Production moves fast, and your tools should too.

In this episode of Master Your Craft, host Shannon Cruz is joined by Cast & Crew’s Alex Bair, Director of Product Solutions, and Kody Schmidt, Product Manager for Hours+ (Timekeeping). They discuss the biggest 2025 Hours+ (Timekeeping) updates designed to help production accountants move faster, stay compliant, and get more done with less stress.

From real-time cap tracking to flexible approval workflows and timecard overrides, these new tools put more control in the hands of production teams where it belongs.

Key insights from this episode:

• Leveraging automation for smarter production finance
• How to fix timecard issues fast without breaking your workflow
• The impact of proactive cap tracking on crew and compliance

Chapters:

(00:00) Meet Alex Bair and Kody Schmidt

(01:25) The most impactful updates coming to Hours+ this year

(03:05) Approval workflows made for self-service

(05:44) Allowance cap tracking in real time

(08:11) East Coast incentives and compliance features

(11:02) Enabling flexibility and efficiency in production workflows

(16:02) Hours+ for international productions

(17:58) Future plans for Hours+ in 2026

(19:55) Rapid-fire round: How Alex and Kody work and unwind

Want a tailored 15-20 minute product walkthrough? Check out this link: https://info.castandcrew.com/2025-product-recap

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Workflows should work for you, not the other way around.

In this episode of Master Your Craft, host Shannon Cruz is joined by Cast & Crew’s Alex Bair, Director of Product Solutions, and Jim Gomez, Product Manager for Start+, to explore how the latest Start+ updates will make it easier to manage production at scale.

Smarter onboarding, international deal support, and customizable approval workflows are just a few of the new features designed to reduce delays, increase flexibility, and keep production moving wherever it happens.

Key insights from this episode:

• How Start+ simplifies onboarding for SAG and international crew
• Why unified logins reduce friction for department heads and admins
• How self-service workflows enable faster approvals

Chapters:

(00:00) Meet Alex Bair and Jim Gomez

(01:23) Above-the-line onboarding goes digital

(04:07) How one login makes work easier

(07:43) Approval workflows you can edit yourself

(11:23) Start+ and the future of global onboarding

(13:59) Form exports built for more efficient crew tracking

(20:01) Designing Start+ with users in mind

(21:43) What’s next for SAG workflows and agent approvals

(23:36) Rapid-fire round: Travel dreams and life hacks

Want a tailored 15-20 minute product walkthrough? Check out this link: https://info.castandcrew.com/2025-product-recap

Follow us on our socials:

Learn more on https://castandcrew.com/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/CastCrew

Instagram: https://instagram.com/castandcrewllc/

LinkedIn: https:/linkedin.com/company/castcrew/
X: https://x.com/CastAndCrewNews

Manual entry. Chasing email approvals. Cross-checking systems. For production accountants, the small inefficiencies add up fast.

In this episode of Master Your Craft, host Stacy Keeter sits down with Kirsten Thayer, VP of User Experience at Cast & Crew, to explore how PSL+, DPO integration, and a powerful new partnership with Eved are removing those friction points.

They talk about how connected workflows, real-time syncing, and mobile-ready approvals are streamlining production finance and making life easier for teams everywhere.

Key insights from this episode:

• How PSL+ and DPO work together to reduce double entry
• What mobile approvals mean for crews on the move
• How Eved enables fast, compliant global payments

Chapters:

(00:00) Meet Kirsten Thayer

(01:28) Real-time syncing and approvals across systems

(02:20) Mobile approvals speeding up decisions in the field

(03:42) How Eved enables seamless international payments

(06:41) Tracking spending and vendor visibility with Eved

(08:44) Future vision for Cast & Crew integrations

(11:12) What mastering your craft means to Kirsten

Follow us on our socials:

Learn more on https://castandcrew.com/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/CastCrew

Instagram: https://instagram.com/castandcrewllc/

LinkedIn: https:/linkedin.com/company/castcrew/

X: https://x.com/CastAndCrewNews