AddOns & Variables

How much time do you spend debugging formulas in production budgets? Getting the AGA right, pricing overtime hours, checking that the markup applies to the right base? In Splinde, all of that is built in. This guide shows you how.

Watch the Video (2:50 min)

What Are AddOns?

AddOns are ready-made calculation blocks that you attach to a Cost Item. They replace the formulas you would otherwise write in a spreadsheet. They are visual and configurable, and Splinde does the math.

Instead of building a formula like =B12*0.175+B12*0.21+B12 and checking every cell reference, you drag an AddOn onto a Cost Item, set its rate once, and the result appears on the line.

The AddOn Library

Splinde comes with prepared AddOns for common production calculations. They appear in the app under their local names, for example:

• Arbeitgeberanteile: employer social contributions (AGA) on salaries

• Künstlersozialkasse: the artists' social security levy (KSK)

• Umsatzsteuer: value added tax

• § 50a EStG: withholding tax on fees paid to foreign artists

• Agenturprovision: agency commission

• Versicherungsprämie and Versicherungssteuer: insurance premium and insurance tax

• Markup: a percentage on cost, at the rate you enter

• Overtime: hours worked beyond the standard day

Prepared AddOns for more countries are on their way, each named in that country's own language. Every AddOn works in one of two ways: as a percentage on a base, or as overtime.

Browse the AddOns & Fringes articles

How to Use AddOns

1. Open your budget and find the Cost Item (for example, "Executive Producer" with a fee of 850 EUR).

2. In the sidebar, open Insert → AddOns.

3. Drag the AddOn card you need onto the Cost Item. It attaches to that line.

4. Configure it: set the percentage and choose what it applies to.

5. The total updates immediately.

You can attach several AddOns to one Cost Item. For example, Overtime on the fee, Markup on the fee, and Arbeitgeberanteile on top. For each percentage AddOn, you choose what it applies to, so every uplift lands on the base you intend.

Overtime

The Overtime AddOn prices hours beyond the standard day. You define hour brackets (the standard day, then each overtime tier) and a percentage uplift for each tier. Splinde derives an hourly rate from the Cost Item's fee and applies each tier's uplift to the hours in it.

What Changes Are Highlighted

Every AddOn shows its own amount on the Cost Item. You see exactly how much the overtime, the markup and the social contributions each add, with every amount visible on the line.

What Are Variables?

Variables are reusable values that apply across your whole budget. Define a number once, reference it everywhere, and change it once. Every reference updates instantly.

Common Variables in Production Budgets

• Shooting Days: the number of days on set

• Prep Days: pre-production days

• Wrap Days: post-shoot wrap days

• Standard Day Rate: a base fee that applies to several positions

• Travel Per Diem: daily allowances

How to Create and Use Variables

Creating a Variable:

1. Open the Variables tab in the sidebar.

2. Click Add Variable (or the + button once you have Variables).

3. Enter a name (for example, "Shooting Days") and a value (for example, "3").

Using a Variable in a Cost Item:

1. Click into a field on a Cost Item (Amount, Days, Fee).

2. Type the @ symbol.

3. A list of your Variables appears.

4. Select the Variable. The field is now linked.

Updating a Variable:

Change the value in the Variables tab, and every Cost Item that references that Variable recalculates. Change Shooting Days from 3 to 5, and every salary position that uses @Shooting Days updates instantly across the whole budget.

Variables work especially well with Scenarios (covered on Day 4), where each Scenario keeps its own Variable values.

AddOns + Variables Together

The combination does the most work. A typical setup looks like this:

• A salary Cost Item with Amount = 1, Days = @Shooting Days, Fee = 850 EUR

• AddOn: Overtime, with an uplift for hours past the standard day

• AddOn: Markup at the rate you agreed with the client

• AddOn: Arbeitgeberanteile

Change the Shooting Days Variable from 3 to 5, and the whole stack recalculates: fee, overtime, markup and social contributions. Every number in the chain updates. In a spreadsheet, this would take a separate formula for every uplift on every line.

Ready to try?

Ready to try AddOns? Open your budget and drag an AddOn onto any salary Cost Item. Then continue with Day 3: Real-Time Collaboration.