EN
TL;DR
- The media and entertainment industry has unique payment challenges, from large vendor networks and project-based work to cross-border payments and tax credit documentation.
- For AP teams in the media and entertainment industry, a manual accounts payable process can add even more challenges, including unnecessary delays, errors and administrative work.
- AP automation helps simplify payables for media and entertainment companies by centralizing approvals, improving visibility into payment status and keeping vendor details organized.
- RBC PayEdge integrates with existing accounting software, helping your team manage payments more efficiently without slowing projects down.
Whether you work in film, television, music, gaming, publishing or another corner of the media and entertainment industry, your work is built on creativity, collaboration and countless moving parts. As projects evolve from planning and development to production and delivery, your accounts payable (AP) team must keep payments flowing seamlessly across contractors, vendors, distribution partners and more.
If your company follows a manual payable process that relies on paper cheques, email approvals and disconnected spreadsheets, it can run into errors or delays that create friction behind the scenes, making it harder to keep projects on track and stakeholders satisfied.
Do the issues below sound familiar?
- Invoice surges overwhelm your AP team, leaving contractors and partners waiting for payments
- Complex vendor networks make it difficult to track payment terms and details across a single project
- Tight project deadlines turn delayed approvals into last-minute pressure for your team
An automated payment solution like RBC PayEdge can give your finance team more time to focus on higher-value tasks. By organizing payments by project and automating approval workflows, it can also help your team manage high-volume payment periods with fewer errors and oversights.
In this article, we’ll talk about the common challenges of manual payables in the media and entertainment industry—and explore how switching to AP automation can help keep your projects and payments running smoothly.
The Challenges of Manual Payables and How AP Automation Can Help
If your company is using a manual process to manage accounts payable, you’ll probably recognize some of these common pain points. The good news is that switching to an AP automation platform can bring structure and ease to a complex, collaborative payment process.
Payment Requests Pile Up Quickly
In the media and entertainment industry, payables don’t often follow a predictable rhythm. Project-based work can lead to sudden invoice surges, forcing your finance team to juggle a high volume of payment requests. If your team is handling invoices and payments manually, it can be difficult to track what’s pending approval, what’s already been paid and what still needs attention.
How AP automation can help: An automated payment solution like RBC PayEdge can help your finance team manage invoice surges more efficiently by reducing manual data entry and making it easier to see where each payment request stands.
Tight Timelines Leave No Room for Delays
With quickly moving projects and time-sensitive payment requests, a manual AP process can’t always keep pace. If an invoice deadline is tied to a project milestone, a payment delay or missed approval can leave teams waiting to begin the next stage of work.
How AP automation can help: An automated payment solution routes requests through a digital workflow to streamline payment approvals, giving your team the clarity to secure the right sign-offs before tight timelines turn into project delays.
So Many Vendors, So Many Details
On any given day, your team may be managing payments to long-time vendors, one-time contributors and project-specific partners across a wide network. Each relationship comes with its own terms, schedules and documentation needs. When using a manual payable process, managing that volume and variety of payments can put pressure on your finance team and increase the risk of payment errors, delays and strained working relationships.
How AP automation can help: AP automation gives your finance team a centralized platform to manage payment terms and transaction history across a large vendor network. Customizable vendor profiles can help keep key information in one place, making it easier to manage both recurring and one-off payments.
Use Case1: Gaming Studio Manages Pre-Launch Payments
Tara manages accounts payable for a mid-sized Canadian gaming studio. As a new product launch approached, Tara and her team managed payments to freelancers, vendors and international partners—each with different contract terms, payment schedules and documentation requirements.
With payment information scattered across emails, spreadsheets and files, the team struggled to track approvals, confirm payment requirements and monitor payment status. The manual payment process became unsustainable, and when her team nearly missed a critical vendor payment because key details were buried in an email chain, Tara decided it was time to move to an automated payables solution.
Because RBC PayEdge integrates with the company’s existing accounting software, Xero, Tara was able to set up the AP automation platform without derailing the project schedule. By the next product launch, her team had a clearer view of where each payment was in the approval process. Payment terms, key details and approvals were far easier to track, so Tara’s team could avoid last-minute scrambling.
Poor Visibility Makes Budgeting Difficult
Finance teams rely on accurate, up-to-date payment data to manage budgets and plan for future expenses. But a manual accounts payable process makes it difficult to get a real-time view of spending across projects. Limited visibility into payment status, approvals and upcoming payments across the business can make cash flow forecasting less reliable—and reduce confidence in financial planning.
How AP automation can help: An accounts payable automation solution can provide visibility into payment status, spending by project and scheduled payments, so your team can make informed cash flow decisions.
Approval Layers are Complicated
When payment sign-offs depend on busy project managers, department heads and creatives, it can be difficult to confirm:
- Who approved what
- What work has already been completed
- If invoice details and payment amounts are accurate
How AP automation can help: AP automation gives your team a structured, centralized process for managing approvals. With RBC PayEdge, payment requests are routed through digital approval workflows, so your finance team can track the status of each payment, verify sign-offs, and maintain a clear record of every completed payment.
Use Case1: Production Company Minimizes Approval Bottlenecks
Rahim, the AP manager at a Canadian film production studio, was struggling to keep payment approvals moving across several active projects. Producers, department heads and coordinators often approved payments through email replies, text messages or quick informal updates.
The challenge came to a head when a production coordinator flagged several urgent vendor payments that needed to be sent immediately to keep up with production schedules. Before payments could be released, Rahim’s team had to spend valuable time searching through messages and following up with approvers to confirm sign-offs.
After yet another stressful approval rush, Rahim decided to implement RBC PayEdge. He set up user roles and approval rules that reflected the company’s existing process, so requests were automatically routed to the right person. Instead of chasing approvals, Rahim’s team could easily see which requests were ready to move forward and focus on getting urgent payments out the door without the headaches.
Cross-Border Payments Can Be Complicated
International payments already require careful tracking to ensure accuracy and compliance. But when your AP process is manual, key details like currency information, banking requirements and Canadian vs. non-Canadian spend can be harder to organize and maintain.
How AP automation can help: AP automation gives your team a streamlined way to manage international payables, keep key details connected to each transaction, automate foreign exchange calculations and reduce the manual work involved in tracking cross-border spend.
Managing Project-Specific Payment Requirements
Projects involving external groups such as unions or guilds may come with additional payment requirements and administrative considerations. Keeping track of these details alongside project expenses can add complexity to the payable process—especially when AP teams rely on manual workflows.
How AP automation can help: AP automation helps standardize payment workflows and maintain clear records, reducing administrative burden and lowering the risk of late or incorrect payments that could lead to disputes.
Why Media and Entertainment Companies Choose RBC PayEdge
For media and entertainment companies managing complex, fast-moving payables, RBC PayEdge offers stronger visibility, clearer records and a more consistent experience for vendors, talent and partners.
Simplified Payment Process
RBC PayEdge provides greater visibility and control over a complex payment process:
- Centralize payment activity. Manage approvals, payment details and vendor information in one place instead of relying on disconnected systems.
- Reduce manual work. Spend less time following up on payment approvals, resolving duplicate entries and updating payment details by hand.
- Standardize processes. Use a more consistent payment workflow across productions, projects and business units as priorities shift.
Flexible Domestic and Cross-Border Payments
RBC PayEdge gives your team a unified platform for managing payments around the world without adding separate processes for each type of payment.
- Manage payments across locations. Send payments to recipients in Canada and internationally from one platform.
- Use your preferred funding sources. Have the flexibility to choose domestic funding sources for international payments.
- Simplify cross-border workflows. Manage foreign currency payments without handling every international payment through a separate workflow.
- Skip manual calculations. Let the platform automatically calculate and display competitive foreign exchange (FX) rates for over 30 currencies.
- Track global payment activity. See international payment status more clearly so your team can stay on top of obligations across regions.
Improved Visibility and Financial Control
Monitor payment status, upcoming obligations and vendor activity in real time with RBC PayEdge. That visibility helps your company make more informed cash flow decisions across productions, projects and business units.
- Track payment status. See which payments are pending, approved or complete from one centralized platform.
- Plan cash commitments. Keep an eye on upcoming obligations so your team can forecast payment needs with greater confidence.
More Capacity to Handle High-Volume Periods
Give your finance team a more efficient way to manage invoice surges during busy project periods.
- Streamline workflows. Set up approval workflows and routing rules that send requests to the right people, even during busy periods.
- Reduce bottlenecks. Keep payment details and sign-offs organized so invoice surges don’t create unnecessary follow-up.
- Support higher volume. Track payment status, monitor approvals and keep workflows moving efficiently.
Confidence in Compliance Records
Maintaining clear, accurate records doesn’t have to mean tracking every detail by hand. RBC PayEdge keeps approvals and payment activity in one place, so your team has a strong digital trail for compliance, audits and tax documentation.
- Keep information organized. Document approval history and payment activity in a format your team can access when questions come up.
- Support documentation needs. Find payment details and supporting records more easily when preparing for audits, internal reviews or tax credit claims.
Better Working Relationships
Reliable payments help protect the relationships your company depends on. RBC PayEdge keeps vendor and contractor information, payment preferences, approvals and transaction details organized, giving your team a more consistent way to manage payments—from request to completion.
- Ensure timely, accurate payments. Keep invoice details and approvals organized so vendors, talent and partners can be paid with greater confidence.
- Strengthen the payment experience. Give vendors, talent and partners a more consistent process from approval to payment.
Other Solutions and Support from RBC
AP automation is just one way RBC can support your media and entertainment company as you navigate fast-moving projects. Check out these additional solutions and resources that can help your team manage expenses, adapt to changing cash flow needs and connect with other creatives.
Connect with creative industry resources.
RBC supports Canada’s creative sector through programs, partnerships and resources for artists and arts organizations.
Manage expenses and vendor payments with more flexibility.
RBC offers payment and card solutions that can help your company manage day-to-day expenses, vendor payments and recurring business costs.
- Earn points on your everyday business purchases, bridge cash flow gaps and keep expenses organized with RBC business credit cards.
- Manage company spending, supplier payments and larger business expenses with added reporting and control with RBC commercial credit cards.
- Streamline payments and improve tracking with digital tools for paying vendors, suppliers, employees and taxes.
- Access foreign exchange solutions and support for managing payments in different currencies.
Support cash flow as timelines and costs shift.
Discover financing solutions that can support your company’s working capital needs and help you prepare for future growth.
- Business Operating Line of Credit: Access flexible credit to help manage day-to-day cash flow needs.
- Capital Markets: Explore financing and advisory support for larger organizations or more complex business needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, you don’t need to have your bank accounts with RBC to use RBC PayEdge; businesses can use RBC PayEdge whether or not they are an RBC banking client.
There is no limit on the number of users that you can add to your RBC PayEdge profile.
Permissions are assigned to each User Profile when they are added to the platform, and they can be modified at any time. There are four standard User Roles available on the RBC PayEdge platform, or you can create a Custom Role with specific permissions to suit your business’ needs. Beyond the User permissions, Approval Rules allow you to specify which Users have the ability to approve payment orders and to set limits on the amount that they are allowed to approve. Approval rules are fully customizable to ensure you can mirror the established controls and signing authorities that already exist for your business.
When creating a payment order in a foreign currency, the current exchange rate offered through RBC PayEdge will appear as an option that you can choose to accept. RBC PayEdge offers competitive rates to enable payments to international suppliers.
You can fund your payments from any Canadian Bank or Credit Union as well as a Visa or Mastercard. Each RBC PayEdge profile will also automatically get access to a CAD and USD Virtual Wallet account which can be funded to make payments.
You can pay suppliers by wire transfer, Interac e-Transfer for business, Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), USD cross-border Automated Clearing House (ACH), EUR International Payment, bill payment, virtual credit card payment* and cheque. Suppliers don't need to be RBC clients to receive payments.
*Virtual credit card payment is only available for RBC Commercial Credit cards at this time.
This article is intended as general information only and is not to be relied upon as constituting legal, financial or other professional advice. A professional advisor should be consulted regarding your specific situation. The information presented is believed to be factual and up-to-date but we do not guarantee its accuracy and it should not be regarded as a complete analysis of the subjects discussed. All expressions of opinion reflect the judgment of the authors as of the date of publication and are subject to change. No endorsement of any third parties or their advice, opinions, information, products or services is expressly given or implied by Royal Bank of Canada or any of its affiliates.
This use case is fictional; any similarities to real-life situations are purely coincidental.