Like many accountants, there have been times where I’ve spent excessively long hours in the office approving costs and running reports.

This lack of work-life balance impacts personal well-being and also drastically decreases productivity.

Burnout is a real issue.

I know, I’ve lived it. 

My name is Carrie Sharpe. I’m a Production Accountant, Financial Controller, and Co-Producer. I’ve been in the film industry for 22 years, working on film and TV productions such as Stranger Things, Our Little Secret, and Sweet Magnolias. 

I want to share how using Greenslate has streamlined my accounting team's workflow and saved myself and my team from 12 - 14 hour workdays. 

Integrating various accounting tasks into one interface has made me and my team’s jobs easier and freed up valuable time. It has also helped us leave the office at an hour more appropriate for human beings who value having a little bit of a work-life balance.

You see, I want my team to have a life outside of work. Everybody getting burned out doesn’t do anybody any favors. 

So whenever I run into a situation where I hear “That’s just how we’ve always done it,” and I know it will result in working those long days, I point to GreenSlate and say, “This is how we do it.”

All-in-one interface 

Greenslate combines start work, timecards, purchase orders, and approvals into one system, requiring only a single log-in. This eliminates the need for multiple plugins or compatibility issues. With everything in one place, it simplifies the workflow and makes managing production finances far more efficient.

Digital approval flow

The approval flow in GreenSlate is super convenient. It has customizable workflows, and notifications are sent automatically to the approver. The “next approver” tab provides visibility on which approvers have pending approvals in their queue. This flow covers startwork, timecards, purchase orders, and invoices.

Like I said, it's super convenient.

This is particularly true when you need a rush approval and the approvers are in different locations. The software sends notifications automatically, and approvals can be done in seconds, with backup documents right there on the screen—no more digging through emails or folders.

While I appreciate the search functionality in email has improved over the years, it doesn’t really hold a candle to being able to access documents directly in the software. 

Reports and Views

I customize and save all of my reports in Greenslate, which makes it much faster to generate them in the future. It’s a great time-saver when you need quick access to specific data or when generating reports for different departments.

The customizable view is valuable; you can easily add or remove columns and reorganize them to suit your needs. This flexibility allows you to focus on the most relevant information for your workflow. For instance, if you’re tracking expenses, you can display only the columns that matter to you, such as account codes or amounts. This way, you can find crucial data on the fly without sifting through unnecessary information.

By this point, the time savings is really starting to pile up and I’m almost ready to call it a day at a reasonable hour. 

RELATED: Learn how to become a GreenSlate power user

Payroll

Most payroll software companies offer digital start work and timecards, but Greenslate makes it easy to access everything in one place. Crew members can easily enter their hours, eliminating the need for double entry by the payroll accountant, which reduces processing time and minimizes the risk of human error.

And regardless of how we may strive to eliminate human error, nobody is perfect and it does happen. So any improved chance of minimizing the risk of a mistake being made is going to save time down the road as you don’t have to spend time correcting those errors. 

How about approving timecards? I can sort them by department, account code, or any other criteria I prefer, making the approval process a breeze. Plus, timecards and check copies are readily available, which is super helpful when researching crew members' inquiries.

And by this point, I’m done with my day and I check the clock and its… 6 pm. Of course this happened over time as I used the software more and more and became familiar with it. 

But I did have that realization and looking back at how I used to operate and just accepted that working longer hours was the norm, I wish I could go back in time and tell Old Carrie and her team to get onboard with GreenSlate sooner.

Bottom line: Greenslate has been a game-changer for me. 

It has streamlined my workflow and improved the overall efficiency of my team. 

The time saved allows me to focus on what truly matters—both professionally and personally, and that matters to me 

The issue of work-life balance in our industry is real and pressing. That’s why I’m writing this. I want others to have the ability to find their balance as well.

Technology alone doesn’t make production accounting efficient; choosing the right software does. Tools like Greenslate offer solutions that help us manage our daily tasks and time more effectively. By embracing technology that simplifies our work, we can tackle the long-standing challenges in accounting that impact our lives and well-being.

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