July 8, 2019
·

The Producer's Guide to SAG Payroll Companies

The Wrapbook Team
Free ebook
Stop Wasting Time on Payroll
Download Now
Free Template
Download Now

Like cellphone contracts or Spirit Airlines, SAG actors can come with a ton of hidden fees. From meal penalties to agent fees to overtime, you’ll end up paying your SAG actors way more than ‘sticker price.’ It’s one of the many reasons productions use SAG payroll companies.

In addition to understanding the nuances of SAG fringes, film payroll companies are the only way you can pay its members – vetted by the guild to pay its members on time.

In this article, we break down what a SAG payroll company does, and provide a list of every SAG-allowed company you can use for your next shoot.

Psst... Before you even find a payroll company, make sure you know what SAG contract you need.

What are SAG payroll companies?

In order to work with its actors, The Screen Actors Guild mandates you must work with one of their allowed entertainment payroll services. There’s no way around it.

In the simplest terms, SAG payroll companies cut checks or direct deposit to your actors.

In broader terms, film payroll companies determine the taxes to withhold, ensure that gross wages are calculated correctly, and see to it that actors are paid and SAG Benefits receive its funds for pension and health.

Each week, they process payment in accordance with SAG rules.

But before you write off SAG payroll companies as nothing more than glorified middlemen, know they also handle some critical duties for your shoot. This brings up another question…

What do SAG payroll companies do?

Most novice producers think working with SAG actors just means paying a minimum day rates. But the guild’s regulations are far more complex and complicated, which is yet another reason why productions turn to film payroll companies.

In addition to ensuring payments are sent in an orderly fashion, entertainment payroll companies ensure that you’re always compliant with the latest SAG rules, so you don’t fine yourself facing fines.

SAG Payroll Companies - Take Breaks Image - Wrapbook

At the bare minimum, SAG payroll companies assist with:

1. Submitting health and pension

For every SAG actor you hire, you’ll have to pay an additional 18-19% on top of their wages to the SAG-AFTRA Health & Pension Fund. This means that if your actor makes $100 dollars for a day’s work, you’re expected to chip in $18.

Skilled producers budget for these fringes when compiling their production budget (along with these SAG fringes). SAG payroll companies review your actors’ timecards, providing you the actual amount you’ll have to pay.

For each actor, they send a health and pension report to The Screen Actors Guild and send your funds.

Some film payroll companies may charge you extra for this mandatory service, while others like Wrapbook process SAG payroll for no additional cost.

SAG Payroll Companies - Select Union - Wrapbook
Wrapbook is most affordable yet powerful payroll company on the market.

By submitting your actors’ timesheets into your Wrapbook account’s folder, they’ll automatically calculate your health and pension fringes. An invoice for your actor will appear under ‘Pending Payroll,’ where you can click to send payment.

2. Calculating overtime fees

While 1st ADs try their best to keep shoot days running smoothly, things don’t always go according to plan on set forcing cast and crew to work overtime.

The most current SAG rates are based on an eight-hour scale. Go over those eight hours, and you’ll have to pay an increased rate.

For most contracts, it’s 1.5x for the first two hours after you hit eight hours. And after that, it’s double.

SAG Payroll Companies - Overtime Infographic - Wrapbook

By submitting your timecards each day from set, film payroll companies then calculate what you owe your talent, paying special attention to the specific SAG rules your actors’ contracts fall under.

3. Enforcing break penalties

Whether you’re working on a feature film or corporate video, you need to give your SAG actors set breaks. In addition to being mandatory, they come with fines if you don’t.

From travel days to meal breaks to hold days to 12-hour turnarounds, you may end up paying your actors for loitering at the shoot hotel.

It’s why we wrote a whole post how to budget for SAG actors.

With Wrapbook's film payroll services, we'll calculate your break penalties automatically when you submit your Exhibit G forms.

And since Wrapbook sends your film payroll each week, it’s easy to see if you’re paying too much in penalties.

4. Providing workers' comp

Whether you’re working with SAG actors, nonunion actors, or friends who have volunteered to act, you can’t run a production without workers' compensation insurance.

At its core, workers' compensation (or workers' comp) shields your production from liability when actors or crew get injured on set or on the way to set.

SAG Payroll Companies - On Set Injuries - Wrapbook

For instance, if two PAs get into a car accident picking up walkie talkie batteries, they’re covered under your workers' comp insurance.

While your film insurance agency can provide workers' comp, it’s usually handled by your entertainment payroll company.

Your insurance agency, however, will have to provide general liability insurance for your production, as SAG doesn’t allow you to work without it.

5. Withholding taxes

Like all payroll services, SAG payroll companies keep you compliant with both federal and state employment laws and ensure that you pay both employer taxes and withhold taxes, including federal, social security, state, and local taxes for your employees.

In order to accurately calculate taxes for you, film payroll companies need the information in a W4 and W9 to ensure that taxes are withheld correctly.

But this is easier said than done.

As productions rush to the shoot day, it’s easy for W4s, W9s, and other forms to fall through the cracks, leaving you without the information needed to pay people correctly. That’s why many producers use digital onboarding services to collect all the necessary information.

For no additional charge, Wrapbook offers onboarding with its film payroll services. As you add a new person to your production, their forms are automatically filed for you.

SAG Payroll Companies - Tax Withholdings - Wrapbook
Wrapbook collects your actors' information when they join your production so you only pay what you need.

When onboarding for an employee is complete, it’s marked with a check mark.

The complete list of SAG payroll companies

With a better understanding of what exactly SAG payroll companies do, now comes the part every producer loves: finding the right one for your production.

Below, we’ve compiled complete list of all the film payroll companies currently allowed by The Screen Actors Guild. By no means a top list (we already made that), use this list to check if your payroll company is allowed to handle SAG payroll.

  1. Wrapbook
  2. Greenslate
  3. ABS Payroll
  4. Entertainment Partners (EP)
  5. Cast & Crew
  6. CAPS Payroll
  7. Media Services
  8. The Team Companies
  9. NPI Payroll
  10. NetPay Payroll
  11. Extreme Reach
  12. Talent Fund
  13. Talent Paymaster
  14. Talent Services International

What makes one SAG company better than another?

While all SAG payroll companies have to meet the same requirements to be approved, what separates one film payroll company from another is price and technology.

Cost

While Entertainment Partners and Cast & Crew are the well-known names in SAG payroll, they’re not cheap. Make sure you find out about ALL the fees. Some charge for postage and handling, some require a deposit, some have minimums, and many charge an additional "software" fee. With Wrapbook, it's all inclusive, and we strive to make our pricing as straightforward as possible.

Before your next project, learn about our fees here.

You can also ask about snagging a SAG compliant insurance policy with the lowest cost to you.

Technology

Since the dawn of Hollywood, traditional film payroll has been a paper and pen process filling cabinets full of paper hidden away in far off places.

Actors have no idea what their checks are for and receive them consistently late.

Wrapbook too is changing this by digitizing film payroll into an intuitive app, facilitating onboarding, payroll, document sharing, timesheets, and kit fee reimbursements.

Timesheets and invoices can be submitted, each day, through your crew’s phones. And if you ever run into trouble, chat with your dedicated paymaster, available 24/7.

Wrapping up

At the end of the day, it’s important to find a SAG payroll company that’s responsive and affordable. It’s also important to find one at least two weeks before you start shooting for your film payroll needs whether you’re making a local commercial or the next Avatar.

But what's even more critical is knowing how to budget for SAG payroll. Discover how in our next post.

Have questions about SAG payroll companies? Reach out to us anytime.

Get Started

Payroll and accounting, on demand. Book a demo to see Wrapbook in action.

Get Pricing

Disclaimer

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.

About the author
The Wrapbook Team

The Wrapbook Team consists of individuals who are thrilled about building modern software tools for creators. We’re a team of compassionate and curious people dedicated to solving complex problems with sophisticated solutions. You can find us across the U.S. and Canada.

Stay In The Know

Sign up for the Wrapbook newsletter where we share industry news along with must-know guides for producers.