What is the Cost Overall Page?
Essential guide to the Cost Overall page for construction project managers
The Cost Overall page gives you a single view of your project finances. It shows budgets, contracts, variations, forecasts, and payments together. Use it to monitor financial health and make cost management decisions throughout your project lifecycle.
Find your way around
Cost Overview tile
The Cost Overview tile shows your Forecast Final Cost (FFC), the total expected project cost. It also shows the Budget amount and a Budget Status badge that reads Under Budget or Over Budget.
The Variance amount shows the dollar difference between your budget and FFC.
A colour-coded bar below the tile gives a visual breakdown of payment status:
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Paid | Processed |
| Approved | Approved but not yet processed |
| Submitted | Awaiting approval |
| Remaining | Unpaid |
Cost KPI cards
The tile shows four KPI cards at a time. All percentages are calculated against the budget. FFC and Current Budget are also available as extra options.
| Card | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Total Paid | Total amount paid to date, shown as a dollar value and percentage of budget |
| Variations | Total of all approved and in-principle variations, shown as a dollar value and percentage of the budget |
| Committed | Total committed cost (Approved Contracts + Approved and In-Principle Variations), shown as a dollar value and percentage of the budget |
| Remaining | FFC minus Paid and Approved payments, shown as a dollar value and percentage of the budget |
Tip: Hover over any KPI card label to see a tooltip with the exact definition of each metric.
Budget Breakdown chart
A donut chart titled "Budget Amounts in Each Budget Line" shows your total budget broken down by budget line. Use the tile's Settings to group it by Tag instead. Each budget line is colour-coded and displays its allocated dollar amount.
Chart settings
Each chart tile has a Settings (gear icon) button that opens a side panel. Use it to customise the display. The available settings differ by tile.
Overall table
The main table shows all budget items and their financial data. By default, the columns are Title, Original Budget, Adjustments In, Adjustments Out, Adjustments, Budget, Original Contract, Variations, Current Contract, Uncommitted, FFC, Variance, Total Paid and Amount Remaining.
Amount Remaining is FFC minus Paid, Approved and Submitted payments and Total Retained. Use Columns to add more, such as FTC (Forecast to Complete: FFC minus paid payments; retention stays in the FFC). Click the expand arrow beside any budget to show its sub budgets and line items.
Tip: Hover over any column header to see a tooltip that explains that metric.
Use the toolbar
The toolbar at the top of the page gives you access to these actions.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| + Add | Creates a new Budget, Contract, Forecast, Variation, or Payment |
| Create Report | Creates a dashboard report that you can customise and filter, then share or download as a PDF from the Share menu |
| Export | Downloads your financial data as a CSV file. Choose Current View for visible data only, or All Data for the complete financial summary. |
| Charts | Toggles the financial summary charts on or off. The button label changes to Hide Charts when charts are visible. |
| Reset | Restores the default table layout, column arrangement, and filters |
| Expand All | Expands or collapses all rows at once |
| Columns | Shows, hides, or reorders table columns |
| Settings (gear icon) | Opens additional page-level settings |
| Filter | Narrows table results by any visible table column |
Note: Budget Tag is not filterable on the Overall page or in dashboard table tiles. See How to Create Budgets and Sub Budgets or How to Add and Configure KPI Tiles for tag filtering options.
Customise your view
Hover over any column heading to access the Action button with additional options: sort data, hide or show columns, pin columns left or right, and move columns by dragging.
When to use the Cost Overall page
Use the Cost Overall page when you need to:
- Monitor complete project financial health at a glance
- Review budget performance against actual spending
- Track contract commitments and the impact of variations
- Check payment progress and cash flow status
- Review budget allocation across project categories
- Generate financial reports for stakeholders
- Export financial data for external analysis
Get started
- Go to your project and click Cost in the side navigation bar. The Overall page opens by default.
- Review the Cost Overview tile, KPI cards, and Budget Breakdown chart to see your current financial status.
- Click Charts to show or hide the visual summary section.
- Click the expand arrow on any budget row to see its line items.
Tip: Pin frequently used columns to keep critical information visible while you scroll. Click Columns in the toolbar to customise your table view.
Troubleshooting and FAQs
What is the difference between the Overall page and the Budgets page?
The Overall page shows a consolidated financial summary across all budgets, contracts, variations, and payments. The Budgets page focuses on budget line items and their statuses. Use Overall for a high-level snapshot and Budgets for detailed budget management.
Can I view this data in a Dashboard report?
Yes. Click Create Report from the toolbar to generate a dashboard report. From the dashboard's Share menu, choose Share Link or Download PDF.
Why is Total Paid showing $0?
Total Paid sums only payments with Paid status. If all your payments are still set to Draft, Submitted, or Approved, Total Paid will show $0.
- In the Payments register, click the Action button (three dots) next to the payment and select Edit Payment.
- Change the Status to Paid and save the payment.
Closing off months in Cash Flow does not affect the Total Paid figure on Cost Overall. These are separate views.
Need help?
Contact Mastt Support for additional assistance with the Cost module.