Task pricing controls how Drum calculates a task’s budget and contract value. It is separate from the deliverable’s Fixed Fee or Time And Materials billing method.
Pricing modes
Mode | Budget basis | Contract value |
Dynamic pricing (from resources) | Calculated from the task’s resource and expense estimates. | Follows the calculated task value. |
Fixed pricing (manual), with estimates | Uses the underlying resource and expense estimate basis. | Uses the manually entered task quantity and rate. It can differ from the estimate. |
Fixed pricing (manual), without estimates | Uses the manually entered task quantity and rate. | Matches that manual value. |
The calculator control identifies the mode. Its tooltip reads Dynamic pricing (from resources) or Fixed pricing (manual). Internal-process items do not carry a billable task budget.
Resource and expense estimates
Each estimate uses a quantity, unit and rate. The available units include Hour, Day and Per Item. Estimate line totals contribute to the task calculation; task values then roll up to deliverable and project summaries.
Adding or changing an estimate is different from logging actual time or recording an incurred expense.
Budget, contract and buffer
The budget editor displays Budget and Contract for fixed-fee deliverables. Buffer is the difference between contract value and internal budget.
For example, estimates of $4,000 with a manual client price of $5,000 produce a $1,000 buffer. An expense estimate is part of the estimate basis too; the calculation is not limited to staff hours.
Rate changes
Dynamic pricing uses the rates held on the estimate entries. Do not assume that changing any staff or account rate automatically rewrites every existing estimate. Rate-card application, manual rates and the state of the budget affect which values are updated.