Estimating is where margin is won or lost, and it is usually done fastest and with the least structure of anything a production company does.
A brief arrives, a senior producer spends a day in a spreadsheet, and the assumptions behind the number live nowhere. Two weeks later nobody can reconstruct why a line was priced the way it was, or which version the client actually approved.
Describe the job and get proposed line items, assumptions, warnings, and scenario totals for a producer to review. The output is a reviewable draft, not an answer.
Your tenant's labor and package rates are the primary source. Where no match exists the gap stays visible instead of quietly becoming company policy.
Issue scenarios for the client to choose between without disconnecting them from the estimate's state, so the presented option and the underlying math are the same object.
A valid client approval records the selected scenario and creates the project and initial budget together, which removes the re-keying step where numbers usually drift.
Saved scenarios, normalized line math, assumptions, and append-only snapshots mean the issued decision can be rebuilt months later.
Every capability on this page is in the running product. These are the surfaces that implement it. We publish them because a claim you can check is worth more than one you cannot.
| Dimension | Planning-only production tools | Production Engine |
|---|---|---|
| Rate source | A generic template or industry average | Your company rate card, with unmatched lines left visible |
| Client presentation | Export to PDF and email | A hosted option review that records the decision |
| After approval | Retype the approved number into a budget | Approval converts into the project and its initial budget |
| Version history | Filenames | Saved scenarios and append-only snapshots |
“Planning-only production tools” describes the common shape of scheduling, call-sheet, and breakdown products, not one named competitor. For a direct comparison, see Production Engine vs StudioBinder.
No. It proposes structure (line items, assumptions, and warnings) against your rate card. The producer reviews and decides. Where the rate card has no match, the gap is shown rather than filled with an invented number.
Yes. Scenarios are issued as client-facing options that remain attached to the estimate, so choosing one records which version was approved.
The selected scenario is recorded and the project and its initial budget are created from it, so the approved totals are not retyped.
Start free and bring a brief you already priced. If the estimate, the budget, and the close do not hold up against how you actually work, you have lost an afternoon.