Behind The Scenes Services

What Behind The Scenes Services does

Behind The Scenes Services Inc. (BTS) is a privately held Canadian professional services firm founded in 2002 and headquartered at 693 Queen Street East in Toronto, with a branch office in Victoria, British Columbia. The company provides one-stop business affairs and administration services exclusively to film, television, and digital content producers across Canada, with client production budgets ranging from under $100,000 to over $100 million and spanning web-series, feature documentaries, unscripted cable MOWs, and large-scale union/guild worldwide streamer series. Its service portfolio covers full-lifecycle production accounting (development through post-production), financial statement preparation, corporate tax filings, royalty and residual reporting for Canadian guilds, recoupment and profit reports, tax/corporate structure consulting, and comprehensive tax credit and funding applications (CAVCO, Ontario Creates, CMF, Telefilm, Bell Fund, NOHFC, CRTC Canadian content status, and international treaty/interprovincial co-production certifications), including managing audits through to final funding collection. Co-founders Thomas Walden, CPA/CA (President) and Eric Birnberg, LL.B anchor the firm alongside Vice-President Mike Skolnik and a small team of chartered accountants, financial analysts, a financial coordinator, an office manager, and a branch manager, with the headcount explicitly counted at roughly 8 named professionals.

BTS has no proprietary technology platform, software product, mobile app, or API; service delivery is entirely people-based and supported by standard office tools and a Wix-hosted marketing website. Revenue derives from professional service fees billed on a project and ongoing production basis, with no publicly disclosed fee schedule; prospective clients are offered free consultations as a lead-generation mechanism. The firm derives differentiation from deep industry relationships, decades of in-the-trenches production experience by principals, an affiliated ecosystem (BTS LLP for CPA services, Birnberg Hanet/Lewis Birnberg Hanet LLP for media/entertainment law, and High Park Entertainment 20/20 Inc. for production and distribution), and a track record that includes Netflix originals (V-Wars, October Faction), Marco Polo, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny, Cash Cab, Home to Win, and Sugar Showdown, with principals collectively having collected hundreds of millions of dollars in federal, provincial, and state tax credits and incentive funding for clients. The addressable market is the Canadian film and television production sector, which is regulated by federal and provincial tax credit regimes that require specialized, audit-ready accounting and certification expertise.

Name

Behind The Scenes Services

Legal name

Behind The Scenes Services Inc.

Website

https://bts-services.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Behind The Scenes Services (BTS) is a Toronto-based Canadian professional services firm, founded in 2002, providing production accounting, tax credit, and business administration services exclusively to film, television, and digital content producers across Canada.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Accounting and Business Administration Services: BTS generates revenue through providing comprehensive business affairs and administration services to film, television, and digital content producers. Services include production accounting, tax credit certification applications, financial statement preparation, corporate tax filings, and funding applications. Revenue is derived from professional service fees for ongoing production support and project-based engagements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Behind The Scenes Services (BTS) is a Canadian professional services firm providing one-stop, cost-effective business affairs and administration services exclusively to film, television, and digital content producers. The firm delivers production accounting across all production phases, prepares financial statements and corporate tax returns, and manages the full lifecycle of federal/provincial film tax credit applications (CAVCO, Ontario Creates) and funding applications (CMF, Telefilm, NOHFC) including audits and collection of funds.

Product overview

Behind The Scenes Services is a professional services firm providing integrated accounting and business administration services exclusively for film, television, and digital content producers. The company operates as a one-stop-shop offering a unified suite of services rather than a software platform. Core offerings include production accounting services (development through post-production), financial statement preparation, corporate tax filings, and comprehensive tax credit/funding application management (CAVCO, Ontario Creates, CMF, Telefilm, NOHFC). The affiliated BTS LLP CPA firm handles financial statement and tax return preparation, while the service portfolio also includes royalty/residual reporting, recoupment reports, corporate structure consulting, and co-production certification services. The company manages the full application lifecycle from compilation through CRA/CPA audit to final funding collection.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Accounting Services Full-service production accounting covering development, prep, production, and post-production phases, including payroll processing, tax filings, accounts payable, cash flow statements, cost monitoring, and audit preparation, provided to film, television, and digital content producers.
• Financial Statements and Corporate Tax Returns Preparation and issuance of financial statements and filing of corporate tax returns for production companies.
• Business Administration, Tax Credits & Funding Services Comprehensive applications for federal and provincial film tax credits (CAVCO, Ontario Creates), CRTC Canadian content status, and funding from CMF, Telefilm, Bell Fund, NOHFC, and other agencies; manages full application lifecycle including audits and collections.
• Royalty and Residual Reports Preparation and issuance of royalty and residual reports for Canadian guilds.
• Recoupment and Profit Reports Compilation of recoupment and profit reports for investors and profit participants.
• Tax and Corporate Structure Consulting Consulting services to ensure compliance with tax credit regulations and optimize allocation of corporate costs eligible for tax credits.
• Co-Production Certification Services Preparation and filing of applications for International Treaty or Interprovincial co-production certification with Telefilm or provincial regulatory agencies.

Quantifiable outcome

• 500+ film and television projects completed
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BTS LLPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA CPA firm operated by BTS principals to handle financial statement preparation and corporate tax return filings for BTS clients. This complementary business ensures integrated service delivery for production accounting needs.
• Birnberg Hanet, LLP (BH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA media, entertainment, telecommunications and technology law firm co-founded by Eric Birnberg, capable of handling the full range of development, production and distribution-related matters on productions, in addition to corporate transactions of BTS clients.
• High Park Entertainment 20/20 Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerA Canadian production and distribution company co-founded by Thomas Walden and Eric Birnberg that may play a useful role for BTS clients in the ongoing development, production or distribution of their film and television projects.
• Lewis Birnberg Hanet, LLPcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBTS can arrange for all production legal services through Lewis Birnberg Hanet, LLP, a media and entertainment law firm that handles legal matters for BTS clients including development, production and distribution-related matters.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Crowe MacKay LLP: Western Canadian accounting and advisory firm with media and entertainment clients across British Columbia and Alberta. Comparable to BTS on tax credit and production accounting engagements, with similar regional focus but broader industry coverage.

Broad incumbents

• PwC Canada: Big Four firm in Canada with a Technology, Media & Telecommunications practice that advises film and TV producers on tax incentives, production finance and audit. Comparable to BTS for larger-budget productions requiring integrated tax credit and assurance work.
• Deloitte Canada: Big Four firm with a TMT practice in Canada serving film, television and digital media clients on tax incentives, audit and advisory. Overlaps with BTS on enterprise-level Canadian film/TV tax credit and production accounting engagements.
• KPMG Canada: Big Four accounting and advisory firm in Canada with a media and entertainment practice that advises producers on tax credit incentives, production accounting and corporate finance. Overlaps with BTS at the enterprise end of the Canadian film/TV market.
• BDO Canada: Major Canadian accounting and advisory firm with an established Media & Entertainment practice serving film and TV producers across Canada. Overlaps with BTS on production accounting, tax credit work and financial statement preparation but operates as a generalist firm.
• MNP LLP: Large Canadian accounting and business advisory firm with a dedicated Media & Entertainment group serving film, television and digital content producers in Canada. Comparable to BTS on tax credit, production accounting and corporate finance work, but with a much broader service portfolio.

Direct peers

• Think Global Entertainment: Specialized financial and business-affairs services firm for film, television and digital content producers, including tax credit and incentive administration. Closely comparable niche and service mix to BTS, particularly for North American tax credit work.
• Cast & Crew: Long-standing US-based provider of payroll, production accounting and residuals services to the entertainment industry (now operating alongside Entertainment Partners). Directly comparable offering to BTS's production accounting and tax credit administration services for film/TV producers.
• Entertainment Partners: The largest North American provider of production accounting, payroll, residuals and incentive management for film and television productions. Closest direct competitor to BTS, operating at far greater scale across the US, Canada and the UK with the same core service stack BTS provides in Canada.
• Green Hasson Janks: US-based accounting and advisory firm with a dedicated Entertainment and Media practice serving film, television and streaming producers on production accounting, tax credit work and business management. Closely comparable specialty practice to BTS, though US-focused.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/behind-the-scenes-services-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Behind The Scenes Services