Getting started as a producer

This walks you through your first production, from company setup to paying crew.

1. Set up your company

Add your company details (legal name, address, registration/KvK number) in your profile. These appear on deal memos and are needed before you can send one, so it's worth doing first.

You can look the company up instead of typing it. Enter your KvK number or company name in the registration field and pick your company from the list — CrewShift fills in the legal name, registration number and visiting address from the Chamber of Commerce register. Next to the VAT number, Check verifies it against the EU VIES service. Both are conveniences: you can always type everything yourself, and editing a filled-in field drops the verification mark.

2. Create your first project

From Projects, create a project with its name, dates and location. Then add your shooting schedule — the shooting, prep and travel days that make up the production. See Projects & the shooting schedule.

3. Set the work rules

Each project runs on a set of work rules: base hours, overtime tiers, premiums and per-diems. These drive every pay calculation, so set them before crew start logging hours. You can start from a template and override per project. See Work rules.

4. Build your crew

Add the positions you need to fill, search for crew, and send offers. Offers turn into a negotiation, then a signed deal memo. See Building your crew.

Signing a memo is also the point CrewShift counts crew-days against your balance — one crew member on one production day. See Crew-day credits.

5. Decide who approves hours

Set up your approval chain — who signs off whose timesheets. You're always at the top; below you, add approvers and assign departments to them. See The approval chain.

6. Pay your crew

As crew clock out, their hours flow up the approval chain. Once approved, crew invoice you, and you approve and pay from the Hours & pay tab. See Invoices.