What Payroll Company Should I Use?

I have gotten asked that a lot over the years. And I have the same answer now as I did back then: It depends.

We will work on microbudget-up to Union Tier 1 feature films. So, from 50k to up to 7.5 million dollars. That’s a BIG difference! So, we recommend a payroll service provider based on YOUR specific needs and budget. I will break the ones I use most often below and when I recommend them.

ABS PAYROLL

I use this company most often for projects under 2 million dollars that are non-union. They are easy to work with, everything is pretty straightforward, and they usually work with any budget. You can make a decision to work with them and turn around your first payroll the same week. (I don’t recommend it. Plan ahead people!)

Also, they don’t make me create actor timecards -bless their hearts. Creating timecards for actors off Exhibit G’s on a low-budget feature is too time-consuming. As there is never money for a dedicated payroll clerk.

They DO have digital onboarding as well but I only recommend it for longer projects as the set-up takes some time to get used to.

What I recommend it for: SAG, Non-Union Crew (I have used them for DGA, WGA, and IATSE crew as well)

Budget size: Less then 2 million

My contact there: Kris(at)abspayroll.net

WRAPBOOK

Easy-to-use and all digital. Wrapbook is the leader in simplicity. As such I recommend it on projects without complicated payment structures. I find I am hamstrung by the way you interact with their payroll coordinators, so there is time wasted when you have to explain the nuances of complicated talent contracts.

Overall it has a great platform, it can keep all your paperwork in one place, and you can make payroll AND accounts payables payments. Plus it really is affordable and the only option for some projects. As it helps you out when you have a barebones production team.

What I recommend it for: SAG Scale Talent, Non-union crew, and Union Crew, projects that also need insurance

Budget size: Less then 2 million

My contact there: Don’t have one

GREENSLATE

If I am honest- I have a love-hate relationship with Greenslate. I find myself reaching out to their support team almost daily, but they are VERY helpful and I very rarely am left feeling untaken care of. Also, there is a whole lot of customization they can do for you. Everything is in one place. Your financials, payroll, cost reports, and your bank account. It’s very comprehensive which makes your job in the accounting office that much easier. There is a lot of stuff that is purely digital so we can finally get rid of paper paperwork! But…

There is a bit of a learning curve. Their system is set-up for larger scale projects and with the assumption everyone will be using it. Which is amazing! Approval processes are built-in to almost every aspect. Its all customizable and the project set-up team will help you as you figure out what is working and what isn’t.

Kind of cumbersome if only your accounting team is using it as you can’t get rid of the approval processes, so you just end up approving a lot of your own work. Also, their wc and payroll processing rates are 2-4% higher than ABS or Wrapbook. Which adds up

What I recommend it for: SAG, Non-union crew, IATSE, DGA, WGA, PGA, Teamster

Budget size: Over 2 million less than 7 million

My contact there: anjyla.alvarado(at)gslate.com 

MEDIA SERVICES/ENTERTAINMENT PARTNERS

For everything else, there’s Media Services and EP. Media Services’ suite of programs is amazing. Their actualization is phenomenal and I have always enjoyed working with my payroll coordinators. Their rates are about 1-2% more than Greenslate BUT you get to use their whole suite of software FOR FREE when you use them for all your payroll. Honestly, kind of a gift from above when you are managing such a large budget.

EP is an industry leader that has been around forever. They don’t need ME to talk about it. It sells itself.

What I recommend it for: Everything

Budget size: Over 2 million