03. Booking Management
Builds upon deal information from Deal Management and adds all elements necessary for completing financial processes, focusing on what happens to payments received from buyers. This function manages payment processing logistics, money flow patterns, commission structures, and agent attribution. Key data default on clients, loan-outs, participants, and commission structure defaults from the client profile but may be updated at the booking level.
03. Booking Management Productboard component link
03.01. Client and Participant Payment Setup
Manages all payment logistics for clients and participants including banking information, payment routing, and authorization requirements.
03.01.01. Client payment information management — Manages comprehensive client payment information including loan-out company details, banking information, payment preferences, and special handling requirements for fund distribution. Note that clients may have multiple loan-outs with different accounts and currencies; selecting the proper one for each booking is critical.
03.01.02. Participant payment rules definition — Defines payment rules for all participants including managers, lawyers, business managers, and other parties entitled to receive portions of client earnings. Payment rules would be inherited from authoritative data but can be changed for an individual booking.
03.01.03. Payment routing configuration — Configures how payments should be routed to clients and participants including direct payments, trust account processing, and special distribution arrangements.
03.01.04. Banking and payment method setup — Maintains banking details, wire transfer information, and alternative payment methods for all recipients including domestic and international payment requirements.
03.02. Financial Flow Structure Definition
Defines how money flows through transactions including trust accounting requirements, commission collection methods, and coordination of multi-party payments.
03.02.01. Money flow pattern establishment — Defines specific money flow patterns for each booking including whether buyers pay UTA for distribution, pay clients directly, or use hybrid arrangements.
03.02.02. Trust accounting requirements determination — Determines trust accounting requirements based on money flow patterns and regulatory and tax obligations for client fund protection.
03.02.03. Tax obligations setup — Records VAT, GST, NRA and other tax rates for calculating and reconciling tax amounts. This is required even if UTA does not receive funds.
03.02.04. Commission collection method definition — Defines how UTA commissions will be collected including deduction from client payments, direct billing to clients, or direct payment from buyers.
03.02.05. Multi-party payment coordination — Coordinates payment flows when multiple parties are involved, ensuring proper sequencing and coordination of all payment activities.
03.02.06. Special payment arrangement handling — Handles special payment arrangements including pass-through payments, escrow requirements, and other non-standard financial flows.
03.02.07. Payment schedule — Maintains expected cash receipt date to support cash forecasting.
03.03. Loan Creation and Management
Manages the complete lifecycle of client loans including setup, funding, repayment tracking, and closure. This function handles loans that are provided to clients and repaid through deductions from future earnings, creating loan bookings that integrate with the overall financial processing workflow.
03.03.01. Loan setup and terms establishment — Establishes loan terms including principal amount, interest rate, repayment schedule, and conditions for repayment from future earnings.
03.03.02. Loan funding source identification — Identifies and configures which UTA accounts or funding sources will provide the loan cash, ensuring proper accounting treatment and fund availability.
03.03.03. Loan booking creation and integration — Creates loan bookings that integrate with the Deal Management and Settlement systems, ensuring loans are properly tracked within the financial processing framework.
03.03.04. Automatic repayment processing — Implements automatic deduction of loan repayments from client settlement amounts, coordinating with Settlement calculations to ensure proper loan recoupment.
03.03.05. Loan balance maintenance and reporting — Maintains real-time loan balances including principal, interest, and payment history, providing visibility into outstanding loan obligations.
03.03.06. Loan closure and final settlement — Processes loan closure when fully repaid, including final balance calculations, interest adjustments, and documentation of loan completion.
03.04. Commission Structure Setup
Establishes commission rates, calculation rules, and recognition timing for all types of commission arrangements across different deal types and entities.
03.04.01. Commission rate establishment — Establishes commission rates for each booking based on client agreements, deal types, and business rules, including variable rate structures. Commission rates are established at the client level but may be overridden with proper approval.
03.04.02. Commission calculation rules definition — Defines specific rules for commission calculations including base amounts, exclusions, withholdings, wire fees, special handling for different payment types, and timing considerations.
03.04.03. Special commission handling — Handles override commissions, special commission arrangements, and non-standard commission structures that deviate from standard rates. Potential special commission situations can be flagged at the start of a deal to support anticipated future commission rate reductions.
03.04.04. Commission timing and recognition rules — Establishes rules for when commissions are earned and recognized including milestone-based recognition and performance-dependent timing.
03.05. Agent Attribution and Team Management
Manages agent team assignments, attribution percentages, and contribution tracking for commission distribution and performance measurement.
03.05.01. Agent team assignment — Assigns appropriate agents to bookings including responsible agents, booking agents, and supporting team members.
03.05.02. Attribution percentage allocation — Allocates attribution percentages among team members for commission distribution, credit, and performance measurement purposes.
03.05.03. Cross-departmental attribution handling — Manages attribution when deals span multiple departments, ensuring appropriate credit allocation and commission distribution across organizational boundaries.
03.06. Booking Classification and Organization
Organizes and categorizes bookings for reporting, workflow routing, and business analysis through various classification systems and organizational structures.
03.06.01. Department code assignment — Assigns departmental codes (Talent, TV Lit, Music, etc.) to each booking to support departmental reporting, commission allocation, and routing of booking information to stakeholders.
03.06.02. Occupation code management — Maintains and applies occupation codes to bookings to support categorization (Consulting, Writer, Director, etc.), , and enable detailed reporting and analysis by business segment.
03.06.03. Guild identification — Tags booking with appropriate guild (SAG, WGA, DGA) to support external reporting. Defaults from client record but guild will depend on the work in the particular booking.
03.06.04. Package and project linking — Establishes hierarchical relationships between related bookings that are part of packages or multi-component projects, enabling proper tracking and management of complex deal structures with multiple interconnected elements.
03.06.05. Booking categorization and tagging — Implements categorization and tagging systems to support business reporting needs, analysis requirements, and workflow routing based on booking characteristics.
03.06.06. Business segment classification — Classifies bookings by business segment, deal type, and other organizational dimensions to support management reporting and business analysis requirements.
03.07. Document Management and Attachment
Manages attachment, organization, and access control for all documents associated with bookings including contracts, financial documents, and compliance materials.
03.07.01. Contract and agreement attachment — Provides capability to attach legal contracts, deal memos, and related documentation to booking records, ensuring that supporting documents are accessible throughout the booking lifecycle.
03.07.02. Financial document management — Manages attachment and organization of financial documents including payment authorizations, banking forms, and other documents required for payment processing.
03.07.03. Compliance document tracking — Tracks compliance-related documents including tax forms, withholding agreements, and regulatory or international filings associated with specific bookings.
03.07.04. Document version control — Maintains version control for attached documents, preserving historical versions and tracking document updates and modifications.
03.07.05. Document access and security — Implements appropriate access controls for attached documents based on user roles and confidentiality requirements.
03.08. Booking Lifecycle and Change Management
Tracks booking progression through various stages and manages changes that affect financial processing while maintaining historical information and system synchronization.
03.08.01. Booking status progression tracking — Tracks booking progression through status levels from initial setup through completion, maintaining visibility into processing requirements and current state.
03.08.02. Protected deal identification — Flags protected projects to ensure collection and facilitate identification of future protected engagements.
03.08.03. Financial impact change management — Manages changes to booking information that affect financial processing including commission rates, outstanding client loans, payment methods, and team attributions, coordinating with Settlement for recalculation.
03.08.04. Booking modification approval workflow — Implements approval workflows for booking modifications based on impact to financial processes and contractual commitments.
03.08.05. Historical booking information preservation — Preserves historical versions of booking information for audit purposes and to support analysis of booking evolution over time.
03.09. Note Management and Communication
Maintains structured communication and documentation capabilities for booking-related discussions, decisions, and stakeholder notifications.
03.09.01. Structured note management — Maintains structured note fields with date stamps at appropriate levels (booking level, line-item level) for different types of documentation including processing notes, service verification notes, special instructions, and general comments to support communication. Notes can be separated by relevant interest group, separating accounting only from agent interaction. Notes can cover commission issues with appropriate security.
03.09.02. Communication thread tracking — Tracks communication threads related to specific bookings, maintaining context and history for all booking-related discussions and decisions. Flags threads without activity and open receivables for follow-up.
03.09.03. Stakeholder notification management — Manages notifications to relevant stakeholders when booking changes occur, ensuring appropriate parties are informed of modifications that affect their responsibilities.
03.09.04. Documentation audit trail — Maintains audit trails of all booking-related communications, decisions, and documentation for compliance and reference purposes.
03.09.05. Note import and update — Supports mass importation of notes and updates.