Modeled on project-based production accounting. No published standard chart of accounts exists for AV and event production, verified across ESTA, IAVM and ILEA, so this describes its model rather than claiming a standard.

Download the event production chart

Pick a format. The file downloads immediately.

What is different

Job margin is the only number that matters, and busy season hides it

Production companies rarely fail on price. They fail because a quarter of heavy sub-rentals and freelance crew looked like growth until the invoices landed, and by then the jobs were long delivered.

This chart puts Sub-Rentals, Freelance Crew, Trucking & Freight and Equipment Rental in cost of sales, coded per job. A job that needed three times the sub-rental to deliver then reads as thin margin immediately, not in a year-end review.

The chart

The full Event production and AV chart of accounts

All 50 accounts, with the note that tells you what belongs in each one. This is the same file the download gives you, rendered here so you can read it without opening a spreadsheet.

Code	Account	Type	What belongs here
4000	Revenue	Income	Services billed to clients, by discipline.
4010	Stage & Lighting Services	Income	Staging and lighting supplied and operated for a client.
4020	Audio Services	Income	Audio system design, supply and operation billed to a client.
4030	Video & LED Services	Income	Video, projection and LED wall services billed to a client.
4040	Equipment Rental Income	Income	Gear rented to clients, billed per day or per event.
4050	Labor & Crew Billed	Income	Crew hours billed on to the client, whether staff or freelance.
4060	Design & Pre-Production	Income	Concepting, design and planning billed before the shoot or show.
4070	Trucking & Logistics Billed	Income	Transport and logistics rebilled to the client.
5000	Cost of Sales	Cost of goods sold	Crew, rental and freight cost carried against the job that produced it.
5010	Freelance Technicians	Cost of goods sold	Freelance technical specialists engaged per job.
5020	In-House Crew Labor	Cost of goods sold	Employed crew time charged to a job.
5030	Sub-Rentals	Cost of goods sold	Gear rented from another vendor to fill out a job.
5040	Expendables & Consumables	Cost of goods sold	Tape, batteries, gels and other items consumed on a job.
5050	Trucking & Freight	Cost of goods sold	Freight and trucking of equipment to and from a job.
5060	Crew Travel & Per Diem	Cost of goods sold	Crew travel, accommodation and per diem on a job.
5070	Rigging & Motors Rental	Cost of goods sold	Rigging hardware and motors hired for a show.
5080	Generator & Power	Cost of goods sold	Temporary power and generator hire for an event or shoot.
5090	Event Insurance & Permits	Cost of goods sold	Event-specific insurance cover and permits.
6000	Operating Expenses	Expense	Operating costs of running the business, below the gross profit line.
6010	Management & Office Salaries	Expense	Salaries for management and administration.
6020	Payroll Taxes & Benefits	Expense	Employer payroll taxes and the cost of employee benefits.
6030	Rent & Occupancy	Expense	Rent plus the occupancy costs that come with the building.
6040	Utilities	Expense	Electricity, gas, water and waste for the premises.
6050	Repairs & Maintenance	Expense	Repairs and upkeep of the building, plant and fixtures.
6060	Software & Subscriptions	Expense	Recurring software licences and subscriptions.
6070	Advertising & Marketing	Expense	Advertising spend and marketing programmes not tied to one event.
6080	Professional Fees	Expense	Accounting, legal and consulting fees.
6090	Business Insurance	Expense	General liability, property and business insurance.
6100	Card Processing Fees	Expense	Merchant fees on card payments taken from customers.
6110	Office & Supplies	Expense	Office consumables and general supplies.
6120	Telephone & Internet	Expense	Phone lines, mobile plans and internet connectivity.
6130	Travel	Expense	Agency travel not recharged to a client.
6140	Meals & Entertainment	Expense	Business meals and entertaining. Partially deductible, so keep it separate.
6150	Licenses & Permits	Expense	Operating licences and permits to trade.
6160	Dues & Memberships	Expense	Trade body memberships and professional dues.
6170	Training & Education	Expense	Staff training, certification and continuing education.
6180	Bank Fees	Expense	Account, wire and other charges levied by the bank.
6210	Warehouse & Storage	Expense	Warehouse, storage and yard costs for gear and stock.
6220	Equipment Repairs & Testing	Expense	Repair and safety testing of owned equipment.
6230	Fleet Fuel & Maintenance	Expense	Fuel and servicing across the vehicle fleet.
6240	Rental Inventory Software	Expense	Software that tracks rental stock and bookings.
6250	Small Tools & Equipment	Expense	Hand tools and small equipment below the capital threshold.
8000	Other Income	Other income	Income earned outside normal trading activity.
8010	Interest Income	Other income	Interest earned on operating and reserve balances.
8020	Grants & Incentives	Other income	Grant funding and government or utility incentives received.
8030	Vendor Rebates & Commissions	Other income	Rebates and commissions paid back to you by suppliers.
9000	Other Expenses	Other expense	Below the line costs that are not part of operations.
9010	Depreciation & Amortization	Other expense	Write-down of tangible assets and amortisation of intangibles.
9020	Interest Expense	Other expense	Interest on notes payable and long-term debt.
9030	Penalties & Late Fees	Other expense	Fines, penalties and late payment charges.

Questions

Event production and AV chart of accounts questions

Should owned equipment and sub-rentals be tracked differently?

Yes, and the distinction is the whole game. Owned gear is a fixed cost you have already paid for; a sub-rental is a direct cost of that job. A job that leans on sub-rentals carries far thinner margin, and only separate accounts reveal it.

How should freelance crew be recorded?

Cost of sales against the job, and watch the 1099 threshold. Freelance crew are usually contractors, so you need a W-9 on file before you pay them and a 1099 at year end for anyone over the threshold. Cleo Pay collects the W-9 at onboarding for this reason.

Where does trucking belong?

Cost of sales. Freight scales with the size and distance of the job, so treating it as overhead makes a local corporate gig and a touring build look equally efficient when they are not.

Can I track profitability per job with this chart?

Yes, provided you code to a job or class in your accounting software as well as to the account. The chart gives you the right accounts; the job dimension is what turns them into a per-job P&L.

See your own invoices coded to this chart

Send us a week of real vendor invoices. We will run them through Cleo, code each one to the right account, and show you the result posted in QuickBooks.

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