Budgeting

How Does Budgeting Work in Pzaz?

Pzaz offers an automated budgeting tool designed to streamline the financial planning process for film and video productions. By integrating budgeting directly with other production elements—such as scriptwriting, scene breakdowns, and scheduling—Pzaz enables users to efficiently allocate resources and estimate costs. This integration ensures that financial considerations are seamlessly incorporated throughout the production workflow, facilitating more accurate and organized budgeting.

The Budget tool allows filmmakers to indicate whether production costs are ‘above the line’ or ‘below the line’, and now, with more flexibility, you can build, manage, and export a complete financial plan for your production.

What Does ‘Above’ and ‘Below’ the Line Mean?

Filmmakers, film producers, and other creative professionals will often refer to production costs as being either ‘above’ or ‘below’ the ‘line’. This is an important distinction when planning and recording costs.

• Above the Line Costs (ATL) – These are the fixed, upfront costs associated with the creative and key decision-making roles. These costs are usually negotiated before production begins and tend to remain consistent throughout the project. ATL costs typically apply to creative personnel (such as writers, directors, and producers), and some other key team members, but can also extend to fixed pre-production expenses.
• Below the Line Costs (BTL) – These are the variable, production-related expenses involved in the physical creation of the film. These costs are generally more flexible and can fluctuate depending on the scope and length of production. BTL covers things like crew wages, equipment rental, and location fees.

Pzaz allows you to view either ATL or BTL costs separately, or combined, which gives you a complete and clear financial overview of your production.

Key Features of the Pzaz Budget Tool

Pzaz’s budget tool is designed to give you a clear, organized view of your production finances. The tool is divided into two main sections:

• Left-Hand Menu: Here you’ll find various categories to classify items in your budget. Categories include Above the Line, Below the Line, and a Combined Budget view. You can easily toggle between these views based on which part of your budget you’re focusing on.

• Right-Hand Panel: This is where you can see all the items in your budget. Each item is tagged or listed under the corresponding category.

In this panel, you’ll also have access to a Flexible Currency Selection, allowing you to choose between Euros, Pounds, or Dollars. The total fiscal amount of your current budget is displayed in the top right-hand corner for quick reference.

Adding and Managing Budget Items

The budget tool allows you to add and track all the items needed by your production—everything from crew members and cast to equipment, locations, and miscellaneous production costs.

To Add New Items:

1. Click the purple button located to the left of the text field at the top of the screen.

2. Select the type of item you want to add from the dropdown (e.g., actor, camera rental, location fee).

3. Enter the name of the item into the input field and hit Enter. Your new item will be added to the Unassigned category until you categorize it.

After adding a new item, the right-hand panel will expand, allowing you to fill in more details such as service type, cost, provider, etc. Different item types will have different fields to update based on their category.

Managing Categories:
You can easily manage your budget categories by:

• Adding new categories: Click the plus icon next to Unassigned or any existing category to add a new one.

• Editing or deleting categories: Use the three-dot menu next to any category to modify or remove it.

• Expanding or contracting categories: Toggle visibility for a cleaner, more manageable view of your items.

You can also categorize items by navigating to specific areas of the tool, like casting, crew, locations, equipment, etc. On these pages, select an item, and in the dropdown at the top of the card, change the status from ‘not included in budget’ to ‘included in budget.’ This item will then appear in your budget view.

Exporting Your Budget

Once your budget is ready, Pzaz offers flexible export options, so you can share your financial plan with stakeholders in the format that suits you best. You can export your completed budget as either a PDF or Excel (.xls) file.

Customize your export by selecting:

• Project Name

• Budget Categories: Choose whether to include Above the Line, Below the Line, or Unassigned categories individually or all together.

• Optional Credits: Include key credits like Producer’s Name, Director’s Name, and Writer’s Name for your final document.

Once exported, you can easily view the file on your local device.

We’re here to help

We are sure you’ll find the Budget feature as useful as we do! However, if you encountered an issue or need guidance, you can always reach out to the Pzaz support team for assistance. Just email support@pzaz.io and a team member will respond promptly to help resolve your query.

Alternatively, you can always book an appointment with our Customer Success team who will provide a full, personalised product demonstration for you via Google Meet. To do this, simple use the following Calendly link: https://calendly.com/pzaz-tv/30min.