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Whether you’re a cinematographer, sound engineer, director or choreographer, you’re juggling a jam-packed schedule while trying to maintain the financial side of your business. After long days on set, you just want your accounting to be as simple and stress-free as possible.
Digital accounting is the answer. We’ve seen first-hand how transformative it’s been for business owners in the behind-the-scenes film and TV industry.
It takes the hassle out of otherwise tedious tasks, organises your data in a powerful way and frees up more time to focus on the exciting parts of your business.
Going digital tells you exactly how much money you’re making.
If someone were to ask you what your profit is for this year so far, would you feel confident giving an accurate answer? If your accounting is paper-based or relies on spreadsheets, it’s impossible to know an up-to-date, precise figure.
In fact, you often won’t find out how much money you’ve made for the year until months after year-end.
With cloud-based accounting systems like Xero, you can check your finances in real-time. The software connects with your bank account to automatically pull in your latest transaction data, so you know your figures reflect the most recent changes.
It also means you can monitor if you’re on the right track to meet your financial targets. If you’re not making sufficient revenue, get ahead of the game and plan extra shoots to ensure you cover costs.
You can view cost-per-project breakdowns.
Trying to work out the profitability of your latest shoot? Digital accounting software makes it possible to see every nook and cranny of your costs.
With a few clicks, you can get individual profit and loss sheets for each project and for individual components within those projects. If you tried to do this with paper-based accounting, it would be a nightmare to keep track of. With digital, you’ll know exactly how financially viable it was to bring on that freelancer or rent that studio space.
You can access your financial data from anywhere.
Whether you’re at home or on location, Xero’s app lets you check your profit and loss at any time. You live an on-the-go lifestyle and having access to your financial data shouldn’t depend on lugging a box of papers around.
The cloud-based software also provides peace of mind. Accidents happen and things get lost or damaged. It’s why you invested in top-notch protective cases for your tech and got backup SD cards and hard drives.
With Xero, your data is backed up and secure. No more worries about corrupted files or spillages on documents. Should anything happen to your laptop, you know your financial data isn’t lost forever.
You won’t have to hang on to masses of receipts.
Spending so much time on the road guarantees a pile-up of expense receipts. You have to wait until you’re back to pass them over to your accountant and you’re stuck with them in the meantime.
Switching to digital accounting eliminates the need for paper. When you get a receipt, use the app Dext to snap a photo. It’ll automatically save and record the receipt data in Xero. Whether you’re on set, at a table-read or in an airport, just take a photo and go!
Switching to digital accounting is easier than you think.
Getting set up on software like Xero is a smooth, pain-free transition. Yep, it’s tempting to say “I’ll get around to that!”, but we really recommend making the switch as soon as possible to start enjoying the benefits.
Unsure where to start? That’s what we’re here for. At Tailored, we work closely with freelancers, small teams and studios in the film and TV industry, guiding them through the transition to digital. Book a 15-minute call with us and we’ll chat about how we can help.