Consulting firm · Client delivery
Scope change request
Turn every request for extra work into an agreed change to scope, fee and timeline before the team does the work. The client describes the change through a shared link, an AI agent drafts the change order, the partner approves the price, and the client sponsor decides on the same link.
- Duration: 3 to 7 days
- How often: For every request outside the agreed scope
- Steps: 7 steps
- AI agents: 1 AI agent
- Approvals: 1 approval
Free plan, no credit card needed.
What changes with this template
Without it
Extra work is done as a favor and never billed.
The client remembers agreeing to less than the team delivered.
Change orders are written from scratch under time pressure.
Approved changes never reach the budget or the invoice.
With it
Every request gets an estimate, a price and a client decision before the work starts.
The client sponsor records their decision on the change order through the shared link.
An AI agent drafts the change order, and the engagement partner approves it.
An approved change goes into the plan, the budget and the billing in the same run.
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
The client asks for work that is not in the statement of work. The engagement manager starts a run and sends the shared link to the client project lead.
- 1
Describe the requested change
Day 1Client project lead · Shared link
Through the shared link, the client project lead describes the extra work, why it is needed and by when, and shares a link to any material that explains it.
Fields to fill in
- What you need (required)
- Why it is needed
- Needed by
- Link to supporting material
- 2
Check the request against the statement of work
Days 1 to 2Engagement manager · Team
Compare the request with the signed scope, including its assumptions and exclusions, and record whether it is a change and which clause shows it.
Checklist
- Statement of work checked
- Assumptions and exclusions checked
Fields to fill in
- In scope or change (required)
- Clause in the statement of work
- 3
Estimate the impact
Hidden from the shared linkDays 2 to 3Engagement manager · Team
Estimate the extra days per role, the fee and the effect on the timeline and the other deliverables.
Checklist
- Days estimated per role
- Effect on the timeline checked
- Team availability checked
Fields to fill in
- Extra days (required)
- Extra fee (required)
- Effect on timeline and deliverables (required)
- 4
Draft the change order
Day 3Change order writer · AI agent
The change order writer turns the client's request and the impact estimate into a draft change order: the change, the reason, the fee, the new dates and the assumptions.
Fields to fill in
- Draft change order (required)
Checked by: The engagement partner checks, corrects and approves the draft in step 5.
- 5
Approve the change order
Hidden from the shared linkDays 3 to 4Engagement partner · Team
Check the draft against the request and the estimate, correct it, and approve the fee and terms the firm will offer.
Checklist
- Draft matches the request
- Fee covers the extra days
- Assumptions are clear
Fields to fill in
- Link to the final change order (required)
Approval: The change order does not go to the client until the engagement partner approves it.
- 6
Approve or decline the change
Days 4 to 7Client sponsor · Shared link
The engagement manager emails the approved change order to the client sponsor, who records their decision through the shared link, with a purchase order number if their company needs one.
Checklist
- Change order read
Fields to fill in
- Decision (required)
- Purchase order number
- Reason if declined
- 7
Update the plan, budget and billing
Day 7Engagement manager · Team
Add an approved change to the plan, the budget and the billing schedule, and tell the team what changed. If the client declined, record that the work stays out of scope.
Checklist
- Plan updated
- Budget and billing updated
- Team informed
Fields to fill in
- Change order number (required)
Done when
The client sponsor has approved or declined the change order, and an approved change is in the plan, the budget and the 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
Turns the client's request and the impact estimate into a draft change order.
What it does
- Reads the client's request from step 1
- Reads the scope check and the impact estimate from steps 2 and 3
- Writes a draft change order in the format from its step instructions
- Completes its step, so the partner can review it
Checked by: The engagement partner checks, corrects and approves the draft in step 5.
Questions this template answers
Treat every request for extra work as a change with its own estimate, price and client decision, before the team does it. Steps 1 to 6 take each request from the client's own description to the client sponsor's decision on a priced change order.
Estimate the extra days per role and the effect on the timeline, then price from the days, not from what feels acceptable. Step 3 records the extra days, the fee and the effect on the timeline, and in step 5 the engagement partner approves the fee.
Email the change order, then have the client record their decision on the run instead of only replying to the email. In step 6 the client sponsor approves or declines through the shared link, with a purchase order number when their company needs one.
Compare it with the signed statement of work, including the assumptions and exclusions, and note the clause that decides it. Step 2 records whether the request is a change and which clause of the statement of work shows it.
Let AI draft it from the client's request and your estimate, and have a partner check it before it reaches the client. In step 4 the change order writer drafts the change order, and in step 5 the engagement partner corrects and approves it.
Update the plan, the budget and the billing schedule as soon as the client approves the change. Step 7 records the change order number and updates all three, so the extra work appears on the next invoice.
Run this workflow in OKiDO
Set up the steps, owners and approvals once, then start a run for every new case.