General contractor (GC)
The party responsible for the overall coordination and delivery of a construction project — hiring and managing subcontractors, controlling the budget and schedule, and answering to the owner.
Subcontractor (sub)
A specialty-trade contractor — electrical, plumbing, concrete, and so on — hired by the general contractor to perform a defined scope of work.
Cost code
A standardized code that classifies a construction cost by type of work (for example, 03-000 Concrete or 26-000 Electrical). Budgets, commitments, and actual costs are all tracked against cost codes so money rolls up consistently. The CSI MasterFormat is the most common standard.
Budget line
A single row of a project budget: a cost code paired with the dollar amount budgeted for it.
Budget allocation
The portion of a work order or other commitment assigned to a specific cost code, tying committed dollars back to the budget.
Committed cost (committed)
Money that is contractually promised but not yet paid — the value of signed work orders, purchase orders, and subcontracts. Committing a cost converts budget into an obligation.
Uncommitted balance
Budget that has not yet been committed to any contract or purchase order — the room still available to buy out the remaining scope. Not the same as "remaining budget," which also nets out money already spent.
Projected final cost
The best current estimate of what a cost code — or the whole project — will ultimately cost at completion, combining actual costs, commitments, and forecasted remaining work.
Change order (CO)
A formal, approved modification to the contract scope, price, and/or schedule after work has begun.
Work order (WO)
An agreement authorizing a specific scope of work — often to a subcontractor — with a contracted value, a schedule, and a budget allocation.
Purchase order (PO)
A commitment to buy materials or services from a vendor at agreed prices and quantities.
RFI (Request for Information)
A formal question from the field or a subcontractor to the design team or general contractor to clarify drawings, specifications, or field conditions.
Submittal
Documentation — shop drawings, product data, or samples — that a contractor submits for the design team's review and approval before fabricating or installing.
Pay application (pay app)
A contractor's or subcontractor's periodic request for payment for work completed and materials stored during a billing period, typically itemized against a schedule of values.
Schedule of values (SOV)
A breakdown of the contract sum into line items, each with a value, used to measure progress and support pay applications.
Retainage
A percentage of each payment — commonly 5 to 10 percent — withheld until the work is substantially or fully complete, to ensure the contractor finishes.
Lien waiver
A signed document in which a contractor or supplier waives their right to file a mechanic's lien for a given payment, protecting the owner and lender.
Prevailing wage
A legally required minimum wage and benefit rate for workers on public or government-funded construction, set by jurisdiction and trade.
Approval matrix (approval routing)
Configurable rules that route documents — change orders, purchase orders, pay applications — to the right approvers based on document type and dollar amount.
Critical path
The sequence of dependent activities that determines the shortest possible project duration. A delay to any critical-path activity delays the entire project.