Construction change orders: how to track them and get paid

By Randall Strickland · Updated September 24, 2026 · 3 min read

“While you’re here, can you also…” might be the most expensive sentence in construction. Extra work that never makes it onto a signed change order still costs you labor and materials, but it never shows up on an invoice. A simple, consistent change order process fixes that.

What is a change order?

A change order is a written agreement to change a contract after it’s signed. It can add scope, remove scope (a deduct), change the price, or change the schedule. The key word is written: a verbal okay on site is hard to bill and harder to collect.

Why change orders slip through the cracks

• The request happens in the field, and the person doing the work isn’t the person who bills.
• It seems too small to bother with, until there are six of them.
• The work gets done first and the paperwork “later.” Later, the customer remembers it differently.
• It gets signed but never makes it onto an invoice.

A six-step change order process

1. Stop and write it up before doing the work

The best time to price extra work is before you do it, when the customer wants it. Make it a crew rule: new scope gets called in before it starts.

2. Describe the change, the price, and the schedule impact

A good change order includes:

• Change order number and date
• Project name and your job number
• A clear description of the added or removed work
• Why it’s changing (owner request, field condition, design change)
• The price, with a breakdown if your contract requires one
• Any change to the schedule or completion date
• Signature lines for you and the customer

Price extra work for margin, not at cost. It carries the same overhead as the rest of the job. See margin vs. markup.

3. Get it approved in writing

Get a signature, or at least written approval by email, from someone who is authorized to approve changes under your contract. Read your contract’s change order clause. Many contracts require written notice of a change within a set number of days, and missing that deadline can cost you the right to be paid for it.

4. Update the contract value on the job

Once approved, add it to the job. Your contract total, and your margin, should include approved change orders. Otherwise your job looks like it’s running over budget when it’s actually just bigger.

5. Track the costs of the change

If you can, note which labor and materials went to the change. Over time you’ll learn whether your change order pricing actually makes money.

6. Bill it

Put approved change orders on the very next invoice. The longer it waits, the harder it is to collect.

Deducts count too

When scope comes out of the job, write a deduct change order (a negative amount) the same way. It keeps your contract value honest and avoids arguments at closeout about what was and wasn’t included.

Change orders in JobMargin

On any job, tap + Change Order, enter the amount (negative for deducts), a date, and a description like “CO#2 — add corridor 3.” It’s added to the job’s contract value and margin right away and noted in the job log, so the office sees what the field agreed to.

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