Win the job. Run the shoot. Get paid. One tool runs everything in between.
FirstSlate is the production office for independent video producers. Intake, AI proposals, call sheets, crew paperwork, teleprompter, delivery, and invoices all run off one set of details you enter once.
Free for up to 5 active projects · No credit card
One intake in — proposal, call sheet, invoice out.
FirstSlate runs the founder's own production company — every proposal, call sheet and invoice, every day. You're not the test environment.
“The peace of mind I get from FirstSlate is one of the biggest advantages. The way it walks me through every step has become something I rely on. I don't think about it, I just fly right through it.”
Every video job has a leak — and it's between your tools.
Intake lives in your inbox. The quote is in a spreadsheet. The contract is a PDF. Invoices are in one app, the call sheet in another. Every handoff between them is a place for a number to change, a line to go missing, or a payment to slip.
Six tools. None of them talk to each other.
The brief you chased across four emails — and still started the quote half-blind.
The deposit you forgot to invoice until the shoot was already over.
The call sheet you rebuilt from scratch at 11pm the night before the shoot.
And the worst leak is the quietest: the line item you didn't catch — the one that turns a $12,400 quote into an $11,000 job you can't re-bill.
One job, start to finish — in three acts.
Enter the job once at intake. Every document after that carries itself forward. Here's the whole arc, on the same job.
Reply with a real proposal the same day.
One link collects the brief. AI turns it into a priced proposal. The client signs without creating an account — before your competitors have opened their spreadsheet.
- A branded intake link captures budget, dates and deliverables — no four-email chase.
- AI drafts the proposal from the brief, priced from your own past jobs — not a template.
- A pre-send check catches the missing line item before the client ever sees it.
- Clients e-sign on a link. No account, no portal, no “I never got it.”
- Deals that stall get a nudge before they go cold.
The shoot runs off the same details.
Nothing gets re-typed between the signed proposal and shoot day. The call sheet, the crew paperwork, even the prompter script — same job, carried forward.
- The call sheet builds itself from the shoot details you captured at intake.
- Crew confirm with one tap — you can see exactly who’s in, per day.
- Subcontractor agreements and W-9s collected before shoot day, e-signed from a phone.
- Double-booked crew get flagged before you book them.
- A teleprompter runs in the same tool — scripts flow in from the project.
Deliver the cut. The money follows.
The last mile is where jobs leak. FirstSlate walks the file to an on-record approval, the approval to the final invoice, and the payment to your bank — not a platform wallet.
- Send the cut on a delivery link — the client’s approval goes on record.
- The deposit invoices itself at signature; milestones prompt you when the next is due.
- Client adds work mid-project? A change order gets it priced, approved, and onto the bill.
- Clients pay by card or ACH. FirstSlate takes 0% — just Stripe’s standard processing fee — and the money lands straight in your bank.
- Reports and 1099 totals stay current all year — January is one export.
See exactly what you’re signing up for.
Real screens from the app, running a sample studio’s work. Poke around the whole thing in a free account, no card required.
Not another client CRM.
Generic client tools stop at the invoice. A video job doesn't — it still has a shoot to run, crew to paper, and a cut to deliver. FirstSlate is built past the point where the others stop.
- Client intake forms
- Proposals & e-signatures
- Invoices & online payment
…then you're back to spreadsheets for the shoot.
- Call sheets built from the same job details
- Crew agreements, W-9s & 1099 totals
- Availability conflicts caught before you book
- A teleprompter that runs on set
- Delivery links with client approval on record
Everything on the left is included too.
2–5 hours back on every estimate.
Not because anything is automated away — because you stop redoing work you already did. Here's where the hours actually go on a single new client:
And the hours are the cheap leak. The expensive one is the $900 line item nobody wrote down — the add-on that never made the invoice. That's the leak FirstSlate exists to close.
Built to respect how you already work.
Your clients never log in.
Clients and crew open a link, fill it in or confirm, and they’re done. No account, no password, no "I never got it."
No lock-in, ever.
Export your data whenever you want. Cancel anytime — your projects, proposals, and call sheets stay readable.
0% platform fees.
We don’t take a cut of your invoices. Stripe’s standard rates apply; the money lands straight in your bank.
Start free. Upgrade when it's paying for itself.
Pro is less than one billable hour a month — and less than one line item you'd forget in a year. Pay annually and it's less still.
Free forever
Everything you need to land your first clients.
- 5 active projects · 3 clients
- Intake forms, proposals & contracts
- Invoices & crew call sheets
- No credit card to start
$15.83/mo equivalent · billed annually
Founding pricing. Limited to the first 200 producers.
Locked for life. The price never goes up while you stay subscribed.
For producers running back-to-back jobs.
- Unlimited projects & clients
- Accept online invoice payments
- Your branding on every client page
- Everything in Free
Billed annually · $790/yr
For teams and small studios.
- Everything in Pro
- 3 team seats, add more for $150/yr each
- Priority support
Need a bigger team? Contact us about enterprise pricing.
Get StudioFree is yours forever, no credit card required. Pro and Studio are billed monthly or annually; cancel anytime. Annual plans carry a 30-day money-back guarantee.
FirstSlate was designed by a working video producer — built out of a real need while running a production company full time. I kept eating the cost of forgotten line items and chasing unpaid invoices, and no tool out there was built for the way a shoot actually runs.
It's the tool built from that experience — live, and running my own studio today. Your work stays yours: export it anytime, cancel anytime, nothing held hostage.
Justin Razmus
· Founder, FirstSlate — runs his own production company on it dailyThe questions producers actually ask.
Do my clients or crew need an account?
No — never. You send a link; they open it, fill it in or confirm, and they’re done. No sign-up, no password, no portal to get lost in.
How do I get paid?
Clients pay invoices online by card or bank transfer. Payments run through Stripe and land directly in your bank account. FirstSlate takes 0% of your invoices — the only cost is Stripe’s standard processing fee.
Does FirstSlate handle crew paperwork?
Yes. Crew onboard themselves through a link — they e-sign your subcontractor agreement, upload a W-9, and set their rates once. Come January, your 1099 totals are one export away.
What happens after the shoot?
Delivery runs through FirstSlate too. Send the cut on a review link, the client approves it on record, and the final invoice is teed up to send the moment they sign off. You can even keep the final files locked until it is paid.
Can I put my own branding on what clients see?
Yes. Your logo and brand color carry through every intake form, proposal, invoice, and call sheet your client opens.
What happens to my data if I cancel?
Nothing disappears. You can export your projects anytime, and after cancelling your work stays readable. There is no lock-in.
Is FirstSlate ready for real client work?
Yes — it’s live and in active use, including online payments end-to-end. It’s built and run by a working video producer, so fixes and questions reach a real person.
What does the free plan include?
The full workflow — intake, proposals, invoices, and call sheets — for up to 5 active projects and 3 clients. No credit card to start.
Your next job shouldn't leak.
Run it through FirstSlate instead — one set of details, from the client's first answer to the crew's last confirmation.
Free for up to 5 active projects · No credit card