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The Finance module gives you a complete picture of where your production money is going. You can set department budgets, log cost lines as actual spend accumulates, track daily crew costs on a chart, and instantly see the gap between what you planned and what you’ve spent. Finance is available on the Pro plan — if you’re on a lower tier, you’ll see the Finance locked screen with an option to upgrade.
Finance access is a Pro plan feature. Free, Solo, and Team plans do not include the Finance module. Visit your account settings to upgrade.

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Finance overview

Once you open the Finance module for a project, you’ll see four main areas arranged on the page:
  1. Summary cards — a stat strip across the top of the page
  2. Budget panel — a breakdown of budget allocation by department
  3. Daily crew cost chart — actual spend plotted over time
  4. Finance tabs — detailed tables for budget items and cost lines

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Summary cards

The summary strip at the top of the Finance page shows four key numbers at a glance:
CardWhat it shows
Total budgetThe sum of all budget items across all departments
Total owedActual spend recorded in cost lines (what you owe)
Total paidPayments marked as settled
Outstanding balanceThe difference between what is owed and what has been paid
If your project uses multiple currencies, CineFlow flags this and converts totals to your project’s base currency for the summary.

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Budget panel and departments

The budget panel on the left side of the page shows how your total budget is divided across departments. Each department row displays its allocated budget alongside the actual spend recorded against it, so you can see variance at the department level without opening any tables.
1

Create a finance department

In the Budget tab, click Add department to create a new finance department (e.g. Camera, Art Department, Locations, Post).
2

Add budget items

Within each department, add individual budget items — for example, “Camera rental”, “Grip truck”, or “Catering”. Set the budgeted amount for each line.
3

Review department totals

The budget panel summarises each department’s total allocation alongside current actual spend so you can see where you’re over or under budget.

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Cost lines (actual spend)

Budget items represent what you plan to spend. Cost lines record what you actually spend as the production progresses.
1

Open the Actuals tab

Switch to the Actuals tab in the finance table area to view and manage cost lines.
2

Add a cost line

Click Add cost line and fill in the description, amount, department, and date. You can also link a cost line to a specific person from your crew or cast.
3

Record payments

Within each cost line, mark partial or full payments as they are made. The outstanding balance updates automatically across all summary cards.
Use cost line descriptions that match your budget item names so it’s easy to reconcile planned vs. actual spend during production wrap.

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Daily crew cost chart

Below the summary cards, a bar chart plots your crew costs day by day across the shoot schedule. Each bar represents the total cost lines dated to that shoot day, giving you a visual sense of your heaviest spend days and any unexpected spikes. The chart updates in real time as you add or update cost lines — no manual refresh required.

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Person rates and People module integration

When you add a cost line and link it to a cast or crew member, CineFlow pulls that person’s pay rate, rate unit (daily, hourly, weekly), and currency directly from the People module. This means you don’t need to re-enter rate information that’s already in your project.
1

Set rates in the People module

Open the People section of your project and add pay rate, rate unit, and currency to any cast or crew member you need to track financially.
2

Generate cost lines from callsheets

In the Finance toolbar, click Generate from callsheets to automatically create cost lines for crew members based on the shoot days they are called. CineFlow uses each person’s rate from the People module to calculate the amounts.
3

Review and adjust

The generated cost lines are fully editable. Review the imported amounts, adjust for any overtime or exceptions, and add payments as they are made.
Generate from callsheets creates cost lines for everyone with a pay rate who appears on a callsheet. You can delete any lines that don’t apply before finalising.

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Finance tabs: budget vs. actuals

The main table area at the bottom of the Finance page is divided into tabs:
Shows all budget items organised by department. You can add, edit, and delete line items here. Each row displays the planned amount alongside the actual spend pulled from matching cost lines so you can see variance inline.
Yes. Individual cost lines and budget items can be entered in any currency. CineFlow converts them to your project’s base currency for totals and the summary cards, and flags when mixed currencies are in use.
If your plan drops below Pro, the Finance module becomes inaccessible and you’ll see the locked screen. Your data is preserved — upgrading back to Pro restores full access.
Finance respects your project’s collaborator permissions. Team members with edit access to the project can view and edit finance data. Read-only collaborators can view it but cannot make changes.