Use this guide to create a project directly from the Projects dashboard and build its structure and original budget manually. Have your client details, project stages and agreed task prices ready.
1. Create the project
Open Projects and click Add Project.
Start typing the Client name, then select the matching client. If the name does not exist in your account, Drum displays a note that the project will be allocated to a new client.
Assign the person responsible for the project under Project Staffing, such as the Project Manager.
Enter the project Name and check the previewed Project Number. Use Edit Default Numbering if you need to adjust it.
Review the Rate Card, especially if you plan to calculate prices from estimated resources. Leave Templates blank to build the structure from scratch.
Add any optional details you need, such as start and end dates, description or scope, tags, project contacts and addresses.
Scroll to the bottom of the form and click Create Project.
Check the client, project manager, name and numbering before creating the project
2. Open the original budget
On the new project, the Work tab shows No Deliverables Yet. Click Create Budget Structure.
If a structure already exists, open the Budget tab and click Edit Original Budget to return to the original budget editor.
3. Add deliverables and tasks
Click Add Deliverable.
Leave Filter Deliverable By Project Template set to Leave blank to add an empty deliverable, then click Add Deliverable to Project. Drum adds a blank deliverable containing a blank task.
Rename the deliverable for a stage or output in your project, such as Concept Design, Detailed Design or Construction Docs.
Rename the task beneath it. A simple deliverable can have one task with the same name. For more detail, click Add Task within that deliverable and name each task.
Repeat until every stage and its tasks are included.
Leave the template filter blank to add an empty deliverable, then click Add Deliverable to Project.
Tip: On most input fields in this editor, use Shift + Up Arrow or Shift + Down Arrow to move between fields.
4. Set each task’s budget and price
Budgets in Drum are set at the task level. For a straightforward fixed-price project, enter the agreed client price for each task:
Click the calculator icon beside the task’s item type to switch from dynamic pricing to fixed-price mode. The icon is grey in fixed-price mode.
For a single agreed amount, set the quantity to 1 and the unit to Per Item.
Enter the agreed amount in Rate / Contract.
Check the task’s Total, then repeat for the remaining tasks.
With no resource estimates, a fixed-price task has the same budget and contract value. You can also use either of these approaches:
Calculate the price from resources: use dynamic pricing to build the task value from estimated hours per resource type and the billable rates on the project’s rate card.
Keep a separate internal budget: combine a fixed client price with resource estimates. The estimates form the internal budget your team works towards, while the fixed price forms the client contract value.
For the detailed steps for these alternatives, see Set task prices and internal budgets.
Check each task price and the totals for its deliverable (budget detail crop).
5. Check the totals and work structure
Scroll to the bottom of the budget and review Original Budget and Original Contract Value. If you have separate internal budgets and client prices, check both totals against your estimates and agreement.
Open the Work tab. Changes made in the original budget editor automatically update the work breakdown structure.
Confirm that every deliverable and task appears with the names and structure you intended.
Check that the Work tab contains the deliverables and tasks you created in the budget.
Your project now has a work structure and an original budget ready to use.
Watch the project creation walkthrough.