Film Accounting Glossary
Job number
What is a job number?
Also called job code, or project code.
A job number is the identifier assigned to a production, episode, or commercial spot so that costs can be tracked separately when a company has more than one project running.
On a series, the job number distinguishes episodes; at a vendor or production services company, it distinguishes clients. It is the field that makes any cross-production allocation reportable rather than guesswork.
Example
A production services company runs four commercials at once. Each carries a job number, so a $6,000 camera rental shared across two shoots is split 60/40 between jobs rather than landing arbitrarily on whichever client is billed first.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
The field that makes cross-production allocation reportable. On a series it distinguishes episodes; at a vendor it distinguishes clients.
Common mistake
Running several projects through one set of accounts. Shared costs then land on whichever job was billed first rather than on the ones that used them.
Related questions
- What is a job number used for?
- Separating costs by production, episode, or spot when a company runs more than one project, so shared costs can be split rather than dumped.
- Do television series use job numbers?
- Yes, typically one per episode, which is what makes episodic cost reporting and season amortization possible.