What CAPS does

CAPS (Commercial And Production Services) operates as the commercial, talent, and live entertainment payroll division of Cast & Crew Payroll, LLC, a privately held entertainment-industry payroll specialist headquartered in Burbank, California. The division provides employer-of-record payroll services for crew and talent across four primary verticals: commercial productions (advertising agencies, production companies, and brands), talent payroll (union and non-union performers including actors, extras, voiceover artists, and singers), live entertainment (tours, venues, festivals, sports leagues, and experiential events), and the music industry (labels, studios, and recording facilities). CAPS also delivers end-to-end talent business affairs including contract review, union contract preparation, fee estimation, signatory services for accessing SAG-AFTRA, ACTRA, UDA, AFM, and CFM talent, and celebrity/influencer engagement management.

The technology stack centers on the CAPS Pay payroll system, which automatically syncs with an integrated Onboarding and Timekeeping Platform featuring digital timecards and an AICP- and union-compliant Hours-to-Gross calculator. Commercial accounting and budgeting are handled by CAPS+ Commercial Accounting (job costing, AP/AR, budgets, P.O.s, subaccount-level actuals) and Showbiz Budgeting 10 (real-time collaborative budgeting via Showbiz Cloud with preloaded AICP templates and UK/Australia commercial templates). Supporting modules include a Talent and Rights Management Platform, a Clearance Platform for commercial script/storyboard submission across stations, a Vendor Payment Platform, Music Publishing Administration, and traffic and network clearance services.

Revenue is generated through three streams: professional-service fees on employer-of-record payroll processing (tax withholding, remittance, benefits administration, workers' compensation, and unemployment coverage); subscription-based licensing of CAPS+, Showbiz Budgeting, and the Talent/Rights Management Platform integrated with payroll services; and transaction-fee signatory services that grant non-signatory companies access to union performers. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, with multi-year contracts referenced. Distribution combines an enterprise field sales motion led by three VPs of Commercial Sales and an inside-sales/business development motion handling inbound inquiries, supported by six physical offices across Burbank, New York, Chicago, Detroit, Portland, and Toronto. The TEAM Companies operates as a wholly owned subsidiary providing talent business affairs and signatory services under the same corporate umbrella.

Name

CAPS

Legal name

Cast & Crew Payroll, LLC

Website

https://capspayroll.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

CAPS, a division of Cast & Crew Payroll, provides employer-of-record payroll, accounting, budgeting, and talent business-affairs services to entertainment-industry clients across commercials, live events, music, and union-talent engagements throughout North America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Entertainment Payroll Services

NAICS

Payroll Services (541214)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Global/Multi-Country Payroll & Cross-Border Payments (BPACAIAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Global Payroll & Multi-Country Payroll Management (BPACAHAC), Human Capital Management (HCM) & Payroll Platforms (HDAEAEAJ), Global Payroll & Multi-Country Payroll Coordination (EOR/PEO Interface) (BPAAAHAE), Employer of Record (EOR) & Global Payroll (FSAMAKAB)

Keywords

• Entertainment payroll services
• Production accounting software
• Union talent payroll
• Live event payroll
• Commercial production management

Headquarters

HQ city

Culver City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Employer-of-Record Payroll Services: Full payroll processing services for commercial productions, talent, and live entertainment. Covers employer-of-record services including tax withholding, remittance, benefits administration, workers' compensation, and unemployment coverage. Revenue generated through payroll processing fees based on production crew and talent.
2. Software Platform Subscriptions: Cloud-based software including CAPS+ Commercial Accounting, Showbiz Budgeting, and talent/rights management platforms. Revenue from software licensing integrated with payroll services.
3. Signatory Services: Third-party signatory services enabling companies to work with union talent (SAG-AFTRA, ACTRA, UDA, AFM) without being directly signatory. Fee-based access to union performer agreements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CAPS provides employer-of-record payroll services, tax withholding, union benefit contributions, workers' compensation and unemployment coverage, and project-based accounting/budgeting software for commercial productions, talent (actors, extras, voiceover, singers), live entertainment, and music industry clients across North America. Its integrated platform combines CAPS Pay payroll processing, onboarding and timekeeping, CAPS+ commercial accounting, and Showbiz Budgeting, complemented by talent business affairs, signatory services, and rights/clearance management.

Product overview

CAPS (Commercial And Production Services) operates as a comprehensive entertainment payroll and production management platform under Cast & Crew. The portfolio consists of CAPS Pay as the core payroll engine, supplemented by the Onboarding and Timekeeping Platform with automatic syncing; CAPS+ Commercial Accounting for job costing and project financials; and Showbiz Budgeting 10 for production budgets. Additional modules include Talent Payroll Services with union/non-union coverage, Talent Business Affairs for contract management, and Signatory Services for union talent access. The Live Entertainment and Music Payroll verticals extend employer-of-record services to touring productions, venues, sports, and music industry clients. Supporting platforms include the Talent and Rights Management Platform, Clearance Platform, Global Talent and Rights Management, Traffic Services, Network Clearance Services, Music Publishing Administration, and a Vendor Payment Platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CAPS+ Commercial Accounting: Cloud-based commercial accounting software built for short-term, project-based work supporting job costing and corporate accounting.
• Showbiz Budgeting
• The TEAM Companies

Products and services

• CAPS Pay

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• ADP: Largest US payroll and HR services provider with Run Powered by ADP and ADP Workforce Now. A broad incumbent that competes for general payroll wallet share and could push deeper into entertainment if it builds vertical-specific compliance.
• Workday: Enterprise HCM and payroll cloud platform with deep integrations into HR and finance systems. Represents the systems-of-record incumbent whose expansion into industry-vertical workflows could pressure CAPS's enterprise accounts.
• Paychex: SMB-focused payroll and HR services provider with broad North American reach. Comparable as a generalist payroll alternative CAPS mid-market customers could switch to for lower-friction onboarding.
• Cast & Crew: The parent organization of CAPS and a broader entertainment payroll, residuals, and production services platform. Comparable because it offers overlapping EOR and payroll capabilities across feature film and TV production, the segments CAPS does not directly lead.

Emerging players

• Remote: Global EOR, payroll, and contractor management platform. An emerging competitor pursuing the same multi-country employer-of-record opportunity that CAPS would need to expand into to grow internationally.
• Deel: Global EOR and payroll platform rapidly expanding into media, entertainment, and contractor-heavy verticals. Represents the technology-forward EOR competition CAPS would face if it executes on international payroll expansion.

Direct peers

• Greenslate: Production payroll, accounting, and software provider for commercials, film, TV, and live events. Directly overlaps with CAPS's production payroll, timekeeping, and job-costing capabilities.
• Wrapbook: Modern production payroll and accounting platform serving film, TV, and commercial productions. Competes head-to-head with CAPS Pay and CAPS+ on the commercials and production payroll workflow with an API-first, self-service positioning.
• Entertainment Partners: The closest direct competitor to CAPS in entertainment payroll, production accounting, residuals, and talent/rights software. Both firms serve film, TV, commercials, and live entertainment with employer-of-record and union-compliance capabilities.

Others

• Showbiz Software: Production budgeting and accounting software vendor that competes with Showbiz Budgeting 10 in commercials and features. Adjacent rather than directly competitive because it does not provide EOR payroll.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/capspayroll
• Facebookfacebook.com/CAPSPayroll
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/caps-payroll

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CAPS