Build an estimate that carries kit, crew, edit days and licensing as separate lines, with the extras marked optional so the client picks them. Take a deposit before the shoot and bill the balance before the files go out.
What is inside
Video work is quoted in parts: days, kit, people, post and rights. The estimate should show those parts, let the client choose the ones that are optional, and become the invoice without being retyped.
Every line the budget really has
A shoot day, a second operator, a gimbal, three edit days and a two-year broadcast term are five different costs, and a client will ask about all five. Save each as an item with its own rate and tax, then assemble the estimate from that list instead of typing rates from memory.
The difference between a signed budget and a haggle is usually three add-ons. Mark them optional and the client keeps or removes each one before approving, with the total moving as they choose. Whatever they kept is what carries onto the invoice.
Before the shoot and before delivery
Crew and rental have to be paid whether or not the client changes their mind. A single invoice can carry a deposit now and a balance later, so the money before the shoot and the money before delivery belong to the same document and the same total.
Approval is the moment the numbers stop moving. The estimate converts to an invoice carrying the same lines, quantities and totals, including whichever optional extras survived, so nobody rebuilds the budget at billing time or bills for a version that was never agreed.
Post, costs and the final handover
Post is where a fixed-fee job quietly loses money. Log edit hours to a project on the timesheet while they happen, and record the rental, the drives and the freelance colorist as expenses with their receipts. The hours and the costs sit against the job rather than being reconstructed in December.
The portal is where a production client looks up its own paperwork: the estimate they approved, every invoice raised against the job, what they have paid and what is still open. Send the final invoice, watch it settle there, then release the delivery.
Also included
The same account holds the pitch, the schedule of payments and the costs of the shoot, so nothing moves between tools.
Pitch the concept, the crew and the schedule as a document the client signs in the browser.
Bundle a wedding day, a highlights film and the raw footage into one priced package.
Let a client add a second shoot day themselves before the estimate is approved.
Bill a monthly video retainer on a schedule instead of raising the same invoice again.
Attach PayPal, Stripe, Square, Razorpay or four others to the invoice you send.
Automatic reminders and late fees run on overdue invoices without you writing the email.
Record camera hire, drives, insurance and travel as expenses with receipts attached.
Add supported team members such as an editor or producer and assign each person an appropriate role. Review the Pricing page for current team limits and costs.
Invoice an overseas agency in their currency while your own reports total in yours.
Raise a purchase order for a gear rental, then record the bill and the payment against that vendor.
Pick an invoice template that carries the studio's logo and colors on every document you send.
The income report totals what a season of shoots billed, drawn from the same ledger.
Questions
Yes. Mark a drone day, a color grade or an extra round of edits as optional and the client keeps or removes each one in the portal, with the total updating as they go. You can also let them change quantities, such as adding a second shoot day.
One invoice can carry a deposit and a balance through split and partial payments. Bill a percentage when the estimate is approved and the rest before delivery. The client can see what has been received against the job and what is still outstanding on it.
Yes. An approved estimate converts to an invoice with the same lines, quantities and totals, including whichever client-removable items the client kept. Nothing is retyped, so the invoice cannot drift away from the budget the client actually signed off on.
Yes. Projects and a timesheet are part of the same account, so hours logged during post are recorded as they happen rather than estimated afterwards. Rentals, drives and freelance invoices go in as expenses, with the receipt kept on the transaction itself.
Licensing is a line like any other, with its own rate and tax, so a two-year broadcast term or a usage extension can be quoted on the original estimate or raised later as its own invoice against the same customer.
Review the current Pricing page for available plans, limits, billing options and trial terms. Packaging can change, so this page avoids repeating volatile pricing details.
Put the kit, the crew, the edit and the license on one estimate, let the client pick the extras, and bill it in two halves.
