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Shaudi is a Seattle-based musician, theatre artist, writer and social media marketing specialist. She holds degrees from Berklee College of Music and the University of Washington School of Drama.
At Wrapbook, we pride ourselves on providing outstanding free resources to producers and their crews, but this post is for informational purposes only as of the date above. The content on our website is not intended to provide and should not be relied on for legal, accounting, or tax advice. You should consult with your own legal, accounting, or tax advisors to determine how this general information may apply to your specific circumstances.
Every payroll, purchase order, invoice, and expense—all in one place.
Effectively managing cash flow is an ongoing challenge in production accounting, where tight budgets and fast-paced schedules often leave little room for error.
One common issue arises when payment records don’t align with transactions in the General Ledger, making it difficult to track outstanding payments and maintain accurate financial oversight.
To further complicate matters, archaic accounting systems without efficient tools for processing AP invoices can create the need for time-consuming manual workarounds, which lead to delays and an increased risk of error.
Wrapbook’s enhanced AP aging features address these challenges to give production accountants clearer cash flow visibility and greater control over General Ledger entries.
Let’s take a closer look at common pain points associated with the AP aging report and how Wrapbook’s solutions can help.
Posting AP invoices requires entering all the payment details upfront, which for a variety of reasons we’ll get into, isn’t always possible. This can lead to delays and disrupt cash flow management for the production, forcing accounting teams to improvise with manual workarounds in order to maintain flexibility and uphold the integrity of the AP aging report.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the key factors that contribute to AP workflow complexities.
Productions can rapidly generate hundreds or even thousands of invoices. Schedules are often tight, so those invoices need to be processed swiftly in order to ensure timely payments to vendors, crew, and rental companies.
Because many productions operate with understaffed accounting teams, the sheer number of invoices can put a considerable strain on workloads.
Human error can be a significant part of the equation when it comes to tough workflows around the AP aging report. An invoice includes a high volume of detailed information, and some items can get missed, particularly in the fast pace of a production schedule.
Vendors or crew often submit invoices with missing or incorrect details, including tax IDs, PO numbers, or due dates. On top of that, receipts may be illegible. Lack of proper backup documentation, such as contracts and approvals, can further delay processing.
Production accountants then have to track the information down, which can be a lengthy process, particularly if a vendor is unresponsive or or if the mistake isn’t immediately identified.
Last-minute changes are an inherent part of production life. Shifting schedules often lead to new expenses, renegotiated rates, or unforeseen costs that weren’t accounted for in the original POs or invoices.
Additionally, there can be unexpected costs from vendors, including billing for extra hours not originally approved, equipment overages, or rush fees.
These unexpected pivots can happen on even the best-planned productions—due to situations like a weather event, a sick cast member, or major reshoots—and can be incredibly disruptive to managing cash flow and keeping the production on track.
If your production is working with union members—for example, DGA, IATSE, or SAG-AFTRA—payments must adhere to strict guidelines and deadlines to remain compliant.
Given the frequent updates to union contracts, along with the variations based on factors like production location and type, staying compliant can be particularly challenging, especially with the fast turnarounds typically expected for invoices.
Delayed payments are never ideal, but when union or guild members are affected, the outcome can be particularly consequential, potentially leading to fines, legal disputes, or formal grievances.
The AP aging report may not be accurate when vendors bill incorrectly or dispute previously agreed-upon rates. These situations require extra time to verify contracts, seek approvals, and potentially negotiate with vendors.
Communication gaps or redundancies—between production teams, accounting, and vendors—can also lead to misunderstandings and errors. For example, if a budget-impacting issue occurs on set that isn’t promptly communicated to the production accounting office, it can lead to discrepancies in the production’s financial records.
Some productions continue to rely on manual invoice processing, which involves extensive data entry that is both time-consuming and prone to human error.
Productions using entertainment industry accounting software may save time compared to those using manual entry. However, these tools can come with steep learning curves and may not integrate seamlessly with payroll and budgeting tools. This leaves production accounting teams with limited options, forcing them to rely on manual workarounds.
Invoice processing is a vital component of keeping a production running smoothly, so skilled production accountants find ways to deal with AP bottlenecks. Typically, you’ll have to delay posting an invoice until the payment details are corrected or finalized. Some production accountants use separate spreadsheets to track pending payments independently until they can be added to the official system.
While these methods can be effective, they add to the production accounting team’s workload, create redundancies, and increase the risk of oversight.
Understanding this common challenge for production accountants, Wrapbook’s AP aging features simplify workflows and enhance cash flow management.
For example, our AP aging features enable AP postings of manual checks and wire transfers without payment details such as payment numbers and dates to allow that information to be imputed after the invoices are posted. This provides clearer cash flow visibility along with greater control over General Ledger entries.
This functionality is incredibly helpful in situations like those we’ve outlined above. For example, if an invoice arrives without a payment due date, you can still record the transaction and update the missing details later.
To utilize these features, access the AP invoices page in Wrapbook’s Production Accounting Suite (PAS). From there, you can easily view the details for any transaction. You can edit, delete, or duplicate a transaction, and every AP invoice is fully searchable. It’s simple to generate AP reports, post AP transactions to the GL, or create new invoices. From there, go to Vendor payments to view the aging on every AP invoice at a glance. You can sort by aging and quickly drill down into individual invoices for further review.
No more time-consuming manual workarounds—Wrapbook’s AP aging report enhancements streamline the process.
Wrapbook has helped thousands of projects gain real-time insights into spend, delight their crews, and wrap faster. Our team would love to show you how our Production Accounting Suite can streamline your workflow, so reach out anytime for a personalized demo!
And check out our free resource library, packed with articles, interviews, and networking opportunities for the production accounting community.
