For Independent Producers, Agencies & Brands
Grow Your Productions Without Adding Overhead.
Back-office production support and third-party union signatory services so you can take on more work without hiring more staff.
The Reality
Growing your production volume comes with back-office complexity you shouldn't have to own
Hidden Costs Eating Your Margin
Your in-house agency was supposed to capture the markup. Instead, you're still paying production companies 20%+ on every job, and the savings keep disappearing into inefficiencies you didn't anticipate.
Corporate Systems Weren't Built for Commercial Production
One commercial means 50 vendors, and your finance team can't cut 50 checks quickly. Petty cash approvals take weeks. The very systems that protect your brand make moving fast on production nearly impossible.
Your Bookkeeper Isn't a Commercial Production Accountant
General accounting services don't understand union payroll cycles, kit rental reconciliation, or why that location vendor needs payment today. In-house agencies need specialized production accounting, not corporate bookkeeping.
Zero Flexibility When Things Change
Last-minute celebrity transportation. Emergency hair and makeup. Unbudgeted travel expenses. You need funds now, but corporate approval chains mean waiting weeks while your production stalls.
Vendor Setup Is a Bureaucratic Nightmare
Getting new vendors approved in your corporate system takes forever. Every new relationship feels like a barrier, even when you desperately need the help to move your project forward. It's exhausting and completely avoidable.
Union Compliance Is Draining Your BA Team
Your business affairs team is stretched thin managing SAG-AFTRA contracts, IATSE agreements, and Teamsters requirements on top of everything else. They need specialized support, not more on their plate.
THE CMS DIFFERENCE
You hire the director and line producer. We handle everything else.
We manage all your back office production finances: payroll, accounting, vendor payments, petty cash for a 3% fee instead of the 20%+ markup production companies charge. Need union talent? We're a third party signatory too.
Pay 3%, Not 20%+
Commercial production companies mark up every vendor 20% or more. We charge a flat 3% fee for our services, no hidden markups. Your in-house agency keeps the savings it was built to capture.
Production-Specific Cash Flow
We provide purchasing cards, instant petty cash setup, and rapid vendor payments, all structured for commercial production needs. No more losing locations or crew because corporate approvals take three weeks.
Real Commercial Production Accounting
Our team speaks production. Union payroll, kit rentals, location payments and talent residuals. We handle the specialized accounting that in-house agencies need but corporate bookkeepers weren't trained for.
One Vendor Relationship Instead of 50
You work with us. We handle the 50 vendors your production requires. Your corporate team sees one consolidated relationship, while we manage all the production-specific complexity behind the scenes.
Union Signatory Support for Your BA Team
We're a third-party signatory to SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, and Teamsters 399 & 817. We support your business affairs team with union compliance, paperwork, and talent payments so they can focus on higher-value work.
Dedicated Expert Support
You're paired with a dedicated coordinator who assists from setup through wrap, treating each project as our own. No call centers, no ticket systems, just expert help when you need it, every step of the way.
How CMS Productions Solves This
Commercial production support built for in-house agencies
We understand both the creative demands of brand marketers and the financial realities of corporate environments. Here’s what we offer to remove the friction from your in-house productions:
Cash Flow Management
Budgeting, cost tracking & financial planning
Credit Cards & Petty Cash
On-set purchasing power without corporate delays
Insurance
General liability, workers comp & E&O coverage
Union & Crew Signatory
SAG-AFTRA, IATSE & Teamsters coverage
Production Accounting
Cost reports & wrap reconciliation with audit trails
Production Payments
Fast, accurate vendor & crew payments across all projects