Production moves fast, and your tools should too.

In this episode of Master Your Craft, host Shannon Cruz is joined by Cast & Crew’s Alex Bair, Director of Product Solutions, and Kody Schmidt, Product Manager for Hours+ (Timekeeping). They discuss the biggest 2025 Hours+ (Timekeeping) updates designed to help production accountants move faster, stay compliant, and get more done with less stress.

From real-time cap tracking to flexible approval workflows and timecard overrides, these new tools put more control in the hands of production teams where it belongs.

Key insights from this episode:

• Leveraging automation for smarter production finance
• How to fix timecard issues fast without breaking your workflow
• The impact of proactive cap tracking on crew and compliance

Chapters:

(00:00) Meet Alex Bair and Kody Schmidt

(01:25) The most impactful updates coming to Hours+ this year

(03:05) Approval workflows made for self-service

(05:44) Allowance cap tracking in real time

(08:11) East Coast incentives and compliance features

(11:02) Enabling flexibility and efficiency in production workflows

(16:02) Hours+ for international productions

(17:58) Future plans for Hours+ in 2026

(19:55) Rapid-fire round: How Alex and Kody work and unwind
Want a tailored 15-20 minute product walkthrough? Check out this link: https://info.castandcrew.com/2025-product-recap

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