The verdict in three sentences
A London producer co-producing drama series shot in Dakar works with season budgets of roughly GBP 230,000 to 900,000 (150 to 600 million FCFA), and a 5 % overrun can wipe out the margin. Custom production software links script breakdown, shooting schedules, cost reporting and cast fees paid by Wave or Orange Money, while keeping a clean rights register for UK, African and streaming windows. At Kolonell, this is a medium-complexity application (4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA, i.e. 6,100 to 10,670 EUR), or complex once multi-currency co-production and rights management are included.
Where time and money leak on a co-production
On a 10-episode series, a London company typically handles development, financing and post-production, while the Dakar partner runs the shoot: 80 cast and crew, 15 to 25 locations, equipment hire, transport and catering. Two currencies, two teams and spreadsheets emailed across time zones produce duplicate entries and late cost reports that UK financiers and tax relief auditors will not accept.
| Item | Current practice (2026 order of magnitude) | With dedicated software |
|---|---|---|
| Daily schedule | Rebuilt by hand, 2 to 3 h a day | Generated from breakdown, adjusted in 20 min |
| Call sheets | PDFs sent late on WhatsApp | Automatic dispatch at 6 pm the day before |
| Cast and crew fees in Dakar | 3 to 10 days delay, frequent errors | Bulk Wave or Orange Money payout within 48 h |
| Cost report to financiers | Monthly, assembled manually | Weekly, in GBP and FCFA, by account code |
| Average overrun | 8 to 15 % | Brought down to 3 to 5 % |
| Rights by territory | Paper contracts and emails | Rights register with expiry alerts |
Key modules for production software
UK and US scheduling tools cost GBP 30 to 80 per user per month in 2026 (order of magnitude), price in dollars, ignore mobile money fees and do not model a split between a London cost centre and a Dakar shoot.
| Module | Function | Complexity |
|---|---|---|
| Script breakdown | Scenes, roles, locations, props, extras | Medium |
| Schedule and call sheets | Grouped by location, actor availability constraints | Medium |
| Cast and crew register | Contracts, day rates, availability, IDs | Simple |
| Budget and cost report | Budget by account, commitments, actuals, overrun alerts | Medium |
| Mobile payouts | Fee calculation, bulk payouts, receipts | Medium |
| Multi-currency co-production | GBP and FCFA ledgers, exchange rate snapshots, split of spend | Complex |
| Rights and deliverables | Territory, term, windows, delivery specs per platform | Complex |
Cost per finished minute is the metric commissioners watch. For a season of GBP 460,000 across 10 episodes of 45 minutes, it comes to about GBP 1,020. Tracking it daily lets the producer renegotiate a location or consolidate shoot days before the money is gone.
Budget and timeline
A first release covering cast register, schedules, call sheets and fee payouts falls in the medium band: 4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA (6,100 to 10,670 EUR), delivered in 10 to 12 weeks, ideally between seasons. Adding multi-currency co-production, the rights register and platform deliverables moves it to complex: 7,000,000 to 15,000,000+ FCFA (10,670 to 22,870+ EUR). Maintenance runs 75,000 FCFA per month at Standard level. Hosting and accounting integration are quoted separately.
Mini case study
Hannah, head of production at a London company, co-produces a season budgeted at GBP 460,000 with a Dakar partner. The last two seasons overran by 10 % on average, GBP 46,000. Her Dakar production manager spends 2.5 hours a day on scheduling across 60 shoot days, or 150 hours.
With a medium-complexity application in the 4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA band, overruns fall to 4 % (GBP 18,400), saving GBP 27,600 in the first season. Scheduling drops to 30 minutes a day, freeing 120 hours. Even after a year of Standard maintenance, the project pays for itself before the first shoot wraps.
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FAQ
Can we pay 80 people in Dakar in one go?
Yes. The software produces a bulk payout file for Wave or Orange Money from approved working days. A batch of 80 fees takes under 15 minutes instead of a full day.
Does it work on set with poor connectivity?
The mobile app keeps call sheets and time records offline, then syncs when the network returns. That matters for shoots in Saint-Louis or Casamance, 4 to 8 hours from Dakar.
Can it produce cost reports in GBP for UK financiers?
Yes. Each expense is stored in FCFA with the exchange rate of the day, and reports are generated in GBP by account code. That supports audits for UK tax relief claims on qualifying spend.
How are rights tracked across several buyers?
Each licence is recorded with territory, term and medium, for example 5 years SVOD in the UK and 3 years free-to-air in Senegal. An alert fires 90 days before each expiry.
Do we have to build everything at once?
No. We recommend two phases: production first (10 to 12 weeks), then rights and co-production. The second phase is quoted after the first season.
More context: our custom web applications and the case of football academy software in Kinshasa.
Let's scope your project. We define the production and rights modules for your co-production and a delivery plan timed between two seasons. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
