Recently we took on a client who was providing all the crew, hires and most of the equipment for a reality TV show. When we first took on the job we underestimated how much work would be involved. Luckily I’m tech savvy and love my software and automation so this really helped the process to be managed much easier. Here’s what I learnt during my time as a production accountant.

Processes

With a job of this scale it was important to have processes in place from the outset. Yes they can be tweaked to suit along the way but having these roots in place meant it was much easier to manage when the momentum kicked in. We were prepared.

As well as managing the orders, I was looking after their payroll too. Looking back I wished I would have streamlined this process. I’d originally suggested using TimeKeeper but they thought it would be more manageable for them on a spreadsheet. The only problem was that no one ever filled it in properly. I was receiving receipts and timesheets all over the place and they were coming in thick and fast. The only time I would find out it was wrong was when someone complained about their pay! 

When I first took on this client they hadn’t got their bank accounts in place so everything had to be run through an Intercompany loan account. This meant that essentially everything had to be reconciled twice, so make sure there are payment means in place and they have a dedicated bank account.

Cover all bases

We managed the process from ordering right through to payments. Knowing the process in and out right from the beginning meant if anything went wrong it was easier to untangle as we could retrace our steps. We also knew what needed to be paid and when as we’d followed the process from the beginning. We used ApprovalMax to raise orders so that they could get multi level approval. This integrated with Xero making the process streamlined and efficient.

Stick to your guns

I found that it was important to be firm when making suggestions. At the end of the day they were the experts in producing a TV show and I was the expert at the accounting side of things. I really had to prove myself and show them who was the expert when it came to money and spending! They had budgets to stick to and it was my job to keep them in line so that there was no overspending. They had daily spend limits with the bank, which caused a few problems with lots of large payments so we had to manage expectations. 

Set Boundaries

As the client was US based and the production was happening in the UK I had to set boundaries from the beginning. The expectation was for me to be working in their time zone as well as my own. I had to meet with them at times they were available but so that it wouldn’t impact my evenings. Take this into consideration when working with people in different time zones, otherwise you will reach burnout!

Don’t duplicate processes

By using Xero everything was in one place. There was no need for duplication of processes. Although they were using GoogleDrive rather than Dropbox, I managed to connect it to Dext using Zapier so that everything was still being pulled in and processed. Using Comma meant I wasn’t keying in the weekly payroll as I asked the accountant for a spreadsheet and just copied that into the upload file. For 90 people a week it was a real time saver. 

Pricing

When you take on a client like this it can be difficult to comprehend how involved you’re going to be and how much of your time a project like this will take up. I had other clients to look after too and had to make sure my standards didn’t falter. Price in your involvement and time as best as you can as it’s bound to be more time consuming than you first anticipate. 

Support

Having support to help me through this project was critical. I couldn’t have done it without my VA team behind me. They helped me with the orders and timesheets which gave me the time to concentrate on bigger details like budgets and payments. I would have been overwhelmed if I’d had to do this alone. 

Having had this experience I would do it again in a heartbeat, I’d just be much more prepared from having the knowledge I now have.

If you've taken on a big client and need some guidance why not book in for a process review?