AlphA, Film Budgeting Software
 
  1. «Classic» or «Exe» Modes: compatibility between Client and Production Service quote

  2. An AlphA Excel file can be converted in «Exe» mode and sent to Production Service Houses. On return, you will directly import the Service quote in your own. Bids with several Production Service houses become now completely possible.


  1. Independent Quotes: each quote or additive is independent of others in terms of currencies and country location


  1. Consolidation of Quotes: shooting a film in more than two countries (finally!)

  2. Include in one file quotes for each country or for each Production Service and get a global consolidated summary for the entire film


  1. Presentation of Technical Crews: choice between Latin and Anglo-Saxon methods

  2. Choose between Latin (technical crew in a single section) and Anglo-Saxon (technical crew displayed in Art Dept., Studio and Natural Location sections). Any of these two methods can be activated even if the quote is not virgin.


  3. 3D Animation and Detailed Postproduction Quotes: make a detailed professional postproduction quote with an extra page developed in collaboration with postproduction companies


  1. Price List: a specific sheet with standard rates used for quotation (sales rate for Client and cost rates for internal purposes)


  1. Quoting and Tracking Modes: a tool to instantly estimate different margins

  2. Display each quote and additive in two modes:

  3. Quoting Mode (1st step): estimate for the Client

  4. Follow-up Mode (2nd step) with two sub-modes:

  5. Working Budget: with a format similar to the quote (Qty, Nb, Rate and Total columns), instantly estimate the margin using costs rates (entered in price list) instead of sale rates and even the in-house margin on disbursements by excluding in-house costs.

  6. Tracking of Actual Costs: actual expenditures (to close the project)


  1. Production Notes: add up to 3 pages of detailed production notes attached to the Summary


  1. Reduced View: hide empty rows or show rows with special criteria (currency...)


  1. Insurance: adjust the amount on which the insurance is calculated by including or not any items in the quote


  1. Agent Commissions: dedicated column for agent commissions per item


  1. Hotels and Travels: display columns with Hotels and Travels per crew member (with automatic update in Travel and Hotel sections)


  1. Smart Tools: synthesis of key data and simulations

  2. Make simulations with different exchange rates and measure the impact on the quote without changing the existing one

  3. Display results of elements spread through the entire quote (whose total is not visible easily when reading the quote such as total of global  overtime hours)


  1. Security: User and Administrator levels

  2. Limit User access to some elements (standard price list, payroll taxes %, insurance %, mark-up %...)


  1. Other Improvements of AlphA

  2. Choose between as much as 15 different company Client logos available in one AlphA file (internal departments, subsidiaries...)

  3. Affect each item with its own currency and majoration % (used to include Production Service markup)

  4. Hide permanently some sections (studio, locations, postproduction, sound...) that are not used

  5. Print commercial conditions in one of the two languages available at a time, regardless of the language of the printed content

  6. Dynamic glossary of the most common terms and expressions in AlphA (in an educational perspective)

  7. Access to cell format (in production notes as well) to change numbers, fonts, color, border...

  8. Import additive quotes from another AlphA file

  9. Each cell with a standard formula that has been erased is affected with a comment indicating that the formula can be recovered with a right-click

  10. Edit a Consolidated Account Log that is compared with all confirmed quotes (including their actuals), all quotes being merged. The comparison is made according to main sections of a quote (Prep, Talent, Crew, Material, Postproduction...) for easily spotting missing items.

  11. Export Consolidated Account Log in a fully customizable Excel sheet (ex: for account department)


  1. And Still...

  2. Extensive used of right-click (navigate, restore formulas) and double-click (for repetitive tasks such as entering 1, Y, 0)

  3. In an additive quote, automatic recovery of rate used in main budget or in the Price List

  4. Email alert to billing department on confirmation of a quote

  5. Set instantly either domestic or Production Service (Exe) part to zero to enlighten the other

  6. Detailed calculation with synthetic presentation of overtime hours in one column

  7. Automatic weather-day quotes

  8. Management of petty cash (including %VAT, currencies...)