Creating a Project

Last Update:
September 12, 2022

Once you’ve completed setting up your production company, your next step is creating your first project in Wrapbook.

Projects can mean many things in the entertainment world. In Wrapbook, a project is a container for all the workers you will pay, reimburse, and share documents with for the course of a single production.

Each project that you work on should be entered in as a new project within Wrapbook—be it a feature film, short, commercial, event, or television episode. If a particular production project will shoot in multiple states, you will also need to create a separate project for each state. Each separate project within Wrapbook will ensure that the payroll run for a shoot in a particular state will stay compliant with that state’s tax legislature.

To create a project, you’ll need:

  • Project Name: Name of the project. This name will be shared with Cast & Crew who are who are onboarded for a project.
  • Project Number (optional): internal ID used for project tracking.
  • Start Date: the date the first person will start working for your project-consider prep, storyboarding, travel, etc.
  • End Date: last known day that a worker is being paid for working on the project.
  • Contact Email Address: this email will be the main point of contact for crew member questions about the project.
  • Select the type of project and distribution platform. The purpose of this request is to provide accurate Production information to Contract Services Administration Trust Fund (CSATF). CSATF serves the motion picture and television industry by ensuring workers meet certain criteria for employment within the industry’s Unions. The requested information will be provided when crew members work days are reported to CSATF.
  • Work Locations: enter the location or locations of where your workers will be working. If multiple locations are entered for a project, only the locations entered will appear when adding a new worker to a project or adding account payables including timecards, invoices, expenses, and COVID stipends. To delete a work location during project setup, click the Remove icon. Please note Wrapbook requires a location for each project. It is incredibly important to have your projects aligned to where your workers will be executing their work and roles, as it dictates what regulations and tax compliances apply to your workers and their payroll. For example, if you’re working with a crew that is LA based, if your project is filmed in New York, your project location needs to be based in New York, not California.
  • Estimated Payroll: A rough estimate of the gross wages expected for the project. This value can be updated later on. Do not include anyone not being paid through Wrapbook in this number.

Providing details about your project will help us determine your Workers Compensation Application. As an Employer of Record, Wrapbook provides Workers Compensation for workers (Employees and Loan Outs) as a part of the cost of running payroll and disburses those payments when and if needed.

Note: If you select a project that is Contractors only, we won’t be able to provide Workers Comp through payroll.

Special Project Types

Certain project types and situations may lead to more questions. Specialized workers and stunts (such as stunt work on aircraft) demand higher safety standards and take longer for approval. Please submit projects with details about how you intend to mitigate risk to these workers further in advance so as to ensure timely approval.

Union Workers

If the project is a union signatory, select Yes - is a union signatory. Click the radio buttons and fill in the required information. This will allow Wrapbook to calculate, remit and report pension and health benefits correctly.

For projects that include union workers, set up your project as employing all worker types and elect the unions you’ll be utilizing for this particular production. If you don’t know the Unions, you can add additional unions throughout the length of your project, but you will need to select them for your project prior to hiring in order to be able to process payroll. 

In addition to filling out the union information, provide your contract agreement with the union, your contracts with your workers, and any timekeeping or additional union specific information. Select View Project>Documents to upload. For Union projects you will also have the option allow workers to to enter travel or work location details on their timecards. Select Yes - collect travel details to enable or No - don't collect travel details.