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Overview
The general ledger is crucial for managing a film's finances, as it helps track spending against the budget, prepare cost reports, and ensure compliance with tax credits and regulations. Entries are organized by Account Codes and recorded as a debit or credit, ensuring an accurate balance of the production's finances, and allowing producers and accountants to monitor where funds are being allocated throughout the entire film process.
First, the Chart of Accounts: Before the ledger can be utilized, the first step is to upload a chart of accounts, which allows you to allocate expenses to specific budget line items. Use this guide to learn how to do that.
Accessing the General Ledger
Access the Ledger clicking the Accounting icon in the left navigation of any production, then selecting 'Ledger' from the 'Reports' menu.
Your entries will load, sorted chronologically by default with the following columns:
Account Code
Account Description
Account Type
Assets: These accounts track what the production owns or has a right to, such as cash on hand, equipment rentals, prepaid expenses (e.g., location deposits), and any assets purchased for the production (e.g., props or sets).
Liabilities: These accounts record what the production owes to others, such as unpaid invoices, loans, crew salaries, or deferred payments to vendors and contractors.
Equity: This reflects the net worth of the production and includes any initial investments or contributions from producers, as well as retained earnings or losses accumulated throughout the production.
Revenue: Revenue accounts track income generated from the production, such as distribution deals, pre-sales, or tax credits that provide financial returns to the project.
Expenses: These accounts capture all costs associated with the production, such as payroll, travel, set construction, post-production, and marketing. Expenses are the most detailed and varied category in film production, ensuring all costs are properly allocated.(Assets, Equity, Expenses, Liability, Revenue)
Debit and Credit Amounts
To expand the sub-accounts, simply click on the row of any account.
Downloading the Ledger
To download a customized CSV, click the download icon in the top-right corner of your screen to open the Download Settings panel. From there, choose your download options:
File Format: Exports all data into an editable spreadsheet via a CSV document
Date Range: Choose the posted costs based on the desired date range.
Finally, click the Download button at the bottom of the panel to begin your download.