Overview
Drum makes it fast and simple to create invoices directly within any project. Whether you're invoicing a fixed deposit, billing for time and materials, or issuing a milestone-based claim, Drum streamlines the process by pulling your project data together into a ready-to-send invoice.
Drum works with two accounting platforms to handle invoice delivery and payment tracking:
Xero — cloud accounting software
QuickBooks — accounting and financial management software
How it Works
Drum creates and organises your invoice data, while the actual sending of the invoice (including the PDF and email delivery) is handled through your connected Xero or QuickBooks account. The two systems stay in sync automatically any changes made on either side are reflected in real time.
Invoice Types Supported
When adding a new invoice in Drum, you can choose from several invoice types. These act as a starting point, you can always adjust the details afterwards.
Invoice Type | When to Use |
Fixed Amount | Invoice a set dollar amount, such as a deposit or agreed project fee. |
All Billable Time & Cost (by Task) | Automatically pull in all logged billable hours and costs, grouped by task or other key concept. |
Whole Proposal Amount | Invoice the full amount from the project proposal (with line items structured in the same way as well) |
Percentage-Based | Invoice a percentage of the total, useful for milestone or monthly billing when a formal progress claim process is not required. |
⚠️ Important Note: Before you can create invoices from Drum, your Drum account must first be connected to either Xero or QuickBooks. This setup only needs to be completed once.
How to Connect Your Accounting Platform
Step 1. Open your account settings
Click on your initials in the top corner of Drum to open the account menu.
Step 2. Go to Integrations
Select Integrations from the menu.
Step 3. Connect your account
Under Financial Integrations, click the Connect to Xero or Connect to QuickBooks button and follow the prompts
This process will open an authentication wizard in your Xero account where you can optionally select the Xero tenant (account) that you'd like to connect.
Step 4. Automatic data sync
On first connection, Drum will automatically import your tax rates, line item codes, tracking categories, and finance accounts from your accounting platform for reference within Drum.
Upon completing this process, Drum will display the connected Xero tenant along with the permissions that have been successfully granted. This allows you to confirm that the integration has been connected correctly and that Drum has the required access to sync and manage data with Xero.
📝 Note: This Xero connection process will only need to be done once, unless your Xero connection expires or the Xero connection is removed via your Xero "Connected Apps" settings.
💡 Tip
Drum is an approved and supported integration on both Xero and QuickBooks, which means the connection process is designed to be secure and straightforward. In most cases, you should be able to connect your accounting platform successfully by simply following the setup steps provided during the integration process.
Creating an Invoice -Step by Step
Step 1: Open the Invoices Tab on Your Project
Navigate to the relevant project in Drum. Click on the Invoices tab within that project, then click Add Invoice to begin.
In this example, navigate to the Invoices page and click the “Add Invoice” button to start creating a new invoice for the selected project.
Step 2. Choose Your Invoice Type
A prompt will ask you to select an Invoice Type. This sets up your invoice with a starting structure; it's not locked in, and you can edit everything afterwards.
For this example, we'll walk through creating a Fixed Amount invoice (e.g., a $2,500 deposit). Please note that the "Invoice type" is just a starting point and your invoice can be adjusted as required once created.
Step 3. Set the Billing Period
Choose the billing period that applies to this invoice. This determines which time entries and costs will be included.
💡Tip
If you want to capture all the time from the very beginning of the project, simply remove the start date field. Drum will then pull in all time entries from when the project started. Alternatively, you can click on the "Include all un-billed time and costs" checkbox.
Step 4. Add Your Project Costs
During invoice creation, you can include all associated project costs such as time logged by your team and any subcontractor or supplier expenses.
💡You can include all un-billed time, costs, and project expenses in the invoice. Including these costs is recommended, as it helps you track project spending, monitor progress, and better understand the project’s overall profitability.
📌 Helpful Reminder
The costs shown in this section are for your internal visibility only. They do not appear on the client-facing invoice. What clients see is limited to the invoice line items (e.g., the deposit amount and project description).
Step 5. Review and Save the Invoice
Click Save and Edit to generate the first draft of your invoice. You'll see:
Your invoice line items — the items and amounts the client will see.
An optional project description line — included by default. This can be turned off in your settings if it's not relevant.
Invoice inclusions — all time entries and costs assigned to this invoice, shown in a section below for your reference.
Step 6. Check Your Profitability at a Glance
At the top of the invoice, Drum shows you a real-time profitability snapshot. For example:
• Total billable costs incurred: $4,000
• Amount being invoiced: $2,500
• Difference: $1,500 (invoicing 62% of costs incurred)
This helps you clearly track how your billing aligns with project costs at each invoicing milestone, as shown in the section below for reference.
Step 7. Set the Invoice Date and Due Date
Enter an Issue Date and Due Date for the invoice. For example, if your payment terms are 14 days, set the due date accordingly.
📝 Note: Standard payment terms can be set at three different levels in your Drum account:
Whole-of-business
Per-company
Per-project
This allows you to set standard payment terms for the business generally, but override at a company or project level as required.
Step 8 . Set the Internal Drum Status
Use the Drum Status field to manage your internal approval workflow:
Drum Status | What It Means |
Awaiting Approval | The invoice has been raised but not yet reviewed. Useful if a project manager creates the invoice but an accounts team needs to approve it before it goes to Xero/QuickBooks. |
Approved | The invoice is approved internally and ready to be pushed to Xero or QuickBooks. |
This example shows the Drum Status is "Approved"
This example shows the Drum Status is "Awaiting Approval."
📌 Helpful Reminder
The Drum Status is internal only. Setting it to Approved does not automatically send the invoice it simply enables you to then set the status in Xero or QuickBooks.
Step 9. Push the Invoice to Xero or QuickBooks
Once the Drum Status is set to Approved, you can update the Xero (or QuickBooks) status. You'll have three options. Choosing one will automatically trigger the third-party integration process and send the invoice data to your connected accounting platform.
This example shows that once the invoice is synced, Xero or QuickBooks will generate a unique invoice number. You can then click View in Xero or View in QuickBooks directly from Drum to access the live invoice.
💡 Two-Way Sync
Once your invoice is connected, changes made in either Drum or Xero/QuickBooks will automatically be reflected on both sides in real time. The only exception to this is when an invoice is marked as "Approved" on your financial software and they prevent further action from the Drum side.
Step 10. Send the Invoice to Your Client
The actual sending of the invoice to your client (including the PDF email) is handled through Xero or QuickBooks. From within your accounting platform, approve and email the invoice to complete the process.
This example shows that the actual process of sending the invoice to your client, including the PDF email delivery, is managed through Xero or QuickBooks.
To complete the process, simply approve and send the invoice directly from your accounting platform.
This example shows that once the invoice has been sent, the updated invoice status will automatically sync and display in Drum.
Managing All Invoices Across Your Business
To see all invoices raised across every project, go to the Insights area in Drum and click on Accounts Receivable.
From this view, you can:
Filter invoices by date range (e.g., invoices raised this month).
View the Xero/QuickBooks status for each invoice at a glance.
Track all outstanding accounts receivable across your entire business in one place.
⚠️ Important — Staff Access Restrictions
Some actions in Drum's invoicing workflow require direct access to your Xero or QuickBooks account. If a staff member does not have access to your accounting platform, they will be redirected to a 'no access' page when attempting those actions.
Staff members can still raise and prepare invoices in Drum, but only users with the appropriate accounting account access can push invoices to Xero or QuickBooks.
You can manage which staff members have which permissions from the Settings area in Drum.
Quick Reference: Invoicing Checklist
☐ | Connect Drum to Xero or QuickBooks (one-time setup) |
☐ | Open the project → Click Invoices tab → Click Add Invoice |
☐ | Select the appropriate invoice type |
☐ | Set the billing period |
☐ | Add project costs (time and expenses) for internal tracking |
☐ | Review and edit line items as needed |
☐ | Set Issue Date and Due Date |
☐ | Set Drum Status to Approved |
☐ | Update the Xero/QuickBooks status to push the invoice across |
☐ | Send the final invoice to your client from Xero or QuickBooks |
Need Help?
If you have any questions or run into issues while invoicing in Drum, our team is available to help.
💬 Contact Support
Use the live chat in the bottom right-hand corner of Drum to reach our support team. We're always happy to assist.