A Crewmember Invite is sent to connect an employee to a Project, and to match them to a Startwork packet.

The Employment Details entered within an Invite will pre-populate throughout the employee's Startwork packet. 

In TiM, completing an Invite is required in order to match an employee to Startwork. This ensures that an employee's terms of employment are defined at the time of hire.

If Employment Details are changed after an Invite is sent, TiM automatically sends a notification to the employee to inform them of the changes. These notifications encourage transparency between employer and employee, and helps to limit liability for employers later on. 

NOTE: It is best practice to build your Project's Startwork packets before you start sending Invites. This ensures that employees can immediately complete and submit Startwork, which makes onboarding proceed smoothly.

If an Invite is sent before a Startwork packet is distributed, the employee will receive a message that they've been Invited to a Project but their Startwork is not yet ready to be completed. Once the packet is Distributed, the employee will automatically receive an email notification that their Startwork is now ready to be completed.  

Step 1. Create the Invite

• Go to Crew Management.
• At the top of the screen, select "Invite Crewmember." This will create the Invite.

• Enter the email address(es) of the employee(s) you want to invite. 

You can enter multiple email addresses to invite multiple employees at the same time, as long as the Employment Details for the entire Invite group are exactly the same. Simply enter each email address separated by commas. 

NOTE: The email you should use to invite your employees is whatever email is connected to their TiM Account. If the employee does not yet have a TiM Account, send the email to their personal email address and tell the employee to sign up with TiM using that same email address.  

If an employee is Invited to a Project with an email address not linked to their TiM Account, their invite will need to be resent.

Step 2. Define the employee's Startwork Type

• Move to the next section: "Crewmember/Startwork Type".

The selections made in this area will determine the type of Startwork packet this employee is matched to. 

• Choose the employee's Department.

NOTE: If the Department you want is not listed, choose "Additional Personnel/Other". It is not possible to enter a custom department.

• Choose the employee's Job Description.

NOTE: If the Job Description you want is not listed, choose "Custom Job Description". The option to enter a Custom Job Description is available within any department. Once you enter a Custom Job Description, it will be saved within your Project and will be available for use again later.

• If the employee will be paid as a Loan-Out, select the check box next to "Will be paid as Loan-Out for this production". If the employee will not be paid as a Loan-Out, leave the box unchecked.
• Enter the employee's Union/Local # or select "Non-Union".
• Select the employee's Hire Type (ie: Is the employee Exempt or Non-Exempt? A Daily or Weekly hire? A local or distant hire?).

NOTE: If you are unsure about the hire type of your employee, contact your payroll coordinator. Only certain types of job descriptions can be classified as exempt. Exempt employees are typically salaried employees, and technically cannot be paid at an hourly rate. The details defined on the Employee Invite will appear on the Startwork so you want to make sure these details are completely correct.

Step 3. Define the employee's Employment Details

• Move to the next section: "Employment Details".
• Select a Start Date for your employee. (It is optional to select an End Date.)
• For Work State(s), select all the states this crewmember will be working in. 
• Enter the employee's rate. You cannot send an Employee Invite without a rate.

NOTE: To help encourage compliance with Federal and state wage laws, TiM only permits day rates for employees affiliated with the DGA, SAG-AFTRA, or Local 800. Contact your payroll coordinator for more information, and to address any questions you have about calculating hourly rates. 

• If applicable, enter a guaranteed number of hours. If employees are not being paid with a guarantee, enter "0.0".
• Select the Overtime regulation from the drop down menu. 

NOTE: if you are unsure about the overtime laws of your state, contact your payroll coordinator. 

• If this employee will receive a Box/Kit Rental or Allowance, click "Add Box/Kit Allowances". A list of allowances will appear. 
• To add box/kit or allowances: 
  • Select the allowance this employee is to receive via the checkmark box on the left.
  • Enter the rate of allowance and define that rate as per day, per week, or per month.
  • Optional: Enter an Accounting Code. 
• Enter any notes into the "Add'l Rate and Basis Notes" field.

The "Add'l Rate and Basis Notes" area is available so you can enter any other information regarding this employee's wages. 

Suggested notes include: "Box Kit caps at $500 per week", or "$57.1428 equals $800/12 with 1.5x OT".

Step 4. Define the employee's Permissions

For more information about Permissions and how they work, see: Understanding Permissions in TiM

• Move to the next section: "Permissions". 
• Grant Permissions to determine what the employee will be able to see and access for this Project from their TiM Account. 

Crew Management: Allow this person to invite other employees or verify I-9s.

Production Information: Allow employees to help set up or edit production information or Startwork Templates.

Production Oversight: Designate who can review and/or approve Startwork. 

Step 5. Add Accounting Codes (optional/if applicable)

The information entered in this area is for internal use only. It will not be visible to the employee. 

• Move to the next section: "Account Codes". If applicable, enter accounting code information for this employee.
• Add any custom notes you want to be on record in the payroll bible. 

Step 6. Write a note to the employee (optional) 

It is optional to add a custom note to the employee, but it's a nice touch.

Step 7. Decide if you want the employee to receive a Form I-9

In TiM, a Form I-9 is automatically matched to employees when they are Invited to complete Startwork.

If you know this employee does not need to complete an I-9, you can check the box next to "Do not include a Form I-9 in this employee's Startwork packet".

NOTE: Loan-outs typically receive W-9s, while individuals typically receive I-9s and W-4s. Therefore, if you select "Will be paid as Loan-out for this production", the option "Do not include a Form I-9 in this employee's Startwork packet" is selected by default. However, the I-9 selection is not dependent on the loan out status. You can de-select this option and retain the loan out status, or choose not to include an I-9 without indicating loan out. 

Step 8. Send the Invite!

• Double check to make sure all details within this Invite are correct. 
• Click "Send Invite". 

The employee will receive an email notification letting them know they have been Invited to a Project and their Startwork is ready for them to complete!  

Pro Tips:

• You can track the status of Employee Invites and Startwork from Crew Management.
• To see a complete list of what types of packets were matched to each employee on your Project, go to Startwork Templates and click "Startwork Type Distro List".