Production Cost Report: Complete Guide for Film (2026)

The production cost report is the single most important financial document in film production. Not the budget, not the top sheet. The cost report. The budget tells you what you planned to spend. The cost report tells you what you are actually spending, where you are headed, and how much time you have left to fix it.

Most indie filmmakers understand budgeting reasonably well. Far fewer understand how to build, read, and act on a production cost report. That gap is where productions go over budget. This guide covers everything: what a cost report is, how it's structured, how to read each column, and how to use it as a real-time management tool rather than a post-mortem document.

What Is a Production Cost Report?

A production cost report (also called a weekly cost report, WCR, or simply "the cost report") is a document that compares your budgeted costs against your actual costs to date, your committed costs, and your projected final cost for every line item in the production budget.

It is produced weekly during principal photography and distributed to the producer, executive producers, studio or network (if applicable), completion bond company (if the production is bonded), and any investors with reporting rights.

The cost report answers four questions:

1. What did we plan to spend? (Budget)

2. What have we actually spent? (Actual to date)

3. What have we committed to spend? (Committed/purchase orders)

4. What will we end up spending by the end of production? (Estimated final cost)

The fourth question is the hard one. Anyone can add up receipts. The skill in cost reporting is forecasting what each line item will cost at completion, given what you know today about how the production is tracking.

Production Cost Report vs. Film Budget: What Is the Difference?

The budget is a pre-production document. It is built before the cameras roll, based on your script breakdown, shooting schedule, crew deals, and equipment quotes. Once production is locked, the budget becomes your baseline.

The cost report is a production document. It starts from that same baseline and tracks what's actually happening against it in real time. As actual costs come in (through purchase orders, invoices, timecards, and receipts), they populate the cost report, and the production accountant and line producer project forward to estimate whether each department will land on budget, under budget, or over.

The relationship is: budget sets the plan, cost report monitors execution.

The Anatomy of a Production Cost Report

Every cost report follows the same basic column structure, regardless of format or software:

The variance column is what stakeholders read first. Positive numbers mean you're under budget on that line. Negative numbers mean you're over. A well-managed production keeps the variance column as close to zero as possible, with overages in some departments offset by savings in others.

Daily Cost Report vs. Weekly Cost Report

There are two types of cost reports in production:

Daily Cost Report (DCR)

Also called a "hot cost," the daily cost report captures what was spent on a single shooting day. It is compiled by the production accountant from daily time cards, petty cash envelopes, daily equipment charges, and any purchases made that day.

The line producer reviews the DCR first thing each morning for the previous day's costs. If camera department ran three hours of overtime, the DCR shows it. If a location required an emergency spend on additional permits, the DCR shows it. The value of the DCR is speed: you see problems within 24 hours, not at the end of the week.

Weekly Cost Report (WCR)

The weekly cost report is the full accounting of production finances, produced every Friday (or Monday covering the previous week). It aggregates all daily costs, pending invoices, open POs, and crew payroll into a complete picture of where the production stands financially.

The WCR is the primary reporting document distributed to producers, financiers, and completion bond companies. A typical WCR covers:

• Above the line (story, producers, director, cast)

• Below the Line: Production (all principal photography departments)

• Below the Line: Post-Production (editing, VFX, sound, music, color)

• Other (insurance, legal, overhead)

• Fringes (payroll taxes and union benefits)

• Contingency (showing how much has been drawn and what remains)

• Grand total variance

How to Read a Production Cost Report

Start With the Grand Total Variance

The first number a producer or financier reads is the grand total variance at the bottom of the cost report. If it's a large negative number, there is a serious problem. If it's close to zero or positive, the production is tracking on budget.

Identify the Worst Variances by Department

After the total, look at department-level subtotals. Which departments are significantly over or under? A camera department running $10,000 over budget is more alarming than an art department running $500 over. Prioritize the large variances.

Check Contingency Draw

The cost report always shows contingency as a separate line: original contingency amount, total drawn to date, and remaining contingency balance. Contingency depletion rate tells you how much buffer is left. A production halfway through its schedule that has already drawn 70% of contingency is in trouble.

Look at Estimated Final Cost vs. Actual to Date

Comparing EFC to actual-to-date reveals how much of each department's budget is still unspent. A department that has spent 80% of its budget but is only 50% through the shoot is going to run over. The EFC column should reflect this projection, but if it doesn't, the line producer needs to update it.

Watch the Committed Column

The committed column shows costs that are contractually obligated but not yet invoiced. These are real costs that will become actual costs within days or weeks. A department with a low actual-to-date but high committed balance is not underspending. They've already committed the money, the invoice just hasn't arrived yet.

Building a Production Cost Report

Step 1: Start From the Approved Budget

Every line item in the cost report begins with the approved budget number. This is the baseline against which all actuals and projections are measured. The budget should be locked before production starts and should not be changed without a formal budget revision.

Step 2: Enter Actual Costs Daily

As timecards, petty cash envelopes, invoices, and receipts come in, the production accountant enters them against the appropriate account codes. This is the "actual to date" column. Accuracy depends on receipts being submitted promptly (within 24-48 hours) and on timecards being accurate.

For a full breakdown of how the expense tracking system that feeds the cost report works, see our guide to managing film production expenses, covering purchase orders, petty cash, and daily hot costs.

Step 3: Track Open Purchase Orders as Committed Costs

Every approved PO that has not yet been invoiced is a committed cost. The production accountant maintains a PO log and enters open PO amounts in the committed column. When the vendor invoices and the invoice is paid, it moves from committed to actual.

Step 4: Project the Estimated Final Cost

The EFC is the judgment call that separates a good production accountant from a great one. For each line item, the question is: given what's been spent, what's committed, and what's still coming, what will this line cost by the end of production?

For straightforward line items (fixed-fee contracts, equipment rentals with known daily rates), the EFC calculation is arithmetic. For variable costs (overtime, materials, per diems on a shoot with an uncertain end date), it requires judgment and knowledge of how the production is actually running.

Step 5: Calculate Variance and Flag Issues

Variance is budget minus EFC. Negative variance means you're projecting to spend more than budgeted. Flag every line with a negative variance, note the cause (schedule overrun, rate increase, scope change), and identify whether there are offsets elsewhere in the budget.

Step 6: Distribute to Stakeholders by Friday

The WCR should be in producers' and financiers' hands by end of day Friday (or first thing Monday for the prior week). Late cost reports create anxiety and reduce the time stakeholders have to respond to problems. Consistent, on-time reporting is itself a confidence-builder with investors and bond companies.

Sample Production Cost Report Structure

Here is a simplified example of what a cost report section looks like for a camera department:

Reading this: Camera is projecting $2,900 over budget, driven by overtime ($2,200 over) and a 1st AC overage ($700 over). The DP, operator, and camera package are tracking on budget. The line producer needs to either tighten overtime in the remaining shoot days or find $2,900 in savings elsewhere.

Tools for Production Cost Reporting

Spreadsheets

Excel and Google Sheets work for small productions but require manual entry of all data, manual formula maintenance, and manual distribution. Version control becomes a problem when multiple people are editing different versions of the same document. Formulas break. Numbers get entered in the wrong cells. On a fast-moving production, these errors compound.

Movie Magic Budgeting

Movie Magic Budgeting includes cost reporting features and is the industry standard for larger productions. It requires the same data to be entered as any system, but the account code structure and reporting formats are familiar to studio production accountants and bond companies. At $42.99/month and desktop-only, it's overkill for most independent films.

Dedicated Production Finance Software

Platforms like Saturation connect your budget directly to your actual expenses, so cost report data updates automatically as expenses are entered rather than requiring manual data transfer. When a vendor invoice is logged, it updates the actuals column in real time. When a PO is approved, it populates the committed column immediately.

This reduces the time the production accountant spends building the weekly cost report and reduces the risk of data entry errors. Producers can see an up-to-date cost picture at any point during the week, not just on Friday when the WCR is distributed.

For a comparison of production accounting tools for independent films, see our guide to film production accounting software.

Common Production Cost Report Mistakes

Confusing Actual With Committed

A department that shows low actuals but high committed costs is not underspending. The money is committed; the invoice just hasn't arrived. Treating committed costs as available budget leads to double-spending and budget surprises at wrap.

Optimistic EFC Projections

The most dangerous thing in a cost report is an EFC that assumes everything will go perfectly for the remaining shoot days. If a department is tracking over through week three, the EFC for that department should reflect the actual trajectory, not the hope that overtime will stop happening. Honest EFCs are more valuable than comfortable ones.

Late Submission

A cost report submitted Tuesday covering the previous week gives stakeholders less than four days to respond before the next report. Cost reports submitted Friday give the weekend for review and Monday for action. Late reporting is a form of financial negligence on a bonded production.

Missing Post-Production Commitments

Productions often track principal photography costs carefully and then lose discipline in post. Editor contracts, VFX bids, sound facility bookings, and music licensing deals are all committed costs that should appear in the cost report from the moment the agreement is signed, not when the invoice arrives.

Ignoring Fringes on Cost Report Updates

When actual labor costs change (overtime, additional crew days), the fringe costs on top of those wages change proportionally. If camera department runs $5,000 in overtime, the fringe on that overtime must also be reflected in the cost report. Productions that track labor overages but not the associated fringe overages are understating their true costs.

Building Your Budget: A Checklist for Cost Report Success

• Lock the approved budget before production starts and load it into your cost report system

• Establish daily timecard and receipt submission deadlines (within 24 hours)

• Assign all expenses to the correct account codes from day one

• Update the committed column every time a PO is approved

• Review DCR every morning with the line producer

• Produce WCR every Friday and distribute by end of day

• Update EFC projections weekly based on actual production trajectory, not optimistic assumptions

• Track contingency draw separately and report remaining balance each week

• Close out each department's cost report within two weeks of wrap

The foundation for a clean cost report is a well-built budget. If you're starting from scratch, see our complete guide to how to create a film budget before setting up your cost report system.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a production cost report in film?

A production cost report (also called a weekly cost report or WCR) is a financial document that compares budgeted costs against actual costs, committed costs, and estimated final costs for every line item in the production budget. It is produced weekly during principal photography and distributed to producers, financiers, and completion bond companies to monitor whether the production is on budget.

What is the difference between a daily cost report and a weekly cost report?

A daily cost report (DCR or "hot cost") captures what was spent on a single shooting day, compiled from timecards, petty cash, and daily invoices. The line producer reviews it the following morning. A weekly cost report is the full accounting of all production costs, produced every Friday, showing actuals to date, committed costs, and projected estimated final costs across all departments.

What does EFC mean on a cost report?

EFC stands for Estimated Final Cost. It is the production accountant's and line producer's projection for what a given line item will ultimately cost by the end of production, based on current actuals, committed costs, and the remaining schedule. The EFC column is where the cost report becomes a forecasting tool, not just a ledger of past spending.

What is a committed cost on a production cost report?

A committed cost is an expense that has been contractually authorized but not yet invoiced. On a cost report, it typically represents approved purchase orders where the vendor has not yet submitted an invoice. Committed costs are real financial obligations and must be included in the cost report to give an accurate picture of total production exposure.

Who receives the weekly cost report?

The weekly cost report is typically distributed to the producer, executive producers, studio or network business affairs (on studio productions), the completion bond company (if the production carries a completion bond), and any equity investors or financiers with contractual reporting rights. The line producer and production accountant build it; the producer is responsible for its accuracy.

How do I track contingency on a cost report?

Contingency appears as its own line in the cost report, showing the original contingency amount, the total drawn to date (with reasons documented), and the remaining balance. Every draw from contingency should be documented with a specific cause. The remaining contingency balance tells you how much financial cushion is left for the remainder of production.

What account codes are used in film production cost reports?

Film production cost reports use standardized account code ranges: 1000-1999 for above-the-line costs (story, producers, director, cast), 2000-4999 for below-the-line production costs (organized by department), 5000-5999 for post-production, 6000-6999 for other costs (insurance, legal, overhead), 7000-7999 for fringes, and 8000-8999 for contingency. These codes are consistent across productions and recognized by production accountants, bond companies, and studios.

Can I build a production cost report in a spreadsheet?

Yes, but it requires significant manual maintenance. You need columns for budget, actual to date, committed, EFC, and variance for every line item, plus formulas to calculate department and grand total subtotals. The risk is data entry errors, formula breaks, and version control problems when multiple people are working with the document simultaneously. Cloud-based production software like Saturation connects expense data to cost report columns automatically, reducing manual entry and the errors that come with it.