Change Order Form & Log

9 parts that work together

1. 1

   Settings (workbook)

   Your company and license number, the job (owner, original contract sum, contract date, original completion date), markup on cost for labor, materials, equipment, subcontractors and other, whether credits carry markup, sales tax rule (none, materials only, materials and equipment, or all lines) and rate, an optional change order fee, how long a price is valid, payment terms, working days or calendar days, and a 12-row holiday list.

2. 2

   CO Builder (workbook)

   50 numbered change order blocks. Each has a title, date, reason code dropdown (owner request, unforeseen condition, design change, code requirement, allowance overage), who asked for it, schedule impact in days (+ or -), a description for the owner, and 10 priced lines: cost type, quantity, unit, your unit cost, an optional markup override, client unit price, client price and taxable flag. Totals show your cost, markup, margin, tax, fee and the change order total. Credits are entered as negative quantities.

3. 3

   Change Order (workbook)

   Pick a CO number and print one page: your header, project and owner, reason, description, priced lines, subtotal, tax, the contract sum before and after this change, the completion date before and after, a respond-by date, payment terms, four short terms and owner and contractor signature lines. Your cost and markup do not appear. A setting switches the client copy to show the total only.

4. 4

   CO Log (workbook)

   One row per change order, filled from the builder: date, title, reason, days, amount. You set the status (pending, approved, rejected), decision date, who signed and the signed amount, which locks an approved change order at what the owner signed even if Settings change later (a red flag shows if the builder no longer matches). The running revised contract sum and revised completion date count approved change orders only; pending change orders show how many days they have been open.

5. 5

   Dashboard (workbook)

   Original contract, approved change orders, revised contract sum, pending exposure, % change approved and if all pending are approved, days added, original and revised completion dates, oldest pending change order, and a table and chart of approved, pending and rejected dollars by reason code. A separate box shows your cost, markup and margin on approved and pending change orders.

6. 6

   Change Order Form (Word + PDF)

   2 pages. Page 1 is a fill-by-hand change order for the owner to sign on site: reason and requested-by checkboxes, description lines, 6 priced lines, subtotal, tax and total, contract sum and contract time boxes, payment checkboxes, three terms and signatures. Page 2 is a pricing worksheet for your eyes only, with markup reminders and a before-you-hand-it-over checklist.

7. 7

   Change Order Request Letter (Word + PDF)

   2 pages. A letter to the owner that sends a change order: what changed and why, a summary table (reason, price, days, new contract sum, new completion date, respond-by date), what happens next and what stays on hold. Page 2, for your use: a first paragraph for each reason code, a short email or text version and a follow-up message.

8. 8

   Field Change Directive & T&M Ticket (Word + PDF)

   3 pages. A field change directive the owner signs when work has to start before the price is known (basis of payment, not-to-exceed amount, labor rates and markups, same-day ticket signing), a daily time and materials ticket (labor, materials, equipment and subcontractors, owner's rep signature), and a T&M summary that adds up the tickets and checks them against the cap before you write the change order.

9. 9

   Start Here guide (Word + PDF)

   3 pages on handling change orders without losing money: the seven-step routine, eight common ways contractors lose money on changes and the fix for each, what each reason code means, a sample change clause for your contract, the sample change order math written out, and how to edit the files.