Overview
Q: What is Onboarding and Timekeeping?
A: It’s Cast & Crew’s digital solution that helps productions quickly bring crew on board and track their work hours, designed specifically for commercial projects.
Q: Who is Onboarding & Timekeeping for?
A: It’s designed for Production Supervisors and crew in commercial productions who want to streamline hiring and time tracking.
Q: What features and benefits should I expect from Onboarding and Timekeeping?
A:
Centralized Timecard Dashboard
Track, batch, and approve in one clean view
- Autofill + Copy Tools
Track, batch, and approve in one clean view
- Contract-Based Rate Filtering
Prevent errors with rate-type filtering tied to actual crew contracts
- Point Zero + Hours-To-Gross Reports
Get financial clarity with just one click
Updated Loan-Out Docs
Stay compliant with the current Letter of Indemnification
- Real-Time Payroll Edits
See changes instantly, no resubmissions needed
- Searchable Reimbursements
Locate and manage reimbursements without scrolling
Q: How does Onboarding & Timekeeping make hiring, time tracking, and compliance easier?
A: The platform ensures payroll accuracy while keeping commercial productions compliant. Here’s how:
- Accurate Time Tracking: Digital timecards with built-in validation reduce errors and manual entry.
- Compliance-Ready Workflows: Supports onboarding docs and timekeeping rules aligned with union agreements, state labor laws, and production-specific policies.
- Real-Time Payroll Sync: Approved time flows directly into payroll—no rekeying, fewer delays, and faster payments.
Q: Is Onboarding & Timekeeping integrated with additional systems designed for the entertainment industry?
A: Yes. It’s an all-in-one digital solution fully integrated with MyCast&Crew and our CAPS Pay payroll system, backed by real people with decades of production payroll experience.
MyCast&Crew
If a user already has a profile in MyCast&Crew, Onboarding & Timekeeping automatically pulls that information into the system. For example, if an employee has set up direct deposit in MyCast&Crew, their details will carry over and appear in Onboarding & Timekeeping.
CAPS Pay
Actions in Onboarding & Timekeeping will automatically generate the information in CAPS Pay - no manual entry required in CAPS Pay. Any of the following actions can also be managed within Onboarding and Timekeeping:
- Create Projects
- Add Shoot Locations
- Create, Submit and Countersign Start Paperwork
- Modify and Approve Timecards
- Create Batches
- Submit Batches
Q: What is the Admin-Initiated feature?
A: The Admin-Initiated feature in Onboarding & Timekeeping gives Production Supervisors greater control over project setup. Instead of relying on crew to enter details—which can sometimes lead to errors or extra cleanup—Supervisors can directly add crew members to a project and define key details such as union, occupation, rate, and start date.
This feature is available automatically—no setup required.
Usability
Q: How are Batch Numbers created in Commercials Onboarding & Timekeeping and CAPS Pay?
A: You no longer need to create or record the Batch Number directly in CAPS Pay—this now happens automatically in the timecard workflow.
After timecards are approved, you must still create a batch (all payroll must be in batches with unique names/numbers). Once a batch is applied, Onboarding & Timekeeping will:
- Transmit the timecard data to CAPS Pay automatically
- Generate the CAPS Pay Batch Number
- Sync the auto-generated Batch Number back into Onboarding and Timekeeping
Q: How does Onboarding & Timekeeping handle overtime calculations in timecards?
A: When using Commercials Onboarding & Timekeeping timecards, Payroll will process based on hours worked. The system does not currently display 1.5x, 2x, or gross amounts..
To ensure accuracy, we strongly recommend reviewing all timecards before submission.
The system will still apply overtime calculations according to the overtime rules you select.
Q: How are loan-out requests handled in Onboarding & Timekeeping?
A: If a crew member requests to be paid as a loan-out during onboarding, the process will pause until the Production Supervisors approve or decline the request.
- The project admin receives an email notification of the request.
- The admin can approve or decline the loan-out.
- If approved: The crew member is notified and can proceed using their loan-out company.
- If declined: The crew member is notified and can continue onboarding as a W-2 employee.
Q: Can I select which day of the week a workweek starts in Onboarding and Timekeeping?
A: Currently, the workweek in Onboarding and Timekeeping is always Sunday to Saturday.
Q: Can I make a change to a timecard in Onboarding and Timekeeping or does the employee have to make changes?
A: If the batch has not been submitted to CAPS, you, the Production Supervisor, can make changes to timecards, and the crew member(s) will get a notification to approve the changes. If you want the employee to make changes on their own timecard instead, you can click “Request Changes,” which will send the crew member a notification with a direct link to their timecard to make requested changes. If the batch has already been submitted, it needs to be rejected by the payroll coordinator for you to make changes.
Q: In the “Move to Batch” feature, I see the batch description. Will the batch number also show?
A: In the “Move to Batch” feature, only the batch description will appear; however, you can see the batch number once timecards are batched.
Q: Can I see if forced calls and meal penalties occurred on a timecard?
A: Yes, items such as forced calls and meal penalties will appear as yellow warnings after a timecard has been calculated. Red notifications appear as well for items such as a below scale issues. After a timecard has been moved to a batch, you can click “HTG Details,” which will generate a timecard report that includes meal penalties, forced calls, etc.
Q: Can I view the status of a batch in Onboarding and Timekeeping after payroll has been processed?
A: Yes, you can view the high-level status of a batch in Onboarding and Timekeeping based on mapping. You can see the statuses of “Submitted to CAPS” and “Processing.” The “Paid” status can be seen once it’s sent to the general ledger.
Q: If there is ever an instance of a duplicate payment for an employee, will Onboarding and Timekeeping warn me?
A: Yes, duplicate payments within a project, along with other warnings that CAPS Pay generates, will appear in Onboarding and Timekeeping.
Q: Can I edit a timecard after approving it without permission from the employee?
A: You can still make updates to a timecard after approving it, but if the entire batch was submitted to the payroll coordinator for processing, the payroll coordinator must first reject the batch before updates can be made.
Q: Once a batch is ready to go, do I just message the payroll coordinator?
A: You do not need to notify the payroll coordinator or provide any backup. You simply click the button that reads “Submit to Payroll.” The payroll coordinator will see the batch appear in their worklist.
Getting Started
Q: How do I get started?
A: Getting started is simple. After the production company is set up in the system, both supervisors and crew will receive a link to onboard themselves:
- Your team will receive onboarding support and a step-by-step guide to configure your project.
- Digital onboarding packets and timecard templates can be customized to fit your needs.
Q: Is training or support included?
A: Yes. Training is included. You’ll have access to live sessions, help documentation, and on-demand videos for both supervisors and crew.
You can reach our support team anytime at OAT.support@castandcrew.com
We’re here to help ensure a smooth launch from day one.