Production moves fast, and your tools should too. 

In this episode of Master Your Craft, host Shannon Cruz is joined by Cast & Crew’s Alex Bair, Director of Product Solutions, and Kody Schmidt, Product Manager for Hours+ (Timekeeping). They discuss the biggest 2025 Hours+ (Timekeeping) updates designed to help production accountants move faster, stay compliant, and get more done with less stress. 

From real-time cap tracking to flexible approval workflows and timecard overrides, these new tools put more control in the hands of production teams where it belongs. 

Key insights from this episode: 

• Leveraging automation for smarter production finance 
• How to fix timecard issues fast without breaking your workflow 
• The impact of proactive cap tracking on crew and compliance 

Chapters: 

(00:00) Meet Alex Bair and Kody Schmidt 

(01:25) The most impactful updates coming to Hours+ this year 

(03:05) Approval workflows made for self-service 

(05:44) Allowance cap tracking in real time 

(08:11) East Coast incentives and compliance features 

(11:02) Enabling flexibility and efficiency in production workflows 

(16:02) Hours+ for international productions 

(17:58) Future plans for Hours+ in 2026 

(19:55) Rapid-fire round: How Alex and Kody work and unwind 
 
Want a tailored 15-20 minute product walkthrough? Check out this link: https://info.castandcrew.com/2025-product-recap  

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Workflows should work for you, not the other way around. 

In this episode of Master Your Craft, host Shannon Cruz is joined by Cast & Crew’s Alex Bair, Director of Product Solutions, and Jim Gomez, Product Manager for Start+, to explore how the latest Start+ updates will make it easier to manage production at scale. 

Smarter onboarding, international deal support, and customizable approval workflows are just a few of the new features designed to reduce delays, increase flexibility, and keep production moving wherever it happens. 

Key insights from this episode: 

• How Start+ simplifies onboarding for SAG and international crew 
• Why unified logins reduce friction for department heads and admins 
• How self-service workflows enable faster approvals  

Chapters: 

(00:00) Meet Alex Bair and Jim Gomez

(01:23) Above-the-line onboarding goes digital

(04:07) How one login makes work easier

(07:43) Approval workflows you can edit yourself

(11:23) Start+ and the future of global onboarding

(13:59) Form exports built for more efficient crew tracking

(20:01) Designing Start+ with users in mind

(21:43) What’s next for SAG workflows and agent approvals

(23:36) Rapid-fire round: Travel dreams and life hacks

Want a tailored 15-20 minute product walkthrough? Check out this link: https://info.castandcrew.com/2025-product-recap 

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Manual entry. Chasing email approvals. Cross-checking systems. For production accountants, the small inefficiencies add up fast.

In this episode of Master Your Craft, host Stacy Keeter sits down with Kirsten Thayer, VP of User Experience at Cast & Crew, to explore how PSL+, DPO integration, and a powerful new partnership with Eved are removing those friction points.

They talk about how connected workflows, real-time syncing, and mobile-ready approvals are streamlining production finance and making life easier for teams everywhere.

Key insights from this episode:

• How PSL+ and DPO work together to reduce double entry
• What mobile approvals mean for crews on the move
• How Eved enables fast, compliant global payments

Chapters:

(00:00) Meet Kirsten Thayer

(01:28) Real-time syncing and approvals across systems

(02:20) Mobile approvals speeding up decisions in the field

(03:42) How Eved enables seamless international payments

(06:41) Tracking spending and vendor visibility with Eved

(08:44) Future vision for Cast & Crew integrations

(11:12) What mastering your craft means to Kirsten

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The old way of working on budgets involved emailing files, waiting for feedback, and sorting through conflicting versions. This made collaboration more complicated than it needed to be. 

In this episode of Master Your Craft, host Steve Bizenov is joined by Jeff Beckerman, Head of Production at Rain the Growth Agency, to discuss how Showbiz Budgeting simplifies commercial production. From cloud-based collaboration to customizable templates, they dive into the Showbiz Budgeting features that make production accounting more efficient for today’s shoots. 

Key insights from this episode: 

• Key features of Showbiz Budgeting that save time
• How phases help you manage multiple budget versions
• The role of templates in scaling commercial shoots 

Chapters: 

(00:00) Meet Jeff Beckerman 

(02:14) Production budgeting software for real-time collaboration 

(06:06) Showbiz Budgeting’s use cases in production accounting 

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Commercial production has always run on paperwork—scripts, call sheets, timecards. But then Covid happened, and everything changed. 

In this episode, Jesse Perez talks with Nate Gibson about how that disruption led to a digital transformation. What started as a pandemic workaround has evolved into a smarter, mobile-first solution helping productions move faster, stay compliant, and lighten the load for crews. 

Key insights from this episode:  

• Why user-first design matters in payroll 
• The role of mobile tools in modern commercial production 
• Why production tech must evolve with the industry  

Chapters:  

(00:00) Meet Nate Gibson 
(00:31) Creating a digital solution for entertainment production 
(05:30) Streamlining timecards and processes for crew members 
(10:10) Keeping the human touch in a tech-first world 
(11:31) Balancing security and customization in tech 
(13:38) Rapid-fire questions for Nate 
(15:39) What does it mean to be a master of your craft? 

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Every standing ovation starts with a spreadsheet. 

Before the lights go down, someone has to navigate dozens of union rules, tax requirements, and last-minute cast changes. Sarah Galbraith and Ryan Lympus from Checks & Balances Payroll take us inside the rarely seen world of live theater payroll, explaining how their team keeps the show running behind the scenes. 

Key insights from this episode: 

• Why live theater requires specialized payroll services 
• The role of technology in payroll processing and security 
• How Checks & Balances supports clients across diverse productions 

Chapters: 

(00:00) Meet Sarah Galbraith and Ryan Lympus 

(00:39) Why live theater requires a specialized payroll company 

(02:03) How tech is saving the payroll game 

(03:47) Who uses Checks & Balances (it’s more than just Broadway) 

(04:38) Why they love this work and what’s coming next 

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There’s no room for error when it comes to payroll taxes. A misstep can be costly.

In this episode, Cast & Crew’s Payroll Tax Manager Joe Gutierrez shares how the team keeps up with shifting tax laws, rising tech trends, and the growing role of AI in payroll.

Key insights from this episode:

• How to stay informed about tax regulations 
• Why payroll tax is deeply personal 
• The future of automation in tax workflows

Chapters:
(00:00) Meet Joe Gutierrez
(01:22) The personal side of payroll tax work
(02:48) Payroll tax trends and emerging tech

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Content is being created faster than ever, which means it’s critical to manage rights and protect every asset. 

In this episode, we talk with Rori Floyd and Mark Egmon from The TEAM Companies to discuss the challenges advertisers face with AI, offshore production, and rights management. They also share how expert business affairs help keep content safe and compliant in today’s fast-moving advertising world.

Key insights from this episode:

• The impact of AI on commercial advertising 
• How offshore production affects the marketing ecosystem
• The increasing complexity of rights management 

Chapters:

(00:00) Meet Rori Floyd and Mark Egmon

(00:58) The shift towards AI and offshore production

(03:03) The complexity of rights management 

(06:13) How advertisers are dealing with business affairs 

Follow us on our socials:

Learn more on https://castandcrew.com/

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This is Master Your Craft, powered by Cast & Crew. 

This show goes beyond the basics of production, uncovering the expertise and stories that drive the entertainment industry. From big-name industry leaders to behind-the-scenes pros, each episode reveals how different aspects of production, from financing to performance, come together to create something extraordinary.