When you commission a production to a service producer, Visualnet gives you direct access to benchmarks, award history and process documentation — without relying on the producer's own reports.
Documentation requirements vary according to the studio's market and the country of production. Select your territory to see the specific regulatory framework that applies to your production.
State tax credits in Georgia, New York and California require that every production cost is real and at market rate. Where transactions involve related entities, the IRS applies IRC §482. Your CFO certifies the accuracy of internal controls personally under SOX §302 and §404. A procurement process that cannot be documented is a liability that belongs to Finance, not Production.
Regulatory framework
What Visualnet certifies
Every production cost line was procured through a documented competitive process at verified market rate. The sealed benchmark report — generated under our proprietary Patent Pending methodology (U.S. App. No. 64/036,591) — is the benchmark documentation designed to demonstrate arm's length compliance before the IRS. 98,000+ verified companies. 139,000+ activity records. Coverage of the eligible market, verifiable at line-item level.
The United Kingdom and Spain are the two largest destinations for US studio productions seeking tax incentives outside North America. The UK's High-End TV Tax Relief moves over £5.5 billion in production spend annually. Spain's Art. 36.2 LIS — and the Canary Islands incentive, up to 50%+10% — attracts major international productions to European soil. Whether you engage a national production company or a service producer, the regulatory exposure is identical once an incentive is claimed.
Where transactions involve related entities, IRC §482 applies to every vendor decision made in either territory. If there is misconduct in either country — by your national production partner, service producer or their supply chain — the DOJ investigates under FCPA regardless of your direct knowledge. In the UK, the Bribery Act 2010 imposes strict liability on your organisation for the conduct of your associated persons. Your CFO has already certified under SOX that internal controls are adequate. That certification covers London and Madrid.
Regulatory framework
What Visualnet certifies
The sealed NISR 4400 benchmark report is the evidence designed to demonstrate arm's length compliance, adequate procedures and market pricing before the IRS, DOJ, SEC and SFO simultaneously. Whether your production is based at Leavesden or in the Canary Islands, your regulatory exposure is documented, verifiable and defensible. One process. One report.
Three principles no conventional procurement system can offer.
Verifiable coverage of 100% of the eligible market
It is not measured whether there are three bids. It is verified that every company in the market capable of executing each line item was contacted. 98,000+ verified companies in the private directory. 139,000+ activity records. Coverage is auditable, not declared.
Three legally differentiated certification levels
Full Certification — entire eligible market contacted, minimum three bids received. Market Exhaustion — 100% of the market contacted, insufficient supply due to genuine scarcity. Non-Certifiable — insufficient market coverage. Each level carries distinct implications before any tax regulator.
Chained and immutable audit trail
Every process event is recorded with a timestamp, SHA-256 chaining and a qualified eIDAS/FNMT-RCM digital signature. The record cannot be altered retroactively. This is the same standard required by regulators for documentary evidence in inspection proceedings.
With Visualnet: the studio presents the history and sealed benchmarks
Objective, independent evidence that each service was contracted at real market rates, with full traceability from request to award.
U.S. Patent Application Nos. 64/036,591 · 64/036,620 · Patent Pending
The real film and TV production market
130,000+ film and TV companies. You compare with the entire market, not a sample.
Europe
Spain · United Kingdom · France · Germany · Italy
Americas
United States · Canada
When commissioning a production to a service producer, your own corporate policies, regulatory obligations and the tax incentives financing the project all depend on procurement having been done correctly — at market rates, without favouritism, with documented evidence.
Until now, verifying this meant waiting for manual reports that arrived late or not at all. Visualnet gives you direct access, in real time, without depending on the producer for information.
Without Visualnet
You depend on manual reports from the producer. No real-time visibility. In an inspection or audit, reconstructing the documentation takes weeks.
With Visualnet
Read-only portal with real-time access to the procurement process of each production. All documentation available with no extra effort from the producer.
Monitor the procurement process of each production in real time without interfering with the team's management. Access to benchmarks, received bids and awards as they happen.
Each request for proposals generates a sealed, immutable market benchmark at closing. Market price evidence valid before AEAT (Spain), HMRC (United Kingdom) and IRS (United States).
Chained history with cryptographic verification (SHA-256). Impossible to alter the record without leaving a mathematical trace. Exportable as PDF and CSV for investment committees, boards of directors and external audits.
Negotiable framework agreement with SLA and co-branding. Compatible with reporting to investment committees and boards. ESG and sustainability criteria configurable per project.
Request a personalised demo for your studio or broadcaster. We show you the supervision portal with real production data.