Entertainment Payroll Platform Wrapbook Raises $3.6M

Payroll processing platform Wrapbook has raised $3.6 million in seed funding for its technology that streamlines onboarding, payment and insurance for the entertainment industry, according to a Tuesday (Aug. 25) announcement.

“Wrapbook is the easiest way for employers to compliantly pay employees for a week of work,” Wrapbook Co-founder and CEO Ali Javid said in the announcement. “We are here to help employers and employees be paperless to assist with COVID-19 and be AB5-compliant in entertainment and across project-based industries.”

Wrapbook, which has offices in New York City, Los Angeles and Toronto, streamlines payroll and taxes by determining the amount of national and local taxes in each state. The company also calculates the amount of employer fringes and complex timecards, in addition to collecting union pension and health benefits, according to the news release. When a production is complete, the company aims to digitize the payroll and offloading processes for greater speed and efficiency.

Wrapbook said that typically, crew documentation procedures require between two and five coordination staffers to onboard the stars and other employees, while as many as five days are needed for payroll calculations. The company claims that in many cases, its virtual onboarding technology completes the process weeks or days ahead of filming. Wrapbook also noted that eliminating the need for in-person paperwork helps to protect the health and wellness of everyone involved.

The news comes as remote worker-focused payroll company Deel raised $14 million in a Series A funding round, per news in May. Andreessen Horowitz led the round, with its general partner Anish Acharya was to take a seat on the firm’s board.

And in December, payroll startup Hourly, which assists with payroll, time-tracking and workers’ comp insurance, raised $7.15 million in a seed round.