Supporting production accountants since 1986

At Sargent-Disc we understand the production process and the pressure on production accountants to deliver accurate results, on time, every time. For over 35 years, Sargent-Disc has been proud to support their efforts as they work hard to bring us the best in global film and television. 

Today, as part of Cast & Crew, we deliver a full range of integrated production payroll and accounting solutions including CrewStart, Digital Purchase Order and PSL+ to productions at the forefront of the entertainment industry. These solutions save time when breaking out timecards, sending and approving contracts, onboarding cast and crew, approving expenditure, and cost reporting efficiently and securely.

Alongside this we are committed to investing in and supporting the film and television community at home and abroad. We are a member of the Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television (PACT), a major patron of the Royal Television Society (RTS), a business partner of the Production Guild of Great Britain (PGGB), and work with them to inform and educate their members.

This year also marks the 10th year of Sargent-Disc being a proud sponsor of two Production Management Diploma at the National Film and Television School (NFTS).  The John Sargent Scholarship was also setup to support production accounting new entrants. Working with the film school is just one of the ways we strive to support emerging filmmakers.

Looking to the future, together with Cast & Crew, we value the importance of continuing to develop our offering and believe that technologies will increasingly allow us to make intelligent solutions that can take even more of the stress out of production accounting.

Contact the team to discuss how our solutions can streamline your production workflows.

Getting to grips with the new Pact/Bectu TV Drama Agreement 2023

The new Pact/Bectu TV Drama Agreement came into effect on 1st January 2023 following a period of discussion sparked from Bectu submitting a request to review the previous agreement in May 2021. The original agreement dating back to 2017 lasted 5 years, whilst the new one has a term of 3 years and will provide some stability for the industry during a time of economic changes.


The agreement sets out terms and conditions and best working practices for those working in TV drama; aimed at improving work/life balance and altering the harmful long hours culture.


With the introduction of the new agreement, UK scripted TV producers need to know the new terms and conditions. The table below indicates the key comparisons between the 2017 agreement, and the new 2023 document.

2023 Agreement
2017 Agreement
Working day type
Introduced additional contracted hrs for select department to replace existing Prep and wrap time concept.

Shooting Day
• SWD = 10 hrs + 1 hrs unpaid break • CWD = 9 hrs + no formal break • SCWD = 9:30 hrs + 00:30 hrs break

Shooting Day – Select Department
• SWD = 10 hrs + 1 hr unpaid break + 1 add cont. hr • CWD = 9 hrss + no formal break + 1 add cont. hr • SCWD = 9:30 + 00:30 hrs break + 1 add cont. hr

Non-shooting crew
• SWD = 10 hrs + 1 hrs unpaid beak

CrewStart Feature: Checkbox feature has been introduced in the time report to manage the additional contracted hour feature which will add 1 hour of extra pay for required crew members.
Working day types with option to choose prep and wrap time.
Overtime & Penalty
• Introduced overtime & enhanced overtime by eliminating existing Camera and non-camera overtime.
• Overtime to calculate at 1.5 T of hourly rate
• Enhanced overtime to calculate at 2T of hourly rate
• Revised min overtime rate to 35 and maximum overtime rate to 70
• Overtime & penalty calculation to follow 15 min increment
• Introduced condition to calc. overtime rate beyond maximum cap of 70 if hourly rate is more than 70.
Camera & non-camera overtime calculated separately with Min 35 and max capping of 45.

Overtime multiplier at 1.5 T.

Overtime & penalties following 30min and hourly increment logic.
6th Day & 7th day rate
• Shooting day to be paid at 1.5T of daily rate
• Non-shooting day Less than 6 hrs = 1T of daily rate More than 6 hrs = 1.5 of daily rate
• 6th day on bank holiday = 2T of daily rate
• 7th day rate = 2 T of daily rate
• Overtime on 6th & 7th day to calc at 15 min increment
6th Day rate = 1T of daily rate

7th Day rate = 2T of daily rate
Night work
• Night work cut off revised to 23:00 instead 00:00 earlier
• Night work calculated at 15 min increment
• Night work paid at 1T over existing pay rate
Night work considered from midnight 00:00 onwards

CrewStart, Sargent-Disc’s onboarding platform, uses Pact/Bectu compatible timesheets. See the screenshot above where new ‘Working day type’ and Additional contracted hour’ fields are visible.


Contact the team at sales@sargent-disc.com for more information on how CrewStart can streamline your production’s onboarding processes.

Sargent-Disc’s Digital Payroll Workflow Masterclass

Sargent-Disc, a Cast & Crew company presents:

The Digital Payroll Workflow Masterclass Wednesday 26th January and on Wednesday 16th February at 10.00

The Digital Payroll Workflow Masterclass is for Financial Controllers, Production Accountants, Payroll Accountants, Line Producers, Production Managers, along with the finance and production office teams working with them on production.

Sargent Disc’s Digital Payroll Workflow is designed to provide a digital production payroll service – specifically for the entertainment industries in the UK and Ireland.

Before COVID-19, efficiency and sustainability were the predominant reasons for productions going paperless. As expected, the pandemic has accelerated the demand for reliable online systems, with productions needing to reduce the handling of physical documentation to ensure a safer working environment for crew, artists, and other employees.

Covering every step of the payroll process, Sargent-Disc’s Digital Payroll Workflow is a safe, efficient, and comprehensive solution for production accountants wherever they find themselves working. Easy to use, the solution can be tailored to meet the needs of each production—regardless of type or size. It consists of three elements powered by the CrewStart, Payroll, and Payslips applications within Sargent Disc’s Digital Production Office®.

The Masterclass will take you through the process from start to finish – including:
• Start forms and contracting
• Time and attendance
• Hot costs
• Calculation and approval of timesheets
• Creation of secure payroll worksheets
• Payroll reports
• Online payslips
• Secure auto enrolment notices

Speakers include:

Dr. Laurence Sargent – Co-Head of International at Cast & Crew and Director Sargent-Disc
Laurence is Co-Head of International, Cast & Crew and a Director of Sargent-Disc. Founded in 1986, Sargent-Disc is now a Cast & Crew company and is the UK’s leading supplier of integrated payroll, residual, accounting and software services for the film and television production industries.

Jade Riley – Product Trainer, Sargent-Disc
Jade has worked across Sargent-Disc departments, recently moving from her role within the Production Accounting team to become Sargent-Disc’s Product Trainer. She is familiar with the range of the Sargent-Disc’s Digital Production Office® software applications and helps productions and their personnel to use them with confidence.

To register your Masterclass place on either Wednesday 26 January or Wednesday 16 February please email marketing@sargent-disc.com specifying the date most convenient for you.

For more information about Sargent-Disc’s Digital Payroll Workflow download our brochure

Sargent-Disc’s Digital Payroll Workflow

Our Digital Production Office® end-to-end digital payroll workflow has been designed to allow safe and efficient remote working for production and accounts teams. It includes CrewStart™ start forms, contracts and timesheets, secure payroll messaging and reporting, and online payslips accessible by employees. .

Due to the pandemic increasing the need to minimise paper usage, we are asking all of our clients to use CrewStart™, our digital onboarding platform. Integrated with Sargent-Disc’s payroll, CrewStart™ improves accuracy and streamlines the payroll process, allowing digital approval and signing of contracts and other start paperwork. Other features include hot costing and electronic timesheets that save you time and provide real time visibility of labour costs.

Onboarding

With CrewStart™, onboarding crew has never been easier. Use existing production start paperwork and contracts to streamline the process, from initial invitation and completion through to final approval and signing. Crew need only complete their data once; it can then be re-used when completing another start form.

Hot costing

CrewStart™ allows you to easily track the time and attendance of crew and ensure they’re paid accurately. Hot costs can be tracked in real time giving accounts teams an accurate view of labour spend, even when operating under complex union rules such as the Pact/Bectu Feature Film Agreement.

Timesheets

At the end of each week, CrewStart™ can batch generate timesheets and send them digitally for completion and signing via an approval chain specific to each department. From the moment a batch is created, your payroll worksheet is available, saving days of work previously spent breaking out timecards manually.

Payroll and Auto Enrolment

Integration with Sargent-Disc’s payroll systems ensures an accuratey and efficient payroll process. All crew payroll data and reports are instantly available via the web and the iOS and Android Payroll applications.

Payslips and Notices

With a single login, your crew can view their payroll record online or via the Payslip app. Payslips, Auto Enrolment and other notices are published securely each time a payment is made and a full payment history is available for each crew member and artist to run on demand.

Production workflows

CrewStart™ has a range of templates that can be adapted to meet your requirements. to easily circulate any other documents or data to different departments for approval.

With our end-to-end digital workflow you can onboard and pay crew safely, securely, efficiently and sustainably. For further information or an online demo of CrewStart™, contact marketing@sargent-disc.com.