Change orders: how to get paid for every extra on the job

Every contractor has done it: the client asks for "one small thing", the crew does it, and when the invoice arrives the client is surprised. The work is done, the money is not coming, and the relationship gets worse. The problem was not the extra work. It was the missing change order.

What a change order is

A change order is a written agreement that changes the original contract: scope, price, deadline or all three. It turns a hallway conversation into a document that both sides approved.

What every change order should have

• A sequential number per job, so nobody confuses CO 3 with CO 4
• A short title anyone understands, like "Add window on north wall"
• A clear description of what will be done and what will not
• The price, even when it is zero (yes, free extras deserve a record too)
• Days added to the schedule
• The client's approval, with name and date

Send it before the work, not after

The rule that saves the most money is simple: no approval, no work. It sounds rigid, but clients actually prefer it. They see the cost before deciding, and nobody feels tricked later.

The obstacle has always been speed. Nobody wants to stop the job to print a form and chase a signature. That is why the approval needs to happen on the phone: the client gets a link, reads the change, and taps approve or reject. The office sees the answer in minutes.

A change order approved on the phone in five minutes is worth more than a perfect one that never gets signed.

Keep the contract and the schedule up to date

An approved change order should not live in a folder. It changes the contract amount and the delivery date. When those numbers are updated automatically, your invoices, your receivables and your schedule stay true.

Common mistakes

• Doing the extra first and "sorting out the price later"
• Bundling several changes into one vague document
• Forgetting days added, then getting blamed for the delay
• Not recording rejected changes (they protect you too)

RFIs: the cousin of the change order

Many change orders start as a question: "Do you want the outlet here or there?" That question is an RFI (request for information). Recording the question and the client's answer avoids rework and gives you the history if the decision changes later.

Four Built's Build plan includes change orders with client approval by link, automatic update of the contract and schedule, and RFIs that the client answers right from the phone.