Free Construction Change Order Template

A change order is the written, signed agreement to change the scope, price or schedule of a job after the contract is signed. This construction change order template prices the change line by line (labour, materials, equipment and subs), adds your overhead and profit, and shows the new contract amount and the days added to the schedule, with signature lines for both sides.

When you need one

Every time the work changes from what the contract or the signed estimate describes: the customer wants a bigger window, the architect issues a revised drawing, you open a wall and find rot, the inspector asks for something nobody planned. It also applies when work is removed; a credit is a change order too. The rule that saves the most money is simple: no signature, no extra work.

What's in the template

• Header. Company, customer or owner, project or site, who requested the change, and the reason. On the right, the change order number, date, contract number and contract date, so the change order points back to the agreement it modifies.
• 15 priced lines. A reference column (drawing number, RFI, spec section), a description of the change, labour hours, labour rate, materials, and equipment or subcontractors. In the Excel version, the line total is hours times rate, plus materials, plus equipment.
• Overhead and profit. A rate cell you fill in, with or without the % sign, applied to the subtotal. Then the total for this change order, before taxes.
• Contract summary. Original contract amount, change orders approved before this one, this change order, and the new contract amount, calculated.
• Schedule. Days added (or removed) and the new completion date.
• Signatures. Customer or owner and contractor, each with a date, under a line saying the work starts after both sign.

Amounts are before taxes on purpose: taxes go on the invoice when you bill the change.

How to fill it in without starting a dispute

1. Number change orders in sequence. CO 1, CO 2, CO 3. When the customer adds up the job at the end, a missing number raises questions.
2. Describe the change, not the conversation. "Replace 900 mm window W3 with 1200 mm, including framing and trim" can be checked. "Bigger window as discussed" cannot.
3. Enter deleted work as negative amounts. The line total and the contract summary will go down. Settle in your contract whether overhead and profit apply to credits; it is a common argument. The sheet applies the rate to the net subtotal, so if your contract allows no markup on credits, put deletions on their own change order and leave the rate blank.
4. Fill in the days, even when it is zero. A change order that is silent on schedule leaves you exposed when the finish date slips. Write "0" if the change has no impact.
5. Keep "approved to date" honest. Only signed change orders go in that line. Pending ones stay out until they are signed.
6. Sign before the work. If the change cannot wait, get a signature on the description and a "price to follow" note, then send the priced version as soon as you can.

Whether a verbal change order holds up, and what your contract requires for one, depends on the contract and the province. This template is not legal advice; for large jobs, have your contract reviewed.

What to keep on file

The signed change order, the drawing or RFI it refers to, photos of the condition that caused it (before it gets covered up), and the hours and receipts behind the price. Keep them with the contract until the job is paid and any warranty period is over.

Where JobSnap fits

This template is the paper the customer signs. JobSnap keeps the record behind it. Photos taken in the app land on the job with the date and the person who took them, and you can mark one up with arrows, circles and text to show the condition. The daily report asks what caused delays or extra work, which is often the first written trace of a change. And the job feed lists photos, daily reports, notes, estimates and invoices in order, which is what you pull up when a customer disputes a change. See photos and daily logs.