5 Reasons Every Production Accountant Needs the Paymaster Guide

Building and managing an accurate production budget is no small feat. It can take weeks or months to sort out filming details and find accurate rates and wage scales. Accountants, producers and other key members of the production staff must also evaluate the union terms and conditions that need to be complied with—a task that requires rigorous research, a cumbersome amount of cross-referencing, and the acuity to interpret and apply various rules to the specific circumstances of the production and its crew. But that all changes when you get your hands on a copy of the Paymaster Guide, created by Entertainment Partners. 

EP’s Paymaster Rate Guide is the most complete contract and labor rate guide available. It’s an industry standard, trusted by productions for over thirty years. 

How productions benefit from EP’s Paymaster Rate Guide

EP’s comprehensive Paymaster Guide brings entertainment payroll contracts from across the country into one place. It includes current year, prior year, and discounted rates for many contracts, while helping production staff understand various pay conditions and rules across multiple unions and guilds.

Here’s how your production accounting team will benefit from having a copy on hand:

1. Get instant access to the most up-to-date pay rates and contract terms.

With the Paymaster Guide on hand, you’ll no longer need to spend hours Googling contract rates or bouncing from union website to union website, looking for the most recent terms and conditions. Not only is that an incredibly tedious process—there are no guarantees that the results you find will be accurate. 

Plugging even one incorrect number into your production budget can throw all your estimates out of whack. Inaccurate rates or terms can also lead to erroneous timecards and compliance issues. 

The Paymaster Rate guide is the ultimate solution. We go directly to unions, locals, and other major industry players to confirm that we have the latest, most accurate information available. New editions are released annually, and dynamic updates released each quarter are automatically reflected in your guide. All this to say, you can be confident that you have the most up-to-date information about pay contracts. 

2. Find everything needed to build accurate production budgets, all in one place.

Rates are great, but knowing what number to apply without having context on when and how it actually impacts your financial picture doesn’t do your line producer or production accountants any favors. To build a solid budget, it’s critical to know which rates to apply based on geographical jurisdiction, CBA scope language, and which agreements govern or override the rules of another. 

The EP Paymaster Rate Guide includes ratified agreement details from:

• ⁠DGA
• ⁠West Coast IATSE locals
• ⁠Basic Crafts locals
• ⁠Non-Affiliates
• ⁠Non-Union Police and Fire Officers
• ⁠Area Standard IATSE
• ⁠New York Majors locals

And more!

Unions operate on different cycles and renewal schedules, and when collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) are updated, rates and terms frequently change. It’s a lot to keep track of, but we take care of that part for you.

3. Ensure payroll is set up properly with the help of expert guidance.

Production payroll gets complex very quickly. The Paymaster guide provides guidelines to help you set up payroll properly and avoid non-compliance penalties. We provide details on local union wage requirements, pension contributions, and specific state and county tax withholding. We also go into detail on how to treat golden hours, idle time, and distant guaranteed rates. 

Our goal is to provide you with a one-stop resource that will help you set up payroll correctly—regardless of when, where, and how you’re planning to film.

4. Demystify complex terms and conditions. 

If your team has ever found themselves deep in multiple tabs of PDFs, trying to make sense of how different union regulations impact payroll—you’re not alone. With EP’s help, you’ll never be drowning in rows and columns or lost in legalese again!

We summarize and spell out how union terms and conditions impact production accounting so you can easily find the information you need to set your team up for success. Better yet, EP is always tracking and interpreting contract changes and how those changes impact current regulations.

When new rules apply, we provide simple, easy-to-understand information that explains exactly how changes will impact your budget and payroll. The Paymaster Guide makes rates, terms, and conditions easy to understand so you can focus on getting payroll processed quickly and accurately.

5. Quickly find answers and keep accounting teams organized.

⁠Get your hands on our guide with the click of a mouse! The Paymaster Rate Guide is delivered as an instant download. Once received, you can keyword search for specific information, bookmark pages, and screenshot comparisons. You also have the option to add and save notes within the PDF, making it easier to collaborate across your production accounting team.

There’s one persistent truth in the production world: Change is inevitable. Rates and contract terms are subject to change; film schedules are subject to change (and your sanity is subject to be tested). The Paymaster Guide will keep you up-to-date and will help you build an accurate, adaptable budget that’s easy to adjust if you need to pivot on a dime. 

EP delivers the most comprehensive pay guide in the entertainment industry

You need rates and union contract rules to accurately manage your production’s budget, and the Paymaster Rate Guide is the only resource that has both—along with wage scales, fringe contribution rates, payroll guidance, easy-to-understand terms and conditions for all major unions, locals, non-affiliates, and more.

Ready to get your hands on the only rate book you’ll ever need? Log into MyEP or head to the EP store for your instant download.