Saturation Pay is the payment and expense management program designed for film and video production teams. The program offers a dedicate bank account, expense cards and bill pay services. Currently, the program is only available in the US. An application must be submitted and approved before access to the program is unlocked.
Note: Only the Owner, Admin and Accountant roles have access to Saturation Pay features.
Deposit Funds into your Saturation Pay Account
Once you have access to Saturation Pay, the first thing you need to do is deposit funds into your Pay account. These funds can be used to pay vendors, reimburse crew members, or preload on debit cards for spend. To deposit funds into your account, go to the workspace Banking section on the left nav, click on Checking and click the Deposit button. You can deposit funds via ACH, Wire, or Direct Transfer (via Plaid). For ACH and Wire transfers, you'll need your Saturation Pay routing and account numbers (listed on the Deposit Funds modal).
Issue Spend Cards
Once funds are deposited and posted to your Pay account, you can now issue expense cards.
On the Checking page, click the Move Money button and select Issue Card.
On the Issue Card modal, fill out the required information:
Card name: Brief name that describes what the card is used for (e.g., Wardrobe, Meals, Set Design)
Cardholder: An existing contact in the workspace or you can create a new contact.
Project (optional): The card can be issued for a specific project or for a workspace (e.g., to be used across multiple projects). By default, it will be issued for the workspace.
Card Type: Defaults to Debit. Credit requires a separate application and approval. You can opt to create a virtual or physical card. Physical cards may require an additional fee depending on the shipping option selected.
Spend Limit Amount and Frequency: You can cap the spend limit on the card by entering an amount and frequency (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly, total).
Category Limit: You can limit the category of merchants where the card can be used (e.g., restaurants, airlines)
Click Issue to create the card.
An email will be sent to the cardholder notifying them that a card has been issued. The cardholder must click the activation link in the email to activate the card. Upon clicking the link, the cardholder will be taken to Saturation's website to log in and accept the card terms of service. Once the card has been activated, the cardholder can view the card details, see spend limits, and upload receipts for their transactions in their Saturation dashboard.
Note: To enable Project Admins and Accountants to issue cards from within the project, the project must be allocated funds first. To allocate funds, on the Checking page, click the +Add button next to Project Allocations and give the project a spend limit. This action can only be performed by Workspace Owners, Admins and Accountants.
Manage Cards
To see the list cards issued, navigate to the workspace Cards page from the left nav. You can click on each card to view its details and see the list of transactions.
Edit Card Details
Click the 3 vertical dots icon (on the right) and select Edit Card to edit its details. You can change the card name, project assignment and spend limits.
Deactivating/Deleting a Card
Click the 3 vertical dots icon for a given card and select Deactivate or Cancel. Deactivating or canceling a card will block the card from being used moving forward. Once a card is cancelled, it can't be reactivated.
Saturation Wallet iOS App
The Saturation Wallet iOS app allows you to manage transactions and upload receipts for your Saturation expense cards on the go.
Once the app is downloaded, the cardholder will be asked to log into Saturation with their email address. After logging in, they can click on the Cards tab to view their card details (with a button to add to Apple Wallet), spend amount and limit, and a list of transactions. An app notification will be sent to inform the cardholder of any transactions that are missing receipts. The cardholder can upload receipts by clicking on the transaction and click Upload Receipt, which will allow them to either use the camera to scan a receipt or upload a file from their mobile device.
Sending Payments
Your Saturation Pay account can be used to send payments to vendors or reimburse crew members.
On the Checking page, click the Move Money button and select Send Payment. Alternatively, on the project Funds page, click the Send Payment button.
Fill in the details for the payment and attach any relevant invoice or receipt.
Confirm the information is accurate on the Review screen and click Send Payment.
If an approval flow has been set up, the approver(s) will be asked via email to approve the payment before it is issued to the recipient.
Note: The Pay account must have sufficient funds in order to issue payment.
💡 Tip: Be sure to double check the routing and account numbers before sending the payment. Most reversed payments are due to invalid routing numbers.
Vendor Initiated Payment Requests
Saturation streamlines vendor payments via our Payment Links feature. Simply configure a payment link for the project or workspace and send the link to your vendor.
Create a Payment Link
On the Checking page, click the Move Money button and select Payment Link. Alternatively, on the project Funds page, click the Payment Link button.
On the Payment Link modal, configure your requirements:
Select whether to require tax document uploads like W-9
Choose whether to require startwork signature
Add any NDAs or other documents that need signing
Copy the generated link and send it directly via email
Note: The payment link can be reused if the vendor has multiple payment requests. The same link can be also used for other vendors who belong to the same project and have the same requirements.
What Your Vendors Will Experience
When vendors click on your payment link, after signing into Saturation, they will see the payment request screen where they can upload their invoice, include relevant details for the payment, and submit the request.
Once the request has been submitted, if an approval flow has been set up, the approver(s) will be asked via email to approve the payment before it is issued to the recipient.
See it in Action
Check out our YouTube video that gives an overview of Saturation Pay features.