation
International workers’ compensation
General liability
Online insurance application
Clients they serve:
They have provided services to clients such as:
London Alley
Ghost Robot
Smuggler
JN
Tuff
College Humor
W&M
What they’re best at:
Crews for commercial productions
Contact information
Website: Wrapbook
HQ Location: 228 Park Ave S #36206, New York, NY 1003
Phone Number: (845) 367-9679
Conclusion: Wrapping Up the Best Entertainment Payroll Companies for Film Productions
In the spotlight of seamless payroll management, these entertainment payroll companies take the center stage. With each provider specializing to meet the needs of your next production, they ensure both talent and production teams are in good hands.
Therefore, selecting the appropriate entertainment payroll service becomes crucial to effectively address all your production requirements.
CMS, as a third-party union signatory and back-office production support specialist, we work with all commercial production payroll services that allows the production staff of its clients to choose which is best for their project.
If you’re looking to streamline back-office production for your upcoming project, we’d be delighted to help. Contact us today to set up a consultation.