The Shift Toward Paperless Payroll

Many producers are realizing that a paperless payroll software system can have a significant positive impact across an entire production—and the industry is steadily moving in a paperless direction.

“Digital solutions are gaining in popularity in the industry. Our clients appreciate that all their digital startwork, timecards, and PO’s are in one place. For projects using digital payroll and our all-in-one integrated digital accounting solutions, payroll turnaround time and data entry has been cut in half in many cases. For producers and production accountants that have been waiting on the sidelines to see greater adoption, now is the time to jump in to learn what others have already learned—digital saves not only paper, but time and money too.” – Cheryl Esser, VP - Client Application Solutions

The numbers speak for themselves:

• Across the board, users of GreenSlate’s digital solutions have more than doubled in 2018.
• Purchase orders have exploded — 66% of purchase orders processed last month were digital. This increase is from 7x more projects opting to leave paper behind.
• Digital startwork projects have tripled since the beginning of the year, netting a 134% increase year to date in the number of individual crew members.
• Digital timecard usage has climbed 25% across all client projects since January. The number of individual timecards processed is up 69%.

The many benefits of “going digital” with GreenSlate have been heralded by producers, like Claudine Marrotte in a recent issue of Produced By, and include: 

• Crew only needs to enter their startwork information once—this information then prefills all startwork forms.
• Paper notes that are usually attached to startwork forms can instead be inputted and tracked electronically, leaving an electronic history and audit trail.
• A paperless workflow expedites the approval process: any approver can simply log on to quickly review and approve startwork.
• Digital timecards are easier to read and complete.
• Accountants save time by not having to scan startwork documents, go back to employees for missing information, or deliver the documents to the payroll company.
• Getting started with GreenSlate’s digital solutions is easy, thanks to our step-by-step instructions for both startwork and timecards.

Keys to success for going digital:     

• Communication is key – Let the crew know in advance you are going digital and why it is important.
• Early sign up – Don’t wait until you’re on set. Crew can sign up early.
• Make it mandatory — Once teams are over the learning curve, no one wants to go back to paper. If you ever need to submit a paper form, that’s ok, but try to make paper your backup plan.
• Check your internet – If you are in a remote location, we can help set up wireless internet hotspots.  
• On-site support – If you need someone on-site, let us know. We put people and iPads on locations to help facilitate set-up and answer questions.

To learn more about how going “green” can streamline the payroll process on your next production—and save paper, water, and time in the process—contact GreenSlate at help@gslate.com.