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Movie Magic Budgeting alternative

An alternative to Movie Magic Budgeting for short form.

Movie Magic Budgeting is the long-standing desktop standard for feature film and television budgets, built around a chart of accounts, globals and guild fringes.

If your work is commercials, music videos, photo or branded content, you probably bid in the AICP layout instead. ACTUALS is built for that work, and it runs in the browser.

Start a budget

Different jobs, different formats

Feature and episodic budgets run to thousands of lines over many accounts, with guild agreements, fringes by union and amortization across episodes. Short-form budgets are bid fast, compared against other bids by an agency, awarded, and then delivered to a fixed number. The AICP layout exists for exactly that.

What ACTUALS gives a short-form producer

  • The AICP-format sections and line numbers agencies expect, ready to bid.
  • Fringes, production fee, insurance, talent fees and post markups worked out for you.
  • One live budget shared with your team, with view, edit and section-level permissions.
  • Lock the approved bid, then track purchase orders, payroll and petty cash against it.
  • An AICP-format PDF on your letterhead, and an Excel export that reconciles with the top sheet.
  • Nothing to install: any computer with a browser.

When to stay with Movie Magic

If you budget studio features or episodic television, with a full chart of accounts, guild fringes and a production accountant on a dedicated system, a feature budgeting program is the right tool. ACTUALS does not try to replace it there.

Questions

For commercials, music videos, photo, branded content and short films, yes. For studio features and episodic television, a dedicated feature budgeting program remains the standard.

Three budgets free. Every feature, no card.

Start a budget