Budget is the approved cost for a scope of work — updated by every executed change order. Actual cost is the total incurred and recorded to date — labor hours worked, materials received, invoices approved. Committed cost is actual plus contractually obligated costs not yet incurred — a subcontractor PO for $45,000 where $20,000 is complete creates $20,000 actual and $25,000 additional committed, for $45,000 total committed. Budget minus committed is the only accurate remaining budget figure. Budget minus actual alone consistently overstates the remaining budget until committed costs become invoices. A job cost system that tracks only paid invoices will make a project appear to have more budget remaining than it actually does — until the committed costs arrive as invoices and the apparent overrun appears suddenly.