In the AV, events, and production industry, your crew is your product. The equipment matters, but it is the people who rig the truss, mix the sound, operate the cameras, and manage the show. Finding, scheduling, and managing those people — especially when the majority are freelancers — is one of the biggest operational challenges in the industry.
According to research from LASSO, 76% of event professionals say that growing and maintaining their talent pool is their number one challenge. This is not surprising: the events industry relies heavily on a flexible workforce of freelancers and casual staff, and managing that workforce with manual tools quickly becomes unsustainable as a company grows.
Why Spreadsheets Fail for Crew Scheduling
Many AV and events companies start out managing their crew with spreadsheets, WhatsApp groups, and email. For a small company doing a handful of events per month, this can work. But as the business scales, the cracks show quickly:
- Double-bookings: Without a real-time view of who is available when, it is easy to book the same technician on two overlapping jobs. The spreadsheet that looked fine on Monday is out of date by Wednesday.
- No availability visibility: You have to message or call each crew member individually to find out if they are free. For a single event needing 15 crew, that could mean 30 or more messages just to fill the roster.
- Manual communication overhead: Sending booking confirmations, call sheets, location details, and schedule changes all require individual messages. One change to a call time means contacting every single crew member on that job.
- No skills tracking: A spreadsheet might tell you that John is a technician, but does he have a forklift licence? Is he trained on the specific console your client has requested? Is his IPAF certification still in date?
- No audit trail: If a crew member claims they were never told about a schedule change, or disputes their hours, there is no record to refer back to.
What Crew Management Systems Do
A crew management system replaces these manual processes with a structured workflow. The core functions are:
- Availability requests: Rather than chasing crew by phone, you send availability requests to a filtered group of crew members. They respond through the system, giving you a clear picture of who is free.
- Skills-based matching: The system stores each crew member's skills, certifications, and experience. When staffing a job, you can filter by the specific skills required — for example, all available sound engineers with a specific console certification.
- Scheduling with conflict detection: The system knows every crew member's confirmed bookings. If you try to assign someone to a job that overlaps with an existing booking, the system flags the conflict before you confirm.
- Time tracking: Crew members can log their hours through the system, either via a mobile app or a web interface. This replaces paper timesheets and gives you accurate data for payroll.
- Payroll integration: Approved hours feed into payroll calculations, applying the correct day rates, overtime rules, and any role-specific rates.
Key Features to Look For
If you are evaluating crew management systems for an AV, events, or production company, these are the features that matter most:
Freelancer Database with Skills and Certifications
Your system needs to function as a comprehensive database of your entire crew pool — not just employees, but freelancers and casual staff. Each profile should store:
- Contact details and emergency contacts
- Skills and specialisms (e.g., audio, lighting, rigging, video, staging)
- Certifications with expiry dates (IPAF, PASMA, first aid, forklift, electrical qualifications)
- Equipment they own or are trained on
- Day rates and any role-specific rates
- Past job history and performance notes
Availability Calendar
Crew members should be able to set their own availability in the system — marking dates they are unavailable due to holidays, other commitments, or simply choosing not to work. This saves you from sending availability requests to people who are clearly not free.
Automated Booking Requests
When you need crew for a job, the system should let you send booking requests to a filtered group via email or SMS. Crew members accept or decline through the system, and the responses are tracked centrally. No more scrolling through WhatsApp threads trying to work out who said yes.
Day Rates and Cost Tracking
Different roles command different rates, and rates can vary by crew member, job type, or client. The system should support flexible rate structures so you can accurately forecast crew costs per event and track actual costs against your budget.
Mobile Access for Crew
Crew members are rarely at a desk. They need to be able to view their schedule, accept or decline bookings, check call sheets, and log their hours from a phone. A system without good mobile access will struggle with crew adoption.
Tools in the Market
Several tools serve the crew management space for AV and events. Here is a factual overview of the established options:
- LASSO: A dedicated crew management platform focused on the events industry. LASSO offers availability management, scheduling, time tracking, and payroll features. It is well established in the US market and is used by some of the largest event production companies. Their research data on industry challenges is widely cited.
- Rentman: Primarily an equipment rental management platform, Rentman includes a crew scheduling module that integrates crew planning directly alongside equipment and transport planning. This is particularly useful for companies that need to manage both equipment and crew for the same events.
- Mertzcrew: A UK-based crew management platform used in the broadcast and live events sectors. Mertzcrew provides freelancer databases, availability management, and booking workflows tailored to the British market.
- CrewPlanner: A European platform offering crew scheduling, time registration, and contract management. It is used across events, catering, and other industries that rely on flexible workforces.
The Case for Integrated Crew and Equipment Management
One of the key decisions companies face is whether to use a standalone crew management tool or one that integrates with their equipment and project management workflow. There are arguments for both approaches, but for AV and events companies that manage both equipment and crew, integration offers clear advantages:
- You can see crew and equipment availability on the same project timeline
- Crew costs and equipment costs roll up into a single project budget
- Scheduling conflicts between crew assignments and equipment bookings are visible in one place
- Crew members can see the equipment list for their assigned jobs, helping them prepare
NexusRMS includes crew management as part of its rental management platform. Crew scheduling sits alongside equipment booking, project planning, and transport — giving AV and events companies a single system for their entire operation rather than switching between separate tools for equipment and people.
Getting Started
If you are currently managing crew with spreadsheets and messaging apps, the transition to a dedicated system does not have to be all-or-nothing. Start by building your crew database: get every freelancer and staff member into the system with their skills, certifications, and contact details. Then begin using the availability and scheduling features for new projects while winding down the old process.
The companies that manage crew well have one thing in common: they treat their freelancer network as a strategic asset, not an afterthought. A crew management system is the tool that makes that possible.