Film Accounting Glossary
Deliverables cost
What is deliverables cost?
Also called delivery items, or delivery schedule cost.
Deliverables cost is the budget for everything a distributor contractually requires at delivery beyond the finished picture itself: masters and versions, textless elements, M&E audio, captions and subtitles, dubbing scripts, artwork, chain-of-title documents, errors and omissions insurance, and music cue sheets.
It is one of the most commonly underbudgeted areas in independent film. A picture is not delivered, and the final payment is not released, until the full list is accepted.
Example
A distributor's list runs to 40-plus items: masters and versions, textless elements, M&E audio, captions and subtitles in three languages, dubbing scripts, artwork, chain-of-title documents, E&O insurance, and music cue sheets. Budget $80,000 and spend $190,000, and the final payment is what waits.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
A post and delivery section of the budget, one of the most commonly underbudgeted areas in independent film. Held against a holdback until accepted.
Common mistake
Budgeting delivery as a rounding error. The list runs to dozens of items, and the final distributor payment is what waits behind the last one.
Related questions
- What is on a film delivery schedule?
- Masters and versions, textless elements, M&E audio, captions and subtitles, dubbing scripts, artwork, chain-of-title documents, E&O insurance, and music cue sheets.
- Why are deliverables so often underbudgeted?
- Because they arrive after the creative work feels finished, and because each item looks small until a distributor rejects the package and the final payment stalls.