What is drilling software?

Drilling software is a digital platform that replaces paper and Excel shift reports (also known as Plods, DDRs, or DSRs), with real-time data capture for drilling programs. It gives mining teams and drilling contractors shared visibility into rig costs, progress, and compliance, so both sides work from the same live data instead of reconciling conflicting records after the fact.

Everything you need to know about drilling software - what it is, why it matters, and how it helps mining and drilling teams work better together.

Why drilling software matters more than ever

Find out how drilling software can help your whole team drill better

The benefits of CorePlan's drilling management platform

Why consider drilling software?

Drilling software matters because manual data collection can't keep pace with what a modern drilling program generates. Drilling programs produce mountains of data, and spreadsheets and paper forms weren't built to handle that volume.

When errors and inconsistencies creep into the data, someone has to catch them, which means extra admin hours spent reconciling numbers that should've been right the first time. That reconciliation is often where disputes between contractors and clients start. Worse, missing or wrong information doesn't just cost time. It leads to missed targets, blown timelines, and budgets that don't hold.

CorePlan's drilling management platform digitises the workflow. Mobile apps replace messy paper Plods/DDRs, sending updates straight to the office. That means faster cost tracking and cleaner data. Teams also get real-time visibility into rig utilisation and performance.

With complete oversight, drilling teams and geos can streamline operations and cut costs, and that makes every program more successful.

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Who should use drilling software?

Drilling software is built for both sides of a drilling program, the driller filling out the Plod and the geo waiting on the numbers. It's worth checking whether either side of that applies to you.

If you're a driller, ask yourself:

Are you reworking the same drilling data to make sure it's right?
Are you rushing invoices every payment cycle?
Are you juggling spreadsheets and systems just to get basic reports?
Do you and your clients/contractors have different versions of the truth?

If you're a geo/part of the exploration team, ask yourself:

Do you need better visbility into drilling metres, costs, and progress against timelines?
Are pre-drilling items on track, or are they holding up the start of drilling?
Are you managing mountains of spreadsheets for rig scheduling, costs, Plods, reconciliations?
Are you reformatting drilling data just to make it fit your geological database?

If you answered yes to any of the above - drilling software can help.

When’s the right time to adopt drilling software?

A single rig is usually manageable on a spreadsheet. One crew, one data stream, nothing too hard to track by hand. The moment a second rig comes online, that same spreadsheet starts working against you, since now there are two sets of numbers to reconcile instead of one shared view to trust. That's the point most teams should make the switch, not a fixed date and not a sense that they've waited too long.

CorePlan's drilling management platform makes it easy to switch. There's no custom build required, and setup moves fast, backed by a team that's already onboarded thousands of users across drilling programs. It sits in the operational layer between planning, execution, and field data, connecting the tools already in use instead of forcing a replacement, so bringing in new technology doesn't mean locking a site into a single vendor.

Start now, and transform how your team works, with fewer delays and fewer disputes.

The evolution of drilling software

CorePlan launched in 2020 to fix an industry that still runs on tools built decades ago. At CorePlan, the belief is that software should be powerful and easy to use for both contractors and mining teams. Too much of the industry still relies on clunky, outdated systems.

Legacy systems demand heavy IT lift but don't deliver enough value. They're hard to use and slow to update, and they often create more problems than they solve, from messy data to constant disagreement.

CorePlan was built from the ground up for the real needs of drilling teams. CorePlan is:

Easy to use, even offline
Ready to deploy (no custom builds)
Subscription-based, with live chat support
Built to evolve with your team

CorePlan is constantly adding new features and integrations, with analytics that stretch from safety and sampling to performance tracking and timesheets.

The future of drilling software is intuitive, and built for the people who actually use it. That future's already here, and it's CorePlan.

How drilling software fits into your operations

Drilling software fits into operations by replacing scattered, contractor-specific systems with one shared record of plods, contracts, and performance data. Drilling is complex, and only getting more so. With contractors and mining teams often using different systems, or none at all, things fall through the cracks:

Data gets lost or goes unchecked
People end up arguing over different versions of the truth

CorePlan fixes this by bringing plods and contract data into one place, so teams can move faster and work smarter.

There's no more spreadsheet wrangling or email ping pong. Teams get one system and one truth, plus more time to focus on what matters.

Why consider drilling software?

Forget about drowning in spreadsheets and paper forms—today's mining operations demand something smarter. Drilling programs churn out mountains of data, and you need a slick way to handle it all.

Drilling software digitises your data. Mobile apps replace messy paper plods and DDRs, instantly sending info to the office. That means tracking costs, fine-tuning rig utilisation, and keeping tabs on your drilling progress – all with ease.

Gain complete insight into your drilling operations. Drilling software makes it easy to streamline programs, cut costs, and make every project more successful.

🔍 Click to enlarge

Who should use drilling software?

Do you need better visibility into your drilling metres, charges and progress?

Do you and your team find yourself having to rework drilling data multiple times to ensure it's accurate?

Do you find yourself juggling multiple systems, spreadsheets, or processes to run calculations, often spending significant time wrangling to get the reports you need?

Are you and your clients or contractors butting heads because everyone has a different version of the truth?

If you answered yes to one or more of the questions above, your operations could likely benefit from drilling software.

When is the right time to adopt drilling software?

The answer is simple: now. While you might scrape by without dedicated software for a while, the sooner you upgrade, the sooner you'll start reaping the benefits.

As your operation grows, makeshift solutions become a nightmare. Jumping between scattered data slows you down and costs you money.

Adopting drilling software has never been easier. CorePlan's Integrated Drilling Management Platform is built for companies like yours. Get a powerful solution up and running quickly, without the hassle of custom development or long-term lock-in.

With CorePlan, you'll transform your drilling operations. Ready to take it further? Explore how the full power of CorePlan's Platform can streamline even more of your workflow.

The evolution of drilling software

What does the future hold? It depends on the needs of the industry.

At CorePlan, we think about the future A LOT. We believe the future is in empowering people in mining and drilling with software that's both powerful and user-friendly.

We're frustrated to see the industry still relying on outdated software that feels like it was built when Jurassic Park hit theatres in 1993. Too often, drilling software is overly complex, demanding huge IT resources without delivering enough value.

Data is often messy or lacks the detail needed, leading to constant disagreements and a lack of clarity.

That's why we launched CorePlan in 2020: a drilling solution designed for the ground-level needs of contractors and mining teams. It's easy to use, requires no custom development or updates, and offers usage-based subscriptions with live chat support.

Since then, we've not only listened to our users on mine sites and drill rigs but also envisioned the future of drilling operations. We're excited to bring that vision to life. CorePlan has evolved into an Integrated Drilling Management Platform, handling a larger part of your operational workflow, from safety management to field activities, samples, earthworks, timesheets, and more.

We're constantly adding new features, powerful integrations, and advanced analytics, all designed with the end user in mind. The future of drilling software is here, and it's CorePlan.

How drilling software fits into your operations

Drilling is a data-heavy process, and its complexity is only increasing.

Keeping track of, monitoring, and effectively reporting on all aspects of the process can feel like a nightmare —especially when resource drilling teams and contractors each have their own spreadsheets and systems.

Critical data gets lost, updates go unnoticed, and discrepancies arise from different versions of the truth.

Drilling software solves this chaos. It centralises your drilling data, contracts, costs, and updates.

Everyone stays on the same page, efficiency skyrockets and those mind-numbing manual tasks disappear.

CorePlan drilling software

CorePlan is a Mining SaaS platform purpose-built for drilling operations.

For Mining Companies

Track and review drilling progress in real time, with live cost control and invoice reconciliation.

For Drilling Contractors

Make it easy for drillers to capture plods, supervisors to review, and clients to approve and pay on time.

Questions? We have answers

What is drilling software?

Drilling software is a platform that digitises drill program data, from field activity logs to costs and compliance records, so mining teams and drilling contractors work from one shared, real-time source instead of separate spreadsheets.

How is drilling software different from a spreadsheet?

A spreadsheet stores data after the fact and needs manual entry from every party. Drilling software like CorePlan captures data as it happens in the field, so costs, progress, and approvals stay current without re-entry or reconciliation.

What else can drilling software do?

Drilling software does more than track drilled metres. You can schedule rigs and track field activities, then reconcile costs to see insights across the whole program. Drillers get extra tools built for their side of the job. You can track bits, hammers, and reamers from first use to end of life, and generate proformas for faster invoicing. Safety and maintenance forms also come with custom form scoring built in.

Who uses drilling software, mining teams or drilling contractors?

Both. Mining and exploration teams use it to track drilling progress and control costs. Drilling contractors use it to capture plods, get client approvals faster, and bill accurately. CorePlan builds for both sides of that relationship on one platform.