Construction services · Project management
Construction change order
Get every change in scope priced and approved in writing before the work is done, instead of arguing about extras at the final account. The client decides through a shared link, and no changed work starts until the project manager has confirmed the client's approval.
- Duration: 1 to 3 weeks
- How often: For every change in scope
- Steps: 9 steps
- AI agents: 1 AI agent
- Approvals: 2 approvals
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What changes with this template
Without it
The crew does the extra work on a verbal yes, and the price is argued about months later.
Changes are written up from memory at the end of the week, without photos or drawing references.
Every project manager writes change orders their own way.
Approved changes are forgotten at billing time.
With it
No changed work starts until the client has approved through the shared link and the project manager has confirmed it.
The superintendent records each change on the day, with photos, the drawing reference and the cause.
An AI agent drafts each change order in the same format, and the operations manager approves it.
Every approved change ends its run on the next progress billing.
The template, step by step
Each step says who does it: someone on your team, an AI agent, or the client through a shared link. An approval keeps every later step locked until it is given.
- Done by your team
- Done by an AI agent
- Done by the client, through a shared link
Starts when
A change comes up: the client asks for something extra, or the crew finds a condition that differs from the drawings. The superintendent starts a run with the project and a short description.
- 1
Record the change on site
Day 1Superintendent · Team
Describe what changed, where and why, with photos and the drawing reference, and note whether work is waiting on a decision.
Checklist
- Location and drawing reference noted
- Photos taken
- Project manager told
Fields to fill in
- Change description (required)
- Cause (required)
- Link to photos and drawings (required)
- Work on hold until decided
- 2
Price the change
Hidden from the shared linkDays 2 to 5Project manager · Team
Get prices from the affected subcontractors, add your own labor, materials, equipment and the markup the contract allows, and work out the effect on the schedule.
Checklist
- Subcontractor prices in
- Markup applied as the contract allows
- Schedule impact checked
Fields to fill in
- Change price (required)
- Schedule impact in working days (required)
- Link to the pricing breakdown (required)
- 3
Draft the change order
Day 5Change order writer · AI agent
The change order writer drafts the change order: what changes and why, the price, the schedule impact and what the client is asked to approve.
Fields to fill in
- Draft change order (required)
Checked by: The operations manager corrects the wording and approves the price in step 4.
- 4
Approve the change order internally
Hidden from the shared linkDay 6Operations manager · Team
Check the scope against the field record and the price against the contract, correct the draft and approve it.
Checklist
- Scope matches the field record
- Price and markup are right
- Schedule impact is stated
Approval: Nothing goes to the client until the operations manager approves the price and the wording.
- 5
Send the change order to the client
Week 2Project manager · Team
Send the approved change order with the shared run link and walk the client representative through it.
Checklist
- Change order sent
- Shared link sent to the client representative
- Walked through with the client
Fields to fill in
- Link to the change order sent (required)
- Decision needed by (required)
- 6
Approve or reject the change order
Week 2Client representative · Shared link
Through the shared link, the client representative records their decision, with their instruction or purchase order number if they approve, and what they want changed if they do not.
Fields to fill in
- Decision (required)
- Instruction or purchase order number
- What to change
- 7
Release the change to the site
Week 2Project manager · Team
Check the client's decision, update the contract value and the schedule, and tell the superintendent and the affected trades. If the client rejected the change, record how the work goes on without it.
Checklist
- Client decision recorded
- Contract value updated
- Schedule updated
- Subcontract changes issued
Fields to fill in
- Revised contract value (required)
Approval: No changed work starts until the project manager confirms the client's approval.
- 8
Confirm the changed work is done
When the work is doneSuperintendent · Team
Check that the work matches the approved change, and photograph it.
Checklist
- Work matches the approved change
- Completion photos taken
Fields to fill in
- Date completed (required)
- Link to the completion photos
- 9
Add the change to the next progress billing
Next billing dateProject accountant · Team
Add the approved change to the next progress billing, and match the subcontractor changes against it.
Checklist
- Added to the next progress billing
- Subcontractor changes matched
Fields to fill in
- Billing period (required)
Done when
The client has approved or rejected the change, the contract value and schedule are updated, any approved work is done and photographed, and it is on the next progress billing.
Make it yours. Rename steps, change owners and add checklist items, fields or approvals. The template is a starting point for the way your team works.
The AI agents in this template
An agent only works on its own steps, and a person on your team checks what it did. Anything an agent writes to a connected app waits for approval unless you allow it.
Change order writer
Drafts the change order from the field record and the pricing.
What it does
- Reads the change description, cause, price and schedule impact recorded on the run
- Drafts the change order in the format set in its step instructions
- States the price and the effect on the completion date plainly
- Completes its step, so the operations manager can review it
Checked by: The operations manager corrects the wording and approves the price in step 4.
Questions this template answers
Make approval a fixed step before anyone builds the change, and give the client a simple way to decide. In step 6 the client representative approves or rejects through a shared link, and step 7 is an approval gate: no changed work starts until the project manager confirms that approval.
Record what changed, where and why on the day it comes up, with photos and the drawing reference. Step 1 has the superintendent record the change, its cause and whether work is on hold, before anything is priced.
Price it like a small estimate: subcontractor prices, your own labor, materials and equipment, the markup the contract allows and the effect on the schedule. Step 2 records each of these, and in step 4 the operations manager checks the price before it reaches the client.
Let AI write the change order from the field record and the pricing, and keep the price decision with a person. In step 3 the change order writer drafts the description, reason, price and schedule impact, and in step 4 the operations manager corrects and approves it.
Tie each approved change to the next progress billing instead of leaving it for the final account. Step 8 records when the changed work was done, and in step 9 the project accountant adds it to the next billing period.
Keep the field record, the price, the client's decision and the completion photos of every change on one record. Steps 1, 2, 6 and 8 record each of them, so the final account is a list of approved changes instead of an argument.
Run this workflow in OKiDO
Set up the steps, owners and approvals once, then start a run for every new case.