Question 1

What is FirstSlate and who is it for?

Accepted Answer

FirstSlate is a client workflow tool built specifically for freelance video producers and small production studios. It covers the whole job: intake briefs, producer reports, proposals your clients sign online, invoices with payment schedules, call sheets, crew paperwork, and final delivery, all under your own brand. If you spend more time chasing clients for project details than you do filming, FirstSlate was built for you.

Question 2

How quickly can I get set up?

Accepted Answer

Most producers are fully operational in under 15 minutes. Set up your studio profile (logo, brand color, contact info), add your first client and project, and send your first intake link. That's the whole setup.

Question 3

Do I need any technical knowledge?

Accepted Answer

None at all. FirstSlate is designed for producers, not developers. If you can fill out a form and send an email, you can use every feature in the app.

Question 4

Is FirstSlate only for video producers?

Accepted Answer

It's purpose-built for video production — intake forms, risk flags, and deliverable tracking all use production-specific language and logic. Photographers, podcast producers, and other creative freelancers have found it useful, but the feature set is optimized for video.

Question 5

Does FirstSlate charge payment processing fees?

Accepted Answer

No. FirstSlate does not charge any processing fees and never takes a percentage of your revenue. Payments flow through your own Stripe account, and Stripe's standard processing rates apply. Those rates are between you and Stripe.

Question 6

Do I need a Stripe account to collect payments?

Accepted Answer

Yes — to accept payments directly through your invoices, you'll need a Stripe account. If you don't have one, it takes about 5 minutes to set up at stripe.com. You'll connect it to FirstSlate in your account settings. Stripe is free to create and there are no monthly fees — you only pay when you process a payment.

Question 7

What payment methods can my clients use?

Accepted Answer

Any method your Stripe account supports — credit and debit cards, ACH bank transfers, and more. Stripe's full list of supported payment methods depends on your country and account configuration.

Question 8

Can I collect a deposit before the full invoice is due?

Accepted Answer

Yes. FirstSlate has a full payment schedule system built into the invoice. You can define multiple milestones — for example, a 50% deposit due upon receipt, a draw after the rough cut is delivered, and a final payment on Net 30 — and the client sees the complete schedule on their invoice. Clients can pay each milestone online as it comes due, or you can mark milestones paid yourself when money arrives outside Stripe.

Question 9

Can I set "Due Upon Receipt" for urgent payments like shoot-day retainers?

Accepted Answer

Yes. When building your invoice or payment schedule, you can set any milestone to "Upon Receipt." On the client's invoice page, this displays prominently as "Payment Due Upon Receipt" with a note that payment is required to confirm their booking and lock in shoot dates.

Question 10

Do my clients need to create a FirstSlate account?

Accepted Answer

No — never. Clients receive a private magic link for each document (intake form, proposal, invoice) and everything works in their browser with no login, no download, and no account required. The experience is frictionless by design.

Question 11

Will my clients see FirstSlate branding?

Accepted Answer

Your studio name, logo, and brand color are the primary branding on every client-facing page. FirstSlate appears in small footer text on documents. The goal is for clients to feel like they're working with your studio, not a third-party tool.

Question 12

Can a client see all their projects and invoices in one place?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every client gets a Client Portal, one private PIN-protected link that gathers everything you've sent them across all their projects: proposals, invoices, briefs, and deliveries. There is still nothing to log into or lose. Every project also gets a delivery page where your client reviews cuts, requests revisions, and approves the final on record.

Question 13

Can clients accept a proposal and choose options themselves?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You send one scoped package plus optional add-ons the client can say yes or no to right on the proposal page. The total updates as they choose, they sign with their name, and they accept, all on a single branded page. You're notified the moment it happens.

Question 14

Does FirstSlate include call sheets or on-set production tools?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The call sheet builder creates professional call sheets from your project data, with individual call times per role and per-day crew assignments on multi-day shoots. Crew confirm attendance from a unique link, and availability conflicts are flagged before you book someone. What FirstSlate doesn't cover is deeper pre-production like shot lists, shooting schedules, and scene breakdowns. For those, tools like StudioBinder or Notion are a better fit.

Question 15

Does FirstSlate really include a teleprompter?

Accepted Answer

It does. Contributors write or paste their script through a private link, you can tighten it up with AI trim, and shoot day runs from a fullscreen prompter with auto-scroll, mirroring, and a countdown. It keeps working offline once loaded, so a dead spot on location won't kill the take.

Question 16

Does FirstSlate handle crew paperwork?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 17

What happens after the shoot?

Accepted Answer

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's paid.

Question 18

Is FirstSlate accounting software?

Accepted Answer

No. FirstSlate is a client workflow tool, not an accounting platform. It tracks the money on your projects, including invoices, client payments, crew payouts, and per-project profitability, but it doesn't do general bookkeeping, payroll, or taxes. For those, tools like QuickBooks, Wave, or FreshBooks are designed for the job. FirstSlate handles the project side; your accounting software handles the books.

Question 19

Can I track what I'm paying crew, vendors, or contractors?

Accepted Answer

Yes, for crew. FirstSlate tracks crew payouts: what each crew member is owed across your shoots, what you've marked paid, and 1099 totals you can export at year end. Equipment rental, venues, and other vendor costs still belong in your accounting software.

Question 20

Does FirstSlate replace my contract or serve as an e-signature tool?

Accepted Answer

FirstSlate includes e-signatures where the workflow needs them. Clients sign proposals electronically, with your contract terms attached if you use them, and crew e-sign your subcontractor agreement during onboarding. Signatures are recorded with a timestamp and the client receives a signed copy by email. For complex negotiated agreements you may still want an attorney's review, but for standard engagements the built-in flow is designed to stand on its own.

Question 21

Does FirstSlate integrate with QuickBooks, FreshBooks, or other tools?

Accepted Answer

Not yet. Direct integrations with accounting platforms and tools like Zapier are on the roadmap for a future release. For now, invoice data can be referenced manually when entering records in your accounting software.

Question 22

What's included in the free plan?

Accepted Answer

The free plan covers the core workflow: intake briefs, the producer report with risk flags, proposals with e-signature, invoicing with payment schedules, call sheets, and your studio branding, for up to 5 active projects and 3 clients. Finished projects can be archived (up to 20) to free up active slots. It's a real working plan, not a stripped-down trial.

Question 23

What do the Pro and Studio plans include?

Accepted Answer

Pro is $29 per month, or $288 per year (which works out to $24 per month), and removes the project and client limits while adding online invoice payments and the AI proposal assistant. Studio is $79 per month, or $790 per year (which works out to $66 per month), and adds 3 team seats (the owner plus two invited members working in one shared workspace) and priority support with a next-business-day response. Studios that outgrow the included seats can add extra seats for $15 per month each ($150 per year on annual billing), up to 10 extras. Need more than that? Contact us about enterprise pricing. Every new account starts with a 14-day Pro trial.

Question 24

Is there a free trial for paid plans?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every new account starts with a 14-day Pro trial, no credit card required. When the trial ends, your account moves to the free plan unless you upgrade, and nothing you made goes away. Annual plans also carry a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Question 25

If I go over the free plan limits, do I lose my work?

Accepted Answer

No. Your projects, clients, and documents stay intact and readable. Limits only apply to creating new work going forward, so if you're over a limit you won't be able to add more until you archive finished projects or upgrade. Nothing gets deleted or locked.

Question 26

Can I add my own logo and brand colors?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Your studio profile lets you set a company name, logo, brand color, tagline, and contact information. These appear on intake forms, proposals, invoices, and every client-facing page your clients see.

Question 27

Do notification emails to clients come from my email address?

Accepted Answer

Emails to your clients show your studio name as the sender, and replies go straight to your own email address. Behind the scenes they're delivered from FirstSlate's sending domain for deliverability. Sending from your own custom domain is on the roadmap.

Question 28

Can I customize the questions in my intake forms?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You can create multiple intake form templates and choose which steps (goal, audience, budget, deliverables, timeline, etc.) to include or exclude for different project types. Custom templates are available on all plans.

Frequently Asked Questions

Getting Started

Invoicing & Payments

Your Clients

On Set & After the Shoot

What FirstSlate Is (and Isn't)

Plans & Pricing

Your Studio Brand

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