Starts from the estimate
A change order is raised against the approved estimate, so the original scope and the revision are two states of one agreement rather than two unrelated files.
Platform · Change Orders
Change the scope without
Change the scope without
losing the original deal
The client wants the millwork after all, and the hallway paper can go. Document what was added and removed, get it signed, and carry the authorized number into billing — with the agreement they first approved still intact underneath.
CO-02 · Ashwood ResidenceAgainst EST-0054 · Primary suite
Approved
Original agreementApproved Apr 2$48,200.00
Primary bath millworkAdded+$6,400.00
Upgraded fabric — living room sofaAdded+$1,150.00
Hallway wallpaperRemoved−$2,300.00
Revised totalNet +$5,250.00$53,450.00
Marisa K.Client · signed Jul 18, 2026 · 10:42 AM
Trusted by the studios doing the work
3
versions still readable here — the original agreement and two approved changes
Both ways
additions and deductions on the same order, so a swap reads as one decision
1 signature
turns a text-message conversation into an authorization you can point at
$0
of approved extra scope that quietly fails to reach an invoice
Versions
The agreement they signed in April still exists
A change order revises the number without overwriting the history. Move between versions and watch the scope change — the original is a document you can still open, not a total that got edited.
Primary suite — furniture package$31,400.00
Living room — soft goods$9,800.00
Hallway wallpaper$2,300.00
Design fee — phase 3$4,700.00
Agreement total$48,200.00
The estimate the client approved. Nothing after this point rewrites it.
Primary suite — furniture package$31,400.00
Living room — soft goods$9,800.00
Hallway wallpaper$2,300.00
Design fee — phase 3$4,700.00
Primary bath millwork added+$6,400.00
Revised total$54,600.00
Client asked for the millwork in June. Signed the same week.
Primary suite — furniture package$31,400.00
Living room — soft goods$9,800.00
Hallway wallpaper removed−$2,300.00
Design fee — phase 3$4,700.00
Primary bath millwork$6,400.00
Upgraded fabric — sofa added+$1,150.00
Revised total$53,450.00
Wallpaper dropped, fabric upgraded. One order, both directions.
Authorization
"You said yes on the phone" is not a document
Send the change order for approval and the client initials or signs it in their portal. What you keep afterwards isn't a memory of a conversation — it's a timestamped record of exactly what they agreed to and when.
DraftedDana W. · Jul 16, 2026
Sent for client approvalJul 16, 2026 · 4:20 PM
Viewed by clientMarisa K. · Jul 17, 2026
SignedMarisa K. · Jul 18, 2026 · 10:42 AM
Carried into INV-0071Automatically · Jul 18, 2026
- Initials or a full signature, captured in the client portal
- Timestamped to the minute, with who viewed it before signing
- The revised scope attached, so the signature has something to be about
- Declines recorded too — a "no" is also a decision worth keeping
Six months later, when someone asks why the bath cost more than the estimate, the answer is a document rather than an argument.
The connected record
An approved change should already be billed
Moves the purchase orders
Added product becomes something to order; removed product stops being ordered. The procurement side hears about the change without a separate message.
Shifts the install date
Millwork added in June has a lead time. The schedule moves with the scope, so the install day on the calendar is the one the order can actually meet.
Reaches the invoice
The authorized number flows into billing on its own, which is the whole point — approved extra work that never gets invoiced is the most expensive kind.
Adjusts the retainer draw
If the project runs on a retainer, a bigger scope means more to collect. The available balance reflects the revised agreement instead of the original one.
Corrects the margin
Profitability recalculates against the revised agreement, so you're measuring the project you're actually delivering — not the one you quoted in April.
In the room
The scope changes where the work is
Not at a desk three days later, when the details have gone soft. The change order starts in the half-finished bathroom, while the client is still pointing at the wall.
Change order editor
Kessler Residence · Primary bath
Freestanding soaking tub$4,200.00
Shower footprint increase$1,800.00
Full-height marble tile$6,500.00
Recessed niche$450.00
Original total$74,500.00
Revised total$87,450.00
Send for client approval
Save draft
"We used to eat about four thousand a project in changes we agreed to and never billed. Not because anyone was careless — it just never made it from the conversation to the invoice."
Tessa B. — Operations Lead, seven-person studio
Questions we hear
Change orders, specifically answered
Does a change order overwrite the original estimate?
No. The approved estimate stays exactly as the client signed it. A change order sits against it as a new version, so you can open the original agreement at any point and see what was first agreed.
Can one change order both add and remove work?
Yes. Additions and deductions live on the same order, which matters when a client swaps one thing for another — that's one decision, and it should read as one document.
How does the client approve it?
They initial or sign in their portal. Workroom records who viewed it, who signed, and the exact time — and keeps declines too, since a "no" is also worth being able to prove.
Do I have to remember to bill the extra work?
No, and that's the point. Once the change order is authorized, the revised amount carries into billing on its own rather than depending on someone remembering a conversation from six weeks ago.
What happens to purchase orders for removed items?
Removed product stops being something to order, and added product becomes something to order. Procurement sees the revision without you sending a separate note.
Set it once, per firm
The change order nobody was supposed to send yet
A change order is a price increase with a signature line. Sent early it reads as opportunism; sent by the wrong person it reads as chaos. Both are recoverable, and both cost you the goodwill you were going to need later in the project.
Require approval and the document can be drafted by whoever is closest to the work, then released by whoever owns the client relationship. Approval unlocks Send — it never sends on its own, so nothing leaves while somebody is still thinking about it.
- Draft by one person, release by another
- Approval unlocks Send rather than triggering it
- Authorization is a permission, not a job title
- The account owner is always an approver
Change ordersConfigure how change orders are approved before they go to clients.
Approval workflow
Require approval before sendingChange orders must be approved by an authorized team member before they can be sent. Approval unlocks Send — it never sends automatically.
Who counts as authorized is a permission, not a role — so the person who prices a change and the person who releases it can be two different people without anyone being locked out of their own project.
See the connected workflow
Run the project. See the real margin.
We'll show you a scope change going from a conversation in the room to a signed order to a line on the next invoice.