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All Budgeting Guides

Your First Budget

TL;DR — Open the Budget tab and a full set of standard film-and-TV departments is created for you. Read the running total in the Top Sheet Summary, then expand a department and use Add line item to build it out. Every cell is editable inline.

Opening the Budget Tab

  1. 1Open your project and, in the Development area, click the Budget tab.
  2. 2On your first visit, a set of 24 standard departments (numbered 100–510) is created automatically — you don’t need to build the structure from scratch.
  3. 3The Top Sheet Summary sits at the top with a running Grand Total. Below it, each department that has line items appears as its own expandable card.
The Budget top sheet with departments, line items and a grand total

Reading the Top Sheet Summary

The Top Sheet Summary is a one-line-per-department overview with columns for Code, Department, Allow (the budgeted amount), Actual, and Savings. The Grand Total row at the bottom sums every department.

  • By default only departments with content are listed. Click Show All Depts (top-right of the summary) to reveal every empty department, and Hide Empty to collapse the list again.
  • Click any department row to expand its card and scroll to it further down the page.
  • A shoot-days badge and the Export PDF button sit in the header above the summary.

How a Line Item Total Is Calculated

Each line item’s Allow (its estimated total) is calculated as:

quantity × rate × multiplier

In the department card you edit the Rate and the × (multiplier) columns directly. When you add a line by hand the quantity is 1, so the Allow is simply rate × multiplier — for example a DP at $900/day × 24 = $21,600. Lines created by the AI assistant or added from a suggestion may carry a larger quantity, which is why an Allow can exceed rate × multiplier alone; the exact quantity is shown in the PDF export.

There is no contingency or allowance percentage — the Allow column is the allowed (budgeted) figure. Pad a line by raising the rate or multiplier if you want a buffer.

Adding Your First Line Item

  1. 1On a brand-new budget every department is empty, so click Show All Depts in the Top Sheet Summary to list them all.
  2. 2Click the department row you want — its card opens below.
  3. 3Click Add line item at the bottom of the card. A new editable row appears.
  4. 4Type a description, pick a Unit (day, week, or flat), and enter a Rate and × multiplier. The Allow updates live.
  5. 5Press Enter to save. The row stays open so you can add the next item straight away; press Esc to close it.

Each new line rolls straight up into the department total and the Grand Total. To change an existing entry later, just click the cell, edit it, and click away or press Enter — edits save automatically. Use the arrow keys or Enter to move between rows without reaching for the mouse.