A project's money, set up right

A project's money rests on three numbers that answer three different questions. The contract value answers "what did we sign?". The expected revenue answers "what will this job actually bring in?". The cost budget answers "what do we plan to spend?". Obra keeps them separate on purpose — each one can be right while the others are still unknown.

You don't have to set all three on day one. Every figure Obra computes tells you which inputs it used — and a missing input shows up as a note, never as a silently wrong number.

The contract value is the base you signed, and approved change orders adjust it without erasing the original. Together they make the project's adjusted contract value — the starting point for what's left to collect.

Setting these up is covered step by step in the projects guide, including how each change order stays itemized.

Obra never assumes what a job will bring in. Until you review the revenue basis on the project's analytics page, forecast figures simply say they're waiting for it. When you review it you choose: use the adjusted contract value, or enter an expected amount yourself — useful for cost-plus work or jobs where the paperwork lags the handshake.

If you entered the amount manually and the contract changes later, Obra marks the review as needing another look rather than quietly reusing a stale number.

Budget lines are planned spending by category — materials, labor, subcontractors, whatever fits the job. As real costs land, the analytics page shows budget versus actual per category, and the project's signals warn when spending passes the plan.

A budget is a plan, not a prediction: the expected final cost comes from the forecast you review, and the budget is one of the references you'll want open while reviewing it.