What does a crew member actually do when they open the link?

They confirm their name, role, and contact details, set or confirm their rates, upload a W-9, and sign your subcontractor agreement by typing their name. It takes a couple of minutes on a phone, with no account and no app.

Where do the W-9s go?

Into a private storage bucket that only your account can access. Files are served through short-lived signed links and are never publicly reachable.

Can I use my own agreement language?

Yes. Your subcontractor agreement is a template you control. FirstSlate merges in the specifics per signer (names, role, dates) and stores the exact text each person signed.

Is the e-signature real?

Signers type their name, explicitly consent to signing electronically, and the agreement is recorded with a timestamp and IP address. As with any contract, enforceability depends on your terms and jurisdiction; for unusual engagements, have an attorney review your template.

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Crew Agreements & W-9s·FEAT / 00:00

Crew Paperwork That Handles Itself

Send one link and your crew e-signs your subcontractor agreement, uploads a W-9, and confirms their details before shoot day.

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Every producer knows the January scramble. You're chasing W-9s from a gaffer you booked in March, digging through email for a signed agreement that may never have come back, and reconstructing what you actually paid people from bank statements.

The fix isn't more discipline in January. It's collecting the paperwork when everyone is motivated: before the shoot.

FirstSlate turns crew onboarding into one link. Your crew member opens it, confirms their contact details and rates, uploads their W-9, and signs your subcontractor agreement by typing their name, with the signature, timestamp, and IP address recorded. You watch their status flip to onboarded in your roster. When January comes, the year's totals per crew member are one export away.

And W-9s are treated like the sensitive documents they are: stored in a private bucket only your account can access, served only through short-lived links.

How it works

Scene by scene.

SCENE 00:01

Send the onboarding link

Pick a crew member from your roster and send their private onboarding link. What they see is branded to your studio, with their details pre-filled and editable.

SCENE 00:02

They sign and upload

Your crew member confirms contact details and rates, uploads a W-9, and signs your subcontractor agreement by typing their name and consenting to sign electronically.

SCENE 00:03

The record locks

The agreement text is stored exactly as they signed it, with a timestamp and IP address. Their roster row flips to onboarded, so you can see at a glance whose paperwork is complete.

SCENE 00:04

January is one export

Booked totals per crew member accumulate through the year from your call sheets. The year-end report gives you 1099-prep numbers without touching a spreadsheet.

Why it matters

What you actually get.

One agreement, merged per signer

Set up your subcontractor agreement once. Studio name, crew name, role, and dates merge in automatically for every signer.

W-9s handled like they matter

Tax documents live in a private storage bucket scoped to your account and are served only through short-lived links. Never public, never guessable.

A real signature record

Typed signature, explicit consent to sign electronically, timestamp, and IP address, with the agreement text frozen exactly as signed.

Status you can see

Every roster row shows where onboarding stands: not invited, invited, in progress, or onboarded. No mental bookkeeping about who still owes you paperwork.

No account needed for crew

Like everything client- and crew-facing in FirstSlate, onboarding is a link. Crew finish it from a phone in a couple of minutes.

1099 prep without archaeology

Booked totals per crew member across the year, exportable when tax season hits. No bank-statement forensics.

Who it's for

Whether you shoot alone or with a team.

Producers with rotating freelance crews

New DPs, gaffers, and editors every month means paperwork every month. Make it a link instead of a checklist.

Studios that got burned last January

If you've ever filed late because a W-9 wouldn't materialize, collecting it at booking time solves the problem permanently.

Producers formalizing their business

Moving from handshakes to signed agreements protects both sides. FirstSlate makes the formal version the easy version.

Common questions

Still have questions?

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