Data Center to Cloud: project cost from worklogs in Jira

By Kayabyte · Updated 2 November 2026

Short answer: Jira stores hours, not money, on Data Center and on Cloud. Data Center teams that needed cost per project typically used a time and cost plugin, exported worklogs to a spreadsheet, or queried the database. In Cloud, direct database access is gone, so the routes are the worklog REST API, a spreadsheet export, or an app. Burnrate is our app that prices worklogs with hourly rates and compares them with budgets.

How it was done on Data Center

• A Marketplace time and cost plugin with rates and budgets (Tempo’s Timesheets and Financial Manager are well-known examples).
• Worklog exports to a spreadsheet, with a rate table and pivot tables.
• Reports from the database, where an admin queried the worklog table with SQL and joined a rate list.
• Built-in time tracking reports for hours only.

What Cloud offers natively

• Worklogs on work items, time tracking fields and reports for hours.
• The Jira REST API for worklogs (for example /rest/api/3/worklog/updated and /worklog/list), so a script can read them.
• No direct SQL access to the Jira database, so a Data Center SQL report has to be replaced.
• No hourly rates or project budgets in core Jira.

Details: How to track project cost and budgets in Jira from worklogs, How to see what a Jira epic costs and How to see project cost from Tempo worklogs in Jira.

Your options in Cloud

1. Spreadsheet. Export worklogs and price them with a rate table. Free, manual, and rates that change over time are easy to get wrong.
2. A script on the REST API. Reads worklogs and applies dated rates. You maintain it.
3. An app. Burnrate (our app, built on Forge) sets hourly rates once, with dates, adds budgets for projects, epics, versions or JQL, and shows a forecast. Free for up to 10 users, with pricing on the Marketplace listing for larger sites.
4. If you already use Tempo on Data Center, check Tempo’s Cloud offering and its migration documentation for what carries over.

If you have this problem with 11 or more users and want to try it with us, see design partners.

FAQ

Does Jira Cloud show project cost? Not in core Jira. It shows logged time. Cost needs rates and a calculation, in a spreadsheet, a script or an app.

Can I still run SQL reports on worklogs after moving to Cloud? No. Atlassian does not give direct database access in Cloud. Use the REST API or an app.

Will my rates and budgets migrate? Rates and budgets kept in a plugin only move if that plugin’s vendor offers a Cloud migration path. Rates kept in a spreadsheet stay yours to import.

Jira and Atlassian are trademarks of Atlassian. Kayabyte is an independent developer and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Atlassian.

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