Everything it takes to run client work end to end
A project management tool that doesn't stop at tasks. Beacon carries the work from the estimate you quote to the payout a developer receives. Here's each part of it.
Estimations
The feature the rest of the product hangs off. A per-developer estimate with estimated hours and either an hourly rate or a fixed price, and the total is computed for you.
- Hourly or fixed pricing. Set a rate and hours, or a flat number. Payout tracking works the same either way.
- A real approval flow. Draft, submitted, approved, rejected, re-edit, completed, archived.
- Reasons travel with the record. Rejections carry a reason and re-edits carry a note.
- Its own work status. Not started, in progress, work completed, ready for payment.
- Start and end dates on every estimate, so scheduling isn't a guess.
Time tracking
A Toggl-style running timer that tracks real hours against real work, and keeps edits honest.
- A running timer with a live indicator and the elapsed clock in your browser tab.
- Clock in and out or run the timer, plus a calendar view of everything logged.
- Entries tie to a task or estimate, never floating loose.
- Time-change requests. A developer proposes an edit, a manager reviews it, and the change stays auditable.
Projects & tasks
Structure that matches how client work actually moves, not a generic kanban with the labels changed.
- Project types for one-time, retainer, maintenance, and block-of-hours work.
- Priorities from Low to Urgent, and a full status lifecycle that runs Draft, Planning, Pending approval, Approved, In progress, On hold, Review, Completed, and Cancelled.
- Delivery phases including "waiting on client / developer / designer / PM / lead," Design, Development, Testing, Deployment, Maintenance, and post-go-live support.
- Budgets, deadlines, milestones, public/private visibility, and per-member assignments.
- Tasks with subtasks, statuses (To do, In progress, In review, Completed, Blocked, Cancelled), priorities, and assignees. Tasks can be marked ready for payment.
To do 4
Wire up invoice webhook
Empty states for reports
In progress 3
Refactor auth middleware
Migrate legacy time entries
Review 2
Rate limiting on API
Budget & payouts
Contractor settlement, built in. This is paying the people who did the work, not invoicing your clients.
- Payment records generated against approved estimates and completed work.
- An approval step before payment, then paid and confirmed states.
- Automatic roll-up. Every estimate tracks amount paid versus remaining, per developer.
- "Who is owed what" is always current, with no month-end spreadsheet.
| Developer | Approved | Paid | Remaining | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Devin R. | $4,080 | $2,940 | $1,140 | Pending |
| Jordan P. | $2,550 | $2,550 | $0 | Paid |
| Mara K. | $3,200 | $1,200 | $2,000 | Approved |
Clients
A lightweight directory of names, companies, and contacts that projects and billing attach to. Deliberately not a CRM.
- Every project, estimate, and payout traces back to a client.
- Contacts live in one place instead of scattered across inboxes.
- No pipelines to feed and no busywork, just the record you need to bill against.
Comments & notifications
Keep the conversation on the record, and make sure the right person sees the thing that needs them.
- Threaded comments with @mentions on projects, tasks, and estimates.
- An in-app notification bell with Info, Warning, and Critical severities.
- Alerts for approvals, mentions, payment events, and time-change requests.
Estimate EST-2041 approved by Priya (Manager).
2 min ago · InfoTime-change request from Devin needs your review.
18 min ago · WarningPayout blocked. Estimate exceeds remaining project budget.
1 hr ago · CriticalActivity log
An audit trail of security and money-relevant actions. Who approved an estimate, who confirmed a payout, and when. The answer to "why did this happen" is a record, not a memory.
Billing
Stripe-backed subscriptions with free trials and plan tiers. This is how you pay for Beacon, separate from the developer payouts you run inside it.
Three roles, and everyone sees only what they should
People are invited into an org with a role. Roles gate what each person can see and do, enforced at the data layer, not just hidden in the UI.
Admin
The org owner. Manages members, billing, and the organization's data, including export and delete.
Manager
Approves estimates and payouts, reviews time-change requests, and runs delivery.
Developer
Does the work. Drafts estimates, tracks time, and marks tasks ready for payment.
See the whole loop in your own org
Start free, invite a couple of people, and run one project from estimate to payout.