Example
Change order 2: subfloor replacement, add $640, one working day, revised contract sum $19,940.
Also called a variation, an extra, or a change directive on AIA contracts.
What it means in practice
Every extra the client asks for after the quote is accepted is a change order, whether or not it is written down. Writing it down before the work is what gets it paid.
It carries its own number, refers to the original quote, states the price and the days added, and shows the revised contract sum. Approval comes before the changed work starts.
Covered in full in the guide to change orders.
Where it shows up on the paperwork
Its own number, the original quote it changes, the change in plain words, the price as an addition or deduction, the days added, the revised contract sum, and who approved it.
What goes wrong
- Doing the work on a nod and pricing it later.
- Discounting the change to keep the peace, when changed work is more disruptive than planned work.
- Billing it as a loose line on a later invoice instead of moving the contract sum.
Common questions
What should a change order include?
A number and date, the job and original quote, the change described plainly, the price, the schedule effect in days, the revised contract sum, and the approval.
Can I do the work first and write the change order later?
Only in an emergency, such as a leak that has to be stopped. Then write it the same day. Every other time, the approval comes first, because that is what makes it payable.