On Thursday afternoon two hundred timesheets arrive in the accounts office. Some crew worked through lunch, the night shoot pushed several people into overtime, and a dozen extras were kept two hours longer than booked. By Friday everyone has to be paid the right amount. The payroll accountant is the person who turns those timesheets into correct payments.
What a payroll accountant does
The payroll accountant works in the accounts team under the production accountant. Before the shoot they collect start forms from every crew member, with bank details, tax status and the agreed deal. Some crew are employed, others invoice as freelancers or through their own company, and each needs a different treatment.
During the shoot they check the weekly timesheets against the deal memos (the short contracts that set each person's rate and conditions) and against the call times recorded by the second assistant director. They calculate overtime, meal penalties, travel and other allowances, run the payroll and answer questions from crew who think something is missing. After the shoot they handle final payments and the year-end tax paperwork.
Responsibilities
- Collect start forms, bank details and tax information from cast and crew
- Check timesheets against deal memos and the daily production report
- Calculate overtime, allowances and other extra payments
- Run the weekly payroll and issue payslips
- Handle payments to extras and day players, who are booked for a single day or a few days
- Answer payment questions from crew in a clear and confidential way
- Report total labour costs to the production accountant for the cost report
How the role touches the budget
Directly, through the largest group of costs on most productions. Crew and cast wages, overtime and allowances are a big part of every budget, both above and below the line. The payroll accountant shows each week how labour costs compare to the plan, and an overtime trend often shows up here first. That gives the production manager a chance to adjust the schedule before the overspend grows.
How people become payroll accountants
Most start as a payroll clerk or accounts assistant on a production, or come from payroll work in another industry and learn the rules that apply to film and television. Knowledge of the local tax system and of the union or guild agreements in use is part of the job. Some productions use a specialist payroll company instead of an in-house payroll accountant.
In TV and commercials
On long-running TV productions payroll is often handled centrally by the production company. In commercials, crew are usually booked for a few days, so payroll is short, frequent work that runs alongside many jobs at once.