Film Accounting Glossary
Account code
What is an account code?
Also called cost code, or account number.
An account code is the number a production's chart of accounts assigns to each category of spending, so every cost lands in a consistent place on the budget and cost report.
Codes are usually four to six digits, split into a major account (the department) and a detail account (the specific line), for example 2200 for camera and 2201 for the camera operator. Miscoding is the single most common cause of a cost report that will not tie to the budget.
Example
A grip truck coded to 2500 (grip equipment) instead of 3300 (transportation) makes transportation look under budget and grip look blown. Two department heads then spend a week chasing a variance that does not exist, until someone reads the ledger detail behind the report.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
On every purchase order, invoice, timecard, and petty cash receipt. Set once from the chart of accounts before prep, and not renumbered mid-show.
Common mistake
Inventing a code mid-show because nothing quite fits. The new code sits outside the budget, so the cost appears in the ledger and in no variance anyone is reviewing.
Related questions
- How long is a film account code?
- Usually four to six digits, split into a major account for the department and a detail account for the specific line, for example 2200 camera and 2201 camera operator.
- What happens if a cost is coded to the wrong account?
- Two departments get wrong variances: one looks under budget, the other looks over. The show's total is right, so nothing flags it until someone reads the ledger detail.