Pipeline & Proposals
Project Management
Resource Planning
Time & Costs
WIP & Invoicing
Commercial Reporting
Consulting Engineers
Architects
Town Planners
Building Designers
Track project time and costs in one live source of truth
Drum connects timesheets, supplier costs, travel costs and project budgets in one workflow, so project managers, finance and directors can all see how each project is performing commercially.
Instead of tracking labour in one place, supplier costs somewhere else, and project performance in spreadsheets, Drum brings time and costs together against the right project tasks. That feeds live visibility across budgets, WIP, invoicing, utilisation and margin.
- Capture labour, supplier costs and travel against the right project task.
- See budget burn before issues become month-end surprises.
- Feed WIP, invoicing and margin reporting from connected data.
- Cut out disconnected cost registers, delayed exports and manual reporting.
Labour and costs in one place
Track staff time, supplier costs, travel costs and other project expenses against the right project, deliverable or task.
Live project cost visibility
See how labour and external costs are tracking against project budgets before issues become month-end surprises.
Cleaner WIP, invoicing and margin
Because time and costs are captured in the same workflow, finance and directors get a clearer view of earned revenue, recoverable costs, project margin and billing readiness.
Time and costs are the inputs behind project performance
In engineering firms, project performance is rarely just about hours.
A project can look fine on labour budget while supplier costs, travel, subconsultants or reimbursable expenses quietly erode margin. When those costs are tracked separately, or only reconciled at month-end, project managers and directors lose the live commercial visibility they need.
Drum brings labour and project costs into the same operating workflow. Staff time, supplier costs and travel costs are tracked against project tasks, giving the firm a more complete view of budget usage, WIP, invoicing and margin from one connected system.
See how labour and external costs are tracking against the project budget while there is still time to act.
Work from connected time and cost data when reviewing WIP, recoverables and invoicing.
Trust a live view of project performance, utilisation, WIP and margin without relying on manually assembled spreadsheets.
Capture time and costs against the work they belong to
Drum lets your team track both labour and project costs against the right project structure, whether that is a project, deliverable, stage or task.
That means the commercial picture is built from the same operational data your team uses every day.
Staff time
Team members can log time against project work, overheads or leave, helping the business understand labour usage, utilisation and budget burn.
Supplier costs
Capture supplier and subcontractor costs against the relevant project tasks so external project costs are visible alongside labour.
Travel and project expenses
Track travel and other project-related costs where they belong, so recoverable and non-recoverable expenses are not managed in disconnected spreadsheets.
Project budgets
Compare actual labour and costs against the project budget to understand performance before the project is finished.
One source of truth for labour, costs, WIP and margin
When time and costs are managed separately, every team ends up with a different version of project performance.
Project managers maintain budget spreadsheets. Finance checks supplier costs and reimbursables manually. Directors wait for reports. The real margin picture only becomes clear after the fact.
Drum connects the workflow so everyone is working from the same underlying data.
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Project managers
Track labour and costs against the actual work being delivered, so they can see whether projects are staying commercially on track.
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Finance
Use connected time and cost data to review WIP, prepare invoices and identify recoverable costs with less manual reconciliation.
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Directors
See project performance, utilisation, WIP, invoicing and margin from one live source of truth.
Built for how engineering firms actually manage project costs
Engineering firms need to understand more than just who worked on what. They need to know how labour, subconsultants, suppliers, travel and other project costs affect the commercial outcome of each job.
Drum gives teams a practical way to capture those inputs without adding unnecessary complexity.
Track costs against project tasks
Assign supplier, travel and project costs to the relevant project work, rather than leaving them disconnected from the project budget.
Understand labour and non-labour spend
See how both internal effort and external costs contribute to total project performance.
Reimbursable and non-reimbursable
Keep better control over costs that need to be recovered from clients and costs that affect internal margin.
Keep finance connected
Give finance cleaner project cost data before invoicing, rather than relying on month-end spreadsheet checks.
Reduce month-end chasing, cost reconciliation and billing surprises
For many firms, the pain is not just that timesheets are late. It is that time, supplier costs, travel costs, WIP and invoicing all need to be pulled together manually before anyone knows what can be billed.
Drum reduces that drag by keeping time and costs connected throughout the month. As labour and project costs are entered, project managers and finance get a clearer view of what has been spent, what has been earned, what can be invoiced and where margin may be under pressure.
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See what has been logged
Check whether labour, supplier costs and travel costs have been captured against active projects.
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See what is recoverable
Identify costs that may need to be passed through to the client or included in invoicing.
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See what needs review
Spot missing time, unexpected costs, budget pressure or unbilled WIP before they become month-end problems.
Better cost visibility without adding heavy admin
Commercial reporting only works when the underlying data is actually captured. Drum keeps time and cost entry practical, so teams can record the information the business needs without creating another complex admin process.
Staff get a simple way to enter time. Project managers get better budget visibility. Finance gets cleaner WIP and cost data. Directors get a more reliable view of project performance and margin.
The result is better commercial control without the adoption drag of heavier incumbent systems.
From project budget to live commercial visibility
The way time and costs are captured affects everything that follows, from budget burn and WIP through to invoicing, margin and director reporting.
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1
Project budgets are set
Create budgets across the project, deliverables, stages or tasks so the team has a clear commercial baseline.
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2
Staff log time
Team members record labour against the right project work, overhead category or leave type.
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3
Costs are captured
Supplier, travel and project costs are recorded against the relevant project tasks.
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4
Project performance updates
Labour, costs, budget usage and margin visibility update as project data is entered.
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5
WIP and invoicing stay connected
Time and cost data flows into WIP and invoicing workflows, helping finance understand what has been earned, what can be billed and what needs review.
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6
Directors see the live picture
Leadership gets a clearer view of project performance, utilisation, WIP, invoicing and margin from one source of truth.
Drum has been a game-changer for our business. After struggling with Workflow Max, we were searching for a fresh and user-friendly solution. Drum's clean interface and intuitive layout have significantly improved our time sheeting, quoting, project performance visibility, and billing processes just to name a few.
Sean Price
Director, Metiri
Time and costs connect to the rest of the firm
Drum keeps labour, project costs, WIP, invoicing and reporting working from the same underlying data.
Project Management
Track project performance, budgets and delivery against the labour and costs your team captures.
WIP & Invoicing
Turn captured time and costs into cleaner WIP, faster invoicing and fewer month-end workarounds.
Resource Planning
Use utilisation, capacity and upcoming demand to plan workload with confidence.
Pipeline & Proposals
Carry fee proposals into project budgets so the commercial structure is in place before time is logged.
Commercial Reporting
Give directors a live view of pipeline, revenue, utilisation, WIP, margin and project performance.
Xero Integration
Keep finance connected to project activity with genuine two-way sync between Drum and Xero.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about how Drum captures time, supplier costs, travel and project expenses, and how that data flows into budgets, WIP, invoicing and margin reporting.
How is Drum different from a standalone time tracking tool?
Standalone time tracking tools capture hours. Drum connects time with project costs, budgets, WIP, invoicing, utilisation and reporting, so labour and cost data become part of the firm's live operating system.
Can Drum track supplier and travel costs?
Yes. Drum allows supplier, travel and other project costs to be tracked against project tasks, helping project managers and finance understand the full cost picture of each project.
Can costs be tracked against specific project stages or tasks?
Yes. Costs can be recorded against the relevant project structure, helping teams understand where money is being spent and how that affects budget usage and margin.
How does Drum help with WIP and invoicing?
Time and cost data flow into Drum's WIP and invoicing workflows, giving finance a clearer view of what has been earned, what is recoverable, what is ready to bill and what may need review.
Does Drum help with project margin reporting?
Yes. Because labour and costs are tracked against project work, Drum gives directors and project managers a clearer view of how each project is performing commercially.
Does Drum replace spreadsheet-based cost tracking?
For many firms, yes. Drum is designed to reduce reliance on spreadsheets, exports and manual checks by keeping time, costs, budgets, WIP, invoicing and reporting connected in one workflow.
See how time and costs become live commercial visibility in Drum
If your firm is still relying on spreadsheets, exports or manual checks to understand labour, supplier costs, travel costs, WIP, invoicing or project margin, Drum can help create a cleaner source of truth.
Book a personalised walkthrough and see how time and costs flow through budgets, WIP, invoicing and reporting in one connected system.