The life of a production accountant isn’t easy. 

I know, I have been there myself.

Before I founded GreenSlate, it was clear how much time the accounting team wasted due to outdated paper-based processes. The software at the time was designed for a paper workflow, which involved scanning and manual data entry, tracking expenses using forms, managing mountains of paperwork, and physically running around to collect documents or signatures from crew members and producers. We filled thousands of banker’s boxes.

I started in production accounting nearly 30 years ago, mentored by incredibly talented individuals who knew how to leverage the tools they had to the best of their ability even under less than ideal circumstances.   

Back in the mid aughts, a wave of cool tech was emerging. The iPod was introduced in 2001, alongside innovations like Java, Skype, and Google Maps. I found myself questioning why technology was advancing everywhere except in the tools I was using professionally. Believing that tech could make everything better, I made a bold move and invested in a software developer to help me create a production accounting app tailored to the needs of a production accountant.

Over the next 20 years, through constant use, feedback, and development, the app evolved into an all-in-one accounting and payroll web-based application.

I don’t make the claim lightly that GreenSlate truly revolutionizes production accounting and payroll.

Yes, it is a bold claim, but it has been proven through hundreds of productions. GreenSlate users have eliminated inefficiencies and transitioned from back-breaking paper pushing and manual data entry to automation and digital workflows. As a result, their data is now more accurate and secure.

One app. One login. Real-time access.

With other production accounting solutions the status quo is multiple apps and logins with time-consuming importing and exporting and an inconsistent user experience.

There is no world where it makes sense from an efficiency standpoint to have unique logins for digital timecards, digital purchase orders, general ledgers, Docusign and Dropbox.

Legacy payroll providers have separate databases for their payroll and accounting applications, whereas our architecture is based on one simple premise, which is having one database. Period. GreenSlate is an all-in-one web-based application that has a convenient single interface with fully integrated payroll and accounting.

For example, having the one database architecture allows the entire crew to interact within the same application and it allows for real-time access because everything is all in the same application. 

What does it look like if that data wasn’t all in one application with real-time access? 

Let’s say we had a separate application to do digital timecard entry, like other solutions do. 

That’s great, but the end result is that the timecard still has to have its data entered by the payroll company, so there is no efficiency gain there. 

Whereas with GreenSlate we not only have a digital timecard solution, but it is right there in the same application and the user can see in real-time what’s being entered by the production crew members. The payroll accountant can work with the production crew members together to see what’s being entered. 

What about purchase orders? One of our competitors has what they call a “Digital Purchase Order” or “DPO” solution that does integrate with the accounting platform, but it is not real-time. 

One would have to sync the two platforms to have the PO information imported into the GL, without the supporting detail. Then when you are doing a cost report and see that you have purchase orders committed to a certain cost category, you are not going to be able to access that detail unless you go back out and go into that other digital purchase order application. 

Compare that to GreenSlate where purchase orders are a part of the same application. So when someone submits a purchase order and it has been approved and committed by the accountant, and when you are in the Cost Report module and looking at that account and it lists open purchase orders, you can actually double click and drill down to see what that purchase order is, what it was for, who approved it and who ordered it and why. 

These are only a few illustrations that for those who don’t use GreenSlate, tracking down individuals, PDFs, and hard copies of transaction documentation is an utter chore. 

For those who do use GreenSlate, the ability to have one-click access and drill-down capabilities from any grid in the app is a game changer because it seriously reduces search time and instances of lost information. 

Accountants have answers in seconds to minutes, enabling much faster decision making. 

GreenSlate users also have access to the history of all steps, questions, and answers which expedites processes because of approval notifications and status updates; rush approval features and reminders.

Using GreenSlate eliminates double entry, reduces errors, provides a unified database and provides 100% digital workflows and approvals and the production accounting team can actually go home at 6pm each work day, because the app is so efficient.

Mobile accessibility

We live in a world of mobility. Not having easy mobile access to a production accounting and payroll provider solution is not an option in today’s world. Or at least it should not be, and yet that is still the status quo in the industry. 

By having all the data in one application it allows for GreenSlate to easily offer mobile accessibility through our app on any mobile device and not just on desktop. 

It provides you with the exact user experience that you would have on desktop except optimized for the smaller screen. 

That said, you likely won’t be doing power number crunching with your iPhone or Android, but what you can do (and what many of our mobile app users do) are actions such as easily approving rush transactions. 

Another use case we see often on the mobile app are for emergency check requests that need to be approved. You are on the receiving end of an emergency check request and get a notification, call, or text…you can just go into the app on your phone and approve it right there. 

You can even look at the documents and see everything that you would see if you were on the desktop version of the GreenSlate application. It speaks to the check signatures but also situations where if you were a crew member and you had to submit a purchase order in a hurry - you can use the mobile app with the same functionality. 

Anything you can do on desktop you can do on mobile.

No matter where you are or what you are doing, GreenSlate allows you to get done what you need to get done while you are on the move.

Personalized views and permissions

Traditionally Department heads and crew members have had to heavily rely on internal accounting teams for accounting information.

Whereas GreenSlate is permission based, and departments can be given permissions and roles to see their department’s expenses and purchase orders, do their own research and vendor inquiries. This improved communication saves time throughout the production and can enable more efficient remote work capabilities.

GreenSlate also allows for setting up of custom views for approvers and accounting teams. In addition, the custom view setup by each user can be used as a default for future projects working with GreenSlate.

Self-service access to GreenSlate provides crew members the benefit of viewing their personal payroll information, such as past paychecks, independently. This feature allows them to obtain the information they want, when they want it, without needing to interact with the accounting department.

Internal notes and approvals

Legacy solutions don't centralize internal notes and approval history, leaving them scattered across emails, texts, chats, and physical notes. This is common with other solutions and is especially cumbersome during audits or any time proof is needed, as sifting through multiple sources can be incredibly time-consuming.

GreenSlate, however, addresses this issue with in-app notes and upload options for every transaction. Users can save and share all notes as PDFs and easily attach emails, screenshots, texts, chats, and physical notes.

Having a centralized solution for all backups and communications linked to transactions for easy reference is a game changer. It reduces reliance on email and provides detailed access without the headache of searching through various sources.

Managing claims and audits

Audits and insurance claims can be a real hassle taking hours and many steps to research and compile data to meet auditors' requests when having to use production accounting and payroll software that isn't properly set up for it. 

We aimed to break the mold with managing audits and claims with GreenSlate by providing simple search, custom reports, and 1-click bulk downloads that make managing audit requests easy.

By taking all the hassle out, all payroll and accounting files requested by auditors can be shared within minutes which can save hours on audit requests or insurance claims. 

When it comes to tax filing reports, they can be directly outputted from the application into whatever the specific governing body requires which for anybody who is familiar will know how much time that can save. 

Tax credit audits may need to be audited by a third party CPA who may in certain circumstances request a random set of qualified transactions or to further inspect the entirety of a qualified ledger. In the GreenSlate Application read-only access can be granted to your auditors so they can pull any required supporting documentation. 

In GreenSlate, production tax incentives and audits are made easy.

Again, this is all made possible by having an all-in-one application. 

We are not afraid to challenge the status quo

At GreenSlate, our mission is accountant centric; by accountants, for accountants. Our purpose is to deliver solutions that provide meaningful change, not just change for the sake of change. 

Peak TV is over, and these solutions are now more critical than ever for the teams that are managing the variety of challenges they face on a daily basis.

We are driven to seamlessly integrate people and technology to make life easier for accountants by continuing to push innovation, pioneer production accounting technology, support our clients around the clock, and as always… challenge the status quo.