Film budgeting, crew contracts and music rights software in Montréal (2026)

The verdict in three sentences

A production company running 40 projects a year cannot steer its margins with six spreadsheets: the budget, the call sheet and the crew deal memo must share the same data. Off-the-shelf tools at CAD 50 to 200 per user per month handle budgeting or scheduling well, rarely both, and almost never music licence expiry dates. A custom platform at CAD 70,000 to 130,000 (2026 ballpark) makes sense once one expired licence, one payroll mistake or one rejected tax credit expense costs more than the tool.

Six files, four risks: diagnosing a Montréal production company

The typical case: a company in the Mile End, 9 permanent staff, 40 projects a year (12 one-hour documentaries for broadcasters and streamers, 28 commercials and corporate films), 150 to 250 freelance crew engagements a year. The head of production juggles:

• the production budget in a spreadsheet, copied into the financing structure;
• the shooting schedule and call sheets in Word;
• crew deal memos under the applicable union agreements (AQTIS 514 IATSE for technicians, UDA for performers), with payroll handled by an entertainment payroll provider;
• a music and archive rights log (term, territory, media) nobody keeps current;
• actual costs, reconciled against the budget only once the project is wrapped;
• tax credit files: the Québec film and television production credit administered with SODEC and Revenu Québec, and the federal Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, both based on eligible labour expenditure that must be documented.

The risks are real: a film streamed beyond a track's licence term, a call sheet sent with the wrong call time, an overspend discovered too late, labour costs that cannot be evidenced for the credits.

Off-the-shelf tools or custom platform: the 2026 comparison

The market offers budgeting software, scheduling and breakdown tools, and entertainment payroll. As a 2026 ballpark, budget CAD 50 to 200 per user per month depending on modules. For 6 users across two tools, the annual bill quickly reaches CAD 7,000 to 16,000, and the data still does not flow between them.

A custom platform should not replace entertainment payroll: it feeds it cleanly through an export. Its value is the single thread from budget to shoot, crew, rights and costs.

What a production company's software must include

• Budget and estimate, versioned, switching automatically to the cost report once the project is greenlit.
• Crew and talent profiles: roles, usual rates, availability, union status, paperwork.
• Schedule and call sheets generated from the shooting plan, sent by email and SMS the day before.
• Deal memos prefilled under the right agreement, e-signed, exported to payroll.
• Rights register: music, archive and third-party footage with term, territories, media and alerts 90 and 30 days before expiry.
• Cost tracking: purchase orders, supplier invoices, variance per budget line, and labour evidence filed for the Québec and federal tax credits.

Kolonell builds this kind of tool through its custom web applications offer; scope and price are set in the quote.

Mini case study

Émilie, head of production at a Montréal company (40 projects a year, CAD 6 million turnover), compares two options.

• Off-the-shelf option: 6 users × CAD 120 × 12 months = CAD 8,640 a year, with re-keying still in place.
• Custom option: CAD 110,000, plus about CAD 14,000 a year in maintenance and hosting.

Expected gains from custom: 2 days of re-keying saved per project × 40 projects = 80 days at CAD 500 a day, so CAD 40,000. One music rights dispute avoided a year on average: CAD 15,000. Overspends caught earlier: 1% of margin preserved on CAD 6 million, so CAD 60,000. Fewer disallowed labour costs on tax credit claims, conservatively CAD 10,000. Total about CAD 125,000 a year, minus CAD 14,000 of maintenance, so CAD 111,000 net. The CAD 110,000 investment pays back in about 12 months.

FAQ

How much does production management software cost in 2026?

Off-the-shelf tools cost CAD 50 to 200 per user per month depending on modules. A custom platform covering budgets, crew deals and rights sits around CAD 70,000 to 130,000 as a 2026 ballpark.

Can the software help with Québec and federal tax credit claims?

Yes, by tagging every labour cost to the project, the person and the eligible category as it happens. Your accountant still prepares the claim, but the evidence is complete instead of rebuilt over 2 to 3 weeks.

Do we need to replace our entertainment payroll provider?

No, in most cases. The platform prepares deal memos and exports data to payroll, removing double entry on 150 to 250 engagements a year.

How do we stop a track being used after its licence ends?

With a rights register storing term, territory and media for each work, plus alerts 90 and 30 days before expiry. One takedown avoided often covers several months of maintenance.

How long until the platform is live?

About 5 months for a custom build, with a first usable version for budgets and call sheets by month three.

Let's scope your project. Budgets, call sheets, crew deals and rights register: we define the scope with your production team and a timeline of about 5 months. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.