Filmmaker mode is for filmmakers, documentary producers, and anyone tracking production expenses for a specific film or project.
Turn it on
Open the Settings → "Set up ExpenseBot for what you track" → Documentary / Indie Film Producer → Activate, then enter your production name and type (narrative or documentary). On activation, ExpenseBot scans your expense history and automatically applies Film phase tags to expenses that look film-related — equipment, crew, locations, travel during production, and so on.
The Film tags
Film – Pre-Production, Film – ATL, Film – Production, Film – Post, Film – Insurance, Film – Professional Services, and Film – Distribution. Documentary mode adds Film – Subject Releases, Film – Archive Licensing, Film – Translation, Film – Research, Film – Accessibility, and Film – Fair Use.
See your report
Go to My Reports → Insights → Production Cost Report to see your expenses organized by film phase and AICP budget line, with a year-by-year breakdown.
The generated Google Sheet starts with that familiar summary and always adds an Expense Detail tab:
- Expense Detail shows the underlying rows and available source links.
The wizard also offers an Include optional Canadian worksheet checkbox for a CAVCO/Telefilm working view that never guesses residency or tax-credit eligibility. It defaults on for Canadian accounts and off for other or unknown countries; the user's checkbox choice wins.
When at least one expense is explicitly labelled as contractor or freelancer work, the workbook also adds a Contractors tab. Evidence status and source links stay on Expense Detail, so reviewers do not have to reconcile two copies of the same list.
Expand an expense in Review expenses and choose Add document to associate ACH proof or another supporting file without creating a duplicate expense. Generated reports can add a Documents & Credits worksheet with those links and confirmed manual credit relationships; financial rows and totals remain unchanged.
The core Production Cost Report remains available worldwide.
The selected date range starts with all applicable expenses in your master sheet, including expenses used in another report. A Film tag sets the exact production phase and overrides the expense category. If an expense has no Film tag, ExpenseBot still groups it from its expense category when possible. Personal expenses stay out, and anything that cannot be grouped is shown for review instead of being silently omitted.
Use Review and retag expenses in the report wizard to change a tag or category, then return and run Preview again. A generated Production Cost Report is a snapshot and can be rerun after you make changes.
Find more expenses (the AI scanner)
Run Find untagged Film expenses from the Production Cost Report wizard to surface additional blank or default-tagged expenses. You review and approve each suggestion — nothing is changed without your OK (apart from the high-confidence auto-apply at initial activation).
Important: the scanner only touches expenses that haven't been tagged yet, or that carry a generic Business or Personal tag. It never overwrites a tag you've already applied specifically.
To find a contractor, company, or expense that may already have a specific Film tag, open Review Expenses. Search by merchant and filter or change the tag there; the generated Production Cost Report is a snapshot, while Review Expenses and the main Expenses sheet remain editable.
For details on the report output itself, see the Production Cost Report guide.