Pipeline & Proposals
Project Management
Resource Planning
Time & Costs
WIP & Invoicing
Commercial Reporting
Consulting Engineers
Architects
Town Planners
Building Designers
The Live Operating System
for Engineering Firms
Drum gives directors, project managers and finance one trusted view of
pipeline, resourcing, WIP, invoicing, project performance, utilisation
and margin — without relying on spreadsheets, exports or delayed
reports.
Guided implementation
Australian consultants using Drum
Average support response time
Australian-hosted data
Stop making commercial decisions from delayed reports
Most engineering firms already have software in place. The problem is that leadership still has to piece together the real picture from spreadsheets, exports, manual checks and disconnected reports.
- Pipeline sits in one place, projects in another and finance somewhere else.
- Project managers track budgets one way, finance checks WIP another way, and directors wait for reports.
- Spreadsheets are still used to understand resourcing, utilisation, invoicing, margin and project performance.
- Leadership only gets the full picture after someone has manually assembled it.
- Problems are discovered after margin has already leaked.
- Pipeline, proposals, budgets, resourcing, time, costs, WIP, invoicing and reporting work as one connected workflow.
- Project managers, finance and directors work from the same live data.
- WIP, utilisation, margin and project performance are visible without exports or spreadsheet workarounds.
- Leadership can see what is happening while there is still time to act.
- The firm gets the visibility and control it expected from its software in the first place.
One connected workflow from enquiry to invoice
Drum connects the commercial workflow of an engineering firm — from first enquiry through to proposal, project budget, resourcing, time, costs, WIP, invoicing, reporting and finance integration (Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks).
CRM and pipeline
See upcoming work before it becomes a resourcing problem. Track opportunities, proposal value, probability, timing and expected revenue in one place.
Proposals and budgets
Turn fee proposals into structured project budgets, so the commercial assumptions behind each job are visible from the start.
Projects, tasks and resourcing
Plan work around deliverables, tasks, roles and people, so project managers can see what needs to happen and directors can see where capacity is going.
Time, costs and WIP
Capture billable time and costs against the right work, then see WIP and project performance without waiting for month-end reporting.
Invoicing and Finance Integration
Push clean invoice and supplier billing data into Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks and keep finance connected to the operational reality of the firm.
Live reporting
Give directors, finance and project managers the same view of project performance, utilisation, revenue, margin and risk.
Everything your firm needs, nothing it doesn't
Your sales pipeline, proposals, project delivery, timesheets and reporting. Connected end-to-end so you stop re-keying data and start seeing the full picture.
Sales Pipeline
Sales Pipeline
Know What's Coming Before It Arrives
Track every opportunity from first conversation through to signed proposal, including estimated value, probability, timing and expected start date.
Instead of finding out about workload pressure after projects are won, Drum gives directors and managers a forward view of likely revenue and upcoming demand.
- Track opportunities, proposal value and probability.
- Forecast future revenue from live pipeline data.
- See likely project start dates before they become resourcing problems.
- Connect won work directly into project delivery.
Proposals and budgets
Proposals and budgets
Turn fee proposals into commercially visible project budgets
Drum connects the promise made in the proposal to the budget your team actually needs to manage.
When a proposal becomes a project, the fee, deliverables, tasks and budget structure carry through — giving project managers and directors a clearer view of what was sold, what was planned and how the project is performing.
- Build proposals around real deliverables and scope.
- Convert accepted proposals into project budgets.
- Track budget versus actuals from the start.
- Reduce the gap between sales, delivery and finance.
Project Management
Project Management
See whether projects are commercially on track while there is still time to act
Drum helps project managers run delivery while giving directors and finance live visibility into budget burn, WIP, invoicing progress and margin risk.
Instead of waiting until the end of the project to discover whether it made money, your team can see performance as work happens.
- Track work against deliverables, tasks and budgets.
- See actual time and costs against the project plan.
- Identify margin risk before it becomes a write-off.
- Give project managers and leadership the same project view.
Staff Resourcing
Staff Resourcing
Plan capacity from live project and pipeline demand
Drum helps engineering firms understand where team capacity is going, who is overloaded and whether upcoming work can realistically be delivered.
Because resourcing is connected to pipeline, projects and budgets, directors can make better decisions about hiring, delivery pressure and which work to take on.
- See team workload across active projects.
- Understand upcoming demand from likely pipeline.
- Identify overloaded people and underused capacity.
- Make resourcing decisions from live commercial data.
WIP and finance
WIP and finance
Give finance the project data they need without chasing spreadsheets
Drum connects project delivery, time, costs, WIP and invoicing so finance can work from the same live operational data as project managers and directors.
That means fewer manual checks, fewer spreadsheet reconciliations and a clearer view of what can be invoiced, what is at risk and where revenue is sitting.
- Track WIP from live project activity.
- Prepare invoices from real project and time data.
- Reduce re-keying between operations and Xero / MYOB / QuickBooks.
- Give finance visibility without constant follow-up.
- Keep directors across revenue, invoicing and margin.
Firm Insights
Firm Insights
One live view of performance, utilisation, WIP and margin
Drum gives leadership a trusted commercial view of the firm without waiting for manually assembled reports.
Directors can see how the firm is performing across pipeline, workload, project budgets, utilisation, WIP, invoicing and margin — all from the same connected data your team uses to run the work.
- Monitor project performance in real time.
- See utilisation and team workload.
- Track WIP, invoicing and revenue.
- Understand margin by project, client and team.
- Replace manual reporting with live operational visibility.
You do not need another heavy system your team avoids
Many firms already have project management software. The issue is that it is too complex, too disconnected or too hard to trust day-to-day, so the real management system becomes spreadsheets again.
Built for adoption
Drum is designed to be simple enough for the whole team to use, not just administrators or power users.
Built for visibility
The workflow connects CRM, proposals, budgets, resourcing, time, WIP, invoicing and reporting so leadership can see what is happening live.
Built for engineering firms
Drum reflects the way consulting engineering firms manage fees, budgets, deliverables, time, WIP, invoicing and project performance.
The result is a system your team can actually use, and a commercial view leadership can actually trust.
Trusted by firms replacing manual reporting with live visibility
Engineering and built environment firms use Drum to create a clearer, more connected way to manage projects, performance and finance.
"We have found the team from Drum to be both responsive to our needs and open to changes and improvements. Implementing Drum has allowed us to significantly improve the visibility of our projects' performance to the team and is resulting more timely and accurate management of our projects."
"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. The Drum team are incredibly responsive to our needs and open to our suggestions. Their willingness to adapt the software to our specific requirements made it an even better fit for our business. I highly recommend Drum to anyone looking for a reliable and efficient management tool."
"Drum has become our single source of information for project scheduling, tracking, QA and correspondence. We used to use multiple platforms across our engineering, drafting and administration teams but now all staff use Drum to achieve a more effective and efficient workflow. Our goal was initially to replace our existing scheduling system. Drum has given us so much more, and ultimately we now have more streamlined systems and procedures across multiple areas of our business."
"Drums philosophy of being a 'single source of truth' has allowed us to manage project data simply and accurately. It has helped streamline our processes and we have found the team to be accommodating in all regards."
Frequently asked questions
Common questions from directors and practice managers considering Drum.
What is Drum?
Drum is an operating system for engineering and built environment firms. It connects CRM, proposals, project budgets, resourcing, time, costs, WIP, invoicing, reporting and Xero so directors, project managers and finance can work from the same live source of truth.
Is Drum just project management software?
No. Drum includes project management, but the bigger value is commercial visibility across the firm. It connects the operational workflow from enquiry to invoice, so leadership can see pipeline, workload, WIP, invoicing, project performance, utilisation and margin in one place.
We already use project management software. Why would we need Drum?
Many firms have software in place but still rely on spreadsheets, exports and manual reports to understand what is really happening. Drum is designed to reduce those workarounds by connecting the core commercial workflow in one practical system.
How is Drum different from heavier incumbent systems?
Drum is designed for firms that want live visibility and control without the complexity and adoption drag of heavier systems. The focus is simple workflows, fast adoption, strong Xero integration and practical reporting that project managers, finance and directors can all use.
How quickly can we implement Drum?
Most firms can be guided through onboarding quickly, with setup focused on your real workflow: CRM, proposals, projects, budgets, time, WIP, invoicing and reporting.
Does Drum integrate with Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks?
Yes. Drum integrates with Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks so project, time, WIP and invoicing data can connect cleanly with your finance process, regardless of which accounting platform your firm uses.
Is Drum suitable for larger engineering firms?
Yes, especially where leadership needs better visibility across project performance, resourcing, WIP, invoicing, utilisation and margin, but does not want to force the team through a complex enterprise implementation.
Where is Drum hosted?
Drum data is hosted in Australia, which supports local performance and data sovereignty expectations for Australian firms.
Ready to see what your firm looks like with one live source of truth?
Book a walkthrough and we’ll show how Drum connects pipeline, proposals, budgets, resourcing, time, WIP, invoicing, reporting and Xero into one practical operating system for your firm.
"Drum has given us so much more than we expected. We now have streamlined systems across our entire business."
Barry Cromar, Director — HR Design