Slate vs Wrapbook
Both are production-industry tools, but they solve different problems. Wrapbook is payroll-first for union productions. Slate is operations-first for independent production companies. Here's when each makes sense.
Independent production companies (1-10 crew) tracking projects, clients, invoices, and real profit per shoot — without needing union payroll.
Productions with union crew (IATSE, Teamsters) that need start paperwork, W2 payroll, and tax compliance at scale.
| Feature | Slate | Wrapbook |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Small/mid production shops | Large & union productions |
| Starting price | Free (10 projects) | % of payroll processed |
| Paid crew as W2 | No (you pay your crew however) | Yes (core feature) |
| 1099 contractor support | Yes | Yes |
| Client invoicing | Yes (built-in) | No |
| Per-client profit | Yes (P&L by client) | No |
| Project calendar | Yes (with crew + location) | Limited |
| Mileage tracking | Yes (Google Maps) | No |
| Union compliance | No | Yes |
Pick Slate if…
- ✓You bill clients for productions and want to know your real margin per shoot.
- ✓You pay crew as 1099 contractors, not W2 employees.
- ✓You want to schedule shoots, track crew hours, and send invoices in one tool.
- ✓Your team is under ~10 people and growth isn't the bottleneck — ops visibility is.
Pick Wrapbook if…
- ✓You run union productions with IATSE/Teamsters and need compliant W2 payroll.
- ✓You have a line producer / production accountant who runs the financial side.
- ✓You process >$500K/yr in crew payroll and need full tax compliance handling.
These aren't really competing tools — Wrapbook is a payroll platform, Slate is an operations platform. If you're a 1-10 person video or photo shop running your own shoots, invoicing clients, and paying crew as 1099s, Slate is built for your workflow. If you're running union productions with scale, use Wrapbook for payroll and complement with something like Slate for project visibility.
10 projects free — see what Wrapbook can't show you.