Financial terms, plainly

Obra is deliberately picky with money words: a number is only called what it actually is. Here's every term, in the order the money flows — from what you signed to what you finally earned.

Contract value #

The base amount you signed for. It never changes retroactively — additions and deductions live as change orders on top of it.

Change order #

An approved addition or deduction to the contract, logged with its own date, description and amount, so the agreed price stays an itemized list rather than a mystery.

Adjusted contract value #

Contract value plus every approved change order. This is expected project revenue on paper — not cash received.

Expected revenue (revenue basis) #

What the job is expected to bring in, per your deliberate review: either the adjusted contract value, or an amount you enter manually. Obra never assumes one — until you review the revenue basis, forecast figures say they're waiting for it.

Cash collected #

Money that has actually arrived — the project's confirmed income transactions. A signed contract or an issued charge is not collected cash.

Recorded cost #

Every confirmed, non-voided expense on the project. It excludes receipts still waiting in the capture queue or in review — which is why keeping capture current keeps every other number honest.

Left to collect #

The relevant agreed or charged amount minus cash collected — and the label always names which basis it uses, because "left to collect against the contract" and "unpaid charges" are different facts.

Charge (billable) #

An amount you've told the client they owe. Payments recorded against a charge become cash collected; a charge by itself changes nothing about cash.

Cost budget #

Planned spending by category. A budget is a plan to compare reality against — having one doesn't make it a forecast.

Expected final cost #

Recorded cost plus what you judged is still left to spend in your latest forecast review. It can never sit below what's already recorded, and it's flagged for review when the numbers move past it.

Remaining to spend #

Expected final cost less what is already recorded — the forecast's moving part, and the number a forecast review actually asks you for.

Expected gross profit & margin #

Expected final revenue minus expected final cost; the margin divides that by expected revenue. Gross means direct project costs only, tax included, no overhead — and never a division by whatever happens to be collected so far.

Financial close #

Your declaration that a project's record is complete, made through a checklist. It locks the final result — and reopens automatically if a financial fact behind it later changes.

Final result #

The closed project's locked figures: final revenue, final recorded cost, and final gross profit. The only profit number Obra treats as settled.

Current / needs attention #

Whether a project's record is complete enough to trust right now. The signals underneath it are specific — expenses waiting in review, no recent costs, missing categories or vendors — and each one links to the place that clears it.