Tracking Team Hours and Payouts per Job

To track team hours and payouts, record every job on one sheet with the person, role, hours or agreed fee, extras and payment status, update it right after each job, and pay on the agreed date. This stops end-of-month guessing and keeps your team confident they will be paid correctly.

This post gives a method and a sample sheet. Tax and employment rules differ by place, so ask a local adviser how to treat team payments.

Why tracking helps

Without a record, payouts depend on memory. Did the second shooter work 8 or 10 hours? Was travel included? Did you already pay the editor for that album?

A simple record helps because:

• People get paid correctly and on time.
• You see the true cost of each job, so you can check profit.
• Disputes are easy to settle.
• Your accountant has what they need.
• You can plan cash flow around payouts.

Link payouts to the job, not to the calendar month. A wedding in March paid in April should still count toward March's job.

What to record

Keep it short. For each person on each job:

1. Job name and date.
2. Person and role.
3. Pay basis: fixed fee, day rate or hourly.
4. Hours, if hourly (start, end, breaks).
5. Extras: travel, parking, meals, overtime.
6. Total owed.
7. Due date.
8. Paid date and method.
9. Notes.

Also keep the signed agreement from the second shooter guide with the person's record. If they send an invoice, file it against the job.

Calculating payouts

Use a clear formula so the same job always gives the same answer.

Day rate: fee + approved extras. Hourly: hours x rate + approved extras. Overtime: extra hours x overtime rate.

Example: a second shooter has a day rate of 150 for 8 hours. The wedding runs 2 hours over, with overtime at 25 an hour, and parking costs 10. Total owed: 150 + 50 + 10 = 210. These figures are an example.

Approve extras in advance when possible. Ask people to send receipts for reimbursements. Round hours the same way every time, for example to the nearest 15 minutes, and write the rule down.

Paying on time

State the payment terms in the agreement and keep them.

• Choose a standard, such as within 7 days of the event or within 7 days of file delivery.
• Pay in batches on a fixed day to save time.
• Send a short note with what the payment covers.
• Keep proof of payment against the job.
• If a delay is unavoidable, tell the person before the due date.

Late payment damages trust faster than almost anything. It also makes people less available on your next busy date. Our onboarding checklist mentions the pay information to share on day one.

Sample sheet

A sheet can look like this:

These are examples. Add a column for the job's total team cost and your profit.

A shared tool is the next step when a spreadsheet becomes hard to maintain. ClickBook records crew per job and shows finance, including profit per job, in one dashboard, and team members see only their own work, never prices or income. Take a look at the demo. If you are comparing systems, see Sprout Studio alternatives for how others handle teams.

Review monthly

Once a month, check that every job has its payouts recorded and paid. Add up your team costs, and compare them with the revenue from those jobs. If the cost is rising faster than income, adjust your pricing or your team size.

Mistakes that cause arguments

• Agreeing a rate in a message and never recording it in one place.
• Counting travel time for one person and not for another.
• Paying a reimbursement without the receipt.
• Changing the rate halfway through a job without a note.
• Forgetting to record a cash payment.

Fix these with a simple rule: nothing is paid until it is on the sheet, and nothing goes on the sheet without a date and a reason. Show each team member their own line once a month, so they can spot errors early. This also builds the habit of treating the record as shared, not secret. If you have an accountant, send them the sheet at the end of the quarter so tax time is quiet.

Frequently asked questions

How do I track what I owe my second shooters?

Record each job, the person, their role, hours or agreed fee and the status of payment on one sheet. Update it when the job ends, not at month-end.

Should I pay team members per job or per hour?

Per job suits weddings and set packages, and per hour suits variable work. Choose one and write it in the agreement.

When should I pay my team?

On the date you agreed, often within a set number of days of the event or after files are delivered. Paying on time builds trust.

Can I use a spreadsheet for payouts?

Yes, a simple sheet works well for a small team. Move to a shared tool when jobs and people multiply.