Change Order
What is Change Order?
A change order is a documented amendment to an existing work order or contract that adds, removes, or modifies the agreed scope of work — and adjusts the price and timeline to match — recorded and approved before the changed work proceeds. It exists so that when a job grows or shifts mid-stream, both sides agree in writing on what changed and what it costs, rather than discovering the difference on the final invoice. Change orders protect margin (extra work gets paid for) and the relationship (no surprise charges), which is why disciplined operators issue one whenever scope departs from the original work order.
Jobs change. A wall comes open and reveals more damage; a customer asks for an extra fixture; a condition on site turns out worse than quoted. The change order is how that gets handled cleanly: the new or altered scope is recorded on the job’s work-order paperwork, priced, and approved before the work is done, so the original agreement and the bill stay in step.
Skipping the change order is where margin and goodwill both leak. Do the extra work without one and you either eat the cost or spring it on the customer at invoice time — the first hurts profit, the second hurts trust. A signed change order avoids both by making the addition explicit and agreed in the moment, when the customer can still say yes or no.
It pairs naturally with time-and-materials billing and fixed-price work alike: the change order is the mechanism that keeps the governing work order honest as the job evolves, rather than letting scope drift silently into the final number.