By QuoteIron TeamUpdated 11 min read
Key takeaways
- A change order is numbered, priced and signed before the work starts. It amends the original quote and rolls into the same final invoice.
- It must say seven things: its own number and the job it amends, the date, what changed and why, work added, work removed as a credit, the new contract total, and the schedule effect with signatures.
- Verbal changes fail because two people remember a driveway conversation differently. Unwritten scope creep can turn a 30% job into a 12% one.
- Example 1 is $2,450 + $725 = $3,175. Example 2, priced from a book, is $1,850 + $455 = $2,305.
- Issue one in six steps: stop work on the change, write and price it, show the schedule effect, send it, get both signatures, then start work.
Related: Receipt vs invoice · Net 30 vs due on receipt · How to price an electrical panel upgrade · QuoteIron help · electrician price book · plumber price book
The wall comes off, and what's behind it isn't what you quoted. Now you have a choice: eat it, argue about it later, or write it down before you touch it. A change order is the third option — a short, numbered document that says what changed, what it costs, what it does to the schedule, and that the customer agreed to all three before the work happened. This page gives you a change order template you can copy as a form or as plain text, two worked examples, and the steps to issue one.
It isn't paperwork for its own sake. It's the difference between "we discussed that" and a signature with a date on it.
Template checked October 27, 2026.
What a change order actually is
A change order amends a job you already quoted. It doesn't replace the original estimate and it isn't a second job — it's an addendum that rides along with the first one and rolls into the same final invoice. Three things make it a change order rather than a note: it's numbered, it's priced, and it's signed before the work starts.
Why "sure, I'll add it" costs you money
Verbal changes fail in one predictable way. You remember a number, the customer remembers a smaller one or no number at all, and the disagreement surfaces when you hand over the final bill and they're deciding whether to pay it. Nobody is lying. Two people just remembered a driveway conversation differently, three weeks apart.
The second cost is quieter. Scope creep that never gets written down never gets priced, and a job that was making 30% ends up making 12% because of four small "while you're here" additions nobody billed for. Writing each one down forces you to price it, which is the whole point.
The seven things a change order has to say
- Its own number, and the number of the job it amends. CO-2026-001 against Q-2026-047. Sequential, never reused.
- The date. The day it's written, not the day the work happens.
- What changed and why, in one plain sentence. "Feeder is aluminium, not copper as assumed." Not "additional work as discussed."
- What's being added, priced line by line the way you'd price anything else.
- What's being removed, if anything, as a credit. A change order that only ever adds looks like a shakedown; one that credits what you're no longer doing looks like arithmetic.
- The new contract total. Original, this change, new total. Three numbers, stacked, so nobody has to add them up.
- What it does to the schedule, and a signature line for both of you.
Change order template for contractors (copy-ready)
Here is the blank form first, then the same template as plain text. Select the text, paste it into whatever you already use, and fill in the blanks. Nothing here is trade-specific.
CHANGE ORDER · Change Order No. CO-____ · Date ________
Contractor: business name, license #, phone, email
Customer: name and job address
Original job: No. Q-____ · original contract total $________ · contract date ________
What is changing and why: one plain sentence.
| Line | Qty | Price | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work added (one row per item) | __ | $____ | $____ |
| Work removed (credit) | __ | $____ | -$____ |
| Subtotal of this change | $____ | ||
| Sales tax, if it applies | $____ | ||
| Total of this change order | $____ | ||
| Previous contract total | $____ | ||
| New contract total | $____ |
Schedule effect: adds or removes ___ working days; new completion date ________.
Approved: Customer ______________ Date ______ · Contractor ______________ Date ______
Work on this change does not start until both signatures are on it.
Plain-text version — select, copy, paste:
CHANGE ORDER
Change Order No.: CO-____ Date: ____________
Original job No.: Q-____ Original contract date: ____________
Original contract total: $__________
Contractor: [business name] License #: [____]
[address / phone / email]
Customer: [name]
Job address: [address]
WHAT IS CHANGING AND WHY
[One plain sentence: what changed, and what you found that caused it.]
WORK ADDED Qty Price Amount
1. [description] ...................... __ $____ $____
2. [description] ...................... __ $____ $____
WORK REMOVED (credit) Qty Price Amount
1. [description or "None"] ............ __ $____ -$____
PRICE OF THIS CHANGE
Subtotal (added minus credits) .................. $________
Sales tax, if it applies ........................ $________
Total of this change order ...................... $________
Previous contract total ......................... $________
NEW CONTRACT TOTAL .............................. $________
SCHEDULE
Adds / removes ___ working days. New completion date: ________
TERMS
Billed with the final invoice. Other terms unchanged.
Work on this change does not start until both signatures below.
APPROVED
Customer ______________________ Date ____________
Contractor ____________________ Date ____________
Two filled examples
Example 1, electrical. The panel upgrade is quoted at $2,450 as Q-2026-047. With the wall open, the feeder turns out to be aluminium, not copper as assumed at the walkthrough, so the change order adds a $640 feeder replacement and an $85 permit amendment. The change is $725, the new contract total is $3,175, and the schedule moves by one working day. Nothing is removed, so the credit line reads "None."
Example 2, plumbing, priced from a price book. A bathroom repipe is under contract at $1,850 (an illustrative original total). Once the wall is open, the main shutoff is a stuck gate valve and the water pressure needs a regulator. The customer also decides to skip the ice maker line. Lines below are from the QuoteIron price book at $95/hour, 30% markup, rounded up to $5; checked October 27, 2026.
| Line | Labor hours | Parts | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Added: replace main water shutoff or stuck gate valve | 2 | $45 | $250 |
| Added: install or replace pressure reducing valve (PRV) | 2 | $110 | $335 |
| Removed: replace ice maker supply line and valve | 1 | $25 | -$130 |
| This change order ($250 + $335 - $130) | $455 | ||
| New contract total ($1,850 + $455) | $2,305 |
The arithmetic for the first line: 2 hours at $95 is $190, plus $45 of parts with a 30% markup is $58.50, total $248.50, rounded up to $250.
How to issue a change order in six steps
- Stop work on the change. Finish what is safe and unaffected; don't touch the part that has changed.
- Write it down and price it. One sentence on what changed and why, then lines for added work and credits for removed work.
- Show the schedule effect. Days added or removed, and the new completion date.
- Send it to the customer. Number it, tie it to the original job, and show the previous total and the new total.
- Get both signatures. Customer and contractor, each dated, before the changed work begins.
- Start work, bill on the final invoice. Keep the signed copy with the job; the lines roll into the same bill.
Change order vs revised estimate vs invoice
| Document | When you use it | Signed? | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Change order | The customer already accepted the job and the scope changes | Yes, before the work | Amends the original job, adds or credits lines, sets a new total |
| Revised estimate | The customer has not accepted the original yet | Only once accepted | Replaces the earlier offer with a new price |
| Invoice | Work is done and you are asking for payment | No | Bills the original scope and every approved change order together |
Before you send it: a checklist
- It has its own number and names the job it amends.
- Today's date is on it, not the date of the work.
- What changed and why fits in one plain sentence.
- Every added line has a price; every removed line shows as a credit.
- Previous total, this change and new total are stacked.
- The schedule effect is in days, with a new date.
- It says work on the change starts after signature.
- Signature and date lines exist for both of you.
Pricing the change
Price it the way you'd price the job if it walked in on its own: your labor rate, your materials markup, your normal minimum. The most common mistake is quietly discounting change work because you feel bad the estimate was wrong. The estimate wasn't wrong — the conditions changed. If you've built a flat-rate price book, most change orders are one or two templates out of it, priced in under a minute. For a sense of what an electrical change looks like, see the panel upgrade cost guide.
Don't forget the second-order costs. A change can mean another trip, another permit amendment, restocking a part you can't return, or a day of schedule you can't sell to anyone else. Those are real; put them on the line items rather than absorbing them.
“A change order signed afterwards is an invoice with extra steps.”
What happens at invoice time
One job, one final invoice. The original scope and every approved change order land on the same bill, so the customer sees one number to pay and one balance to clear. If the job ran long enough to need money partway through, that's a progress payment against the same job, not a separate invoice — see payment terms for contractors for how the due date works, and receipt vs invoice for what to send once each payment lands.
Trades where this bites hardest
Anything that opens a wall, a roof or a slab. Electrical and plumbing retrofit work in older houses is the classic case — what's behind the drywall decides the price. Roofing runs on deck rot found after tear-off. HVAC changeouts turn up ductwork nobody costed. If your trade is on that list, a change order isn't occasional paperwork; it's part of the job. Questions on how it works in the app are answered in QuoteIron help.
Change order template: common questions
What is a change order in construction?
A change order is a short numbered document that amends a job you already quoted. It states what changed and why, what work is being added or removed, the new contract total, and what it does to the schedule, and it carries signatures from both the contractor and the customer. It does not replace the original estimate and it is not a second job. It rides along with the first one and rolls into the same final invoice.
What has to be on a change order?
Seven things: its own sequential number plus the number of the job it amends; the date it was written; one plain sentence saying what changed and why; the work added, priced line by line; any work removed, shown as a credit; the original contract amount, this change, and the new total stacked together; and the schedule impact with a signature line for both parties.
Does the customer have to sign a change order before the work starts?
That is the rule that makes it worth writing. A change order signed after the work is done is an invoice with extra steps: it has no leverage, because you are asking rather than agreeing. Get the signature before anyone touches the change. Requirements for enforceable contract amendments vary by state and by contract, so check your state.
Do I bill a change order separately from the original invoice?
No. One job, one final invoice. The original scope and every approved change order land on the same bill, so the customer sees one number to pay and one balance to clear. If the job runs long enough to need money partway through, take a progress payment against the same job rather than issuing a separate invoice for the change.
How should I price change-order work?
Price it the way you would price the job if it walked in on its own: your labor rate, your materials markup, your normal minimum. Do not discount change work because you feel the estimate was wrong; the conditions changed, not the estimate. Include second-order costs too: another trip, a permit amendment, a part you cannot return, a day of schedule you cannot resell.
What is the difference between a change order and a revised estimate?
A revised estimate is a new price offered before the customer has accepted anything. A change order is an amendment to a job the customer already accepted: it is numbered, tied to that job, and signed. If the customer has not yet said yes to the original, revise the estimate. If they have, write a change order.
Can I write the change order after the work is done?
You can write it, but it will not do the job of a change order. Once the work is finished the customer is no longer agreeing to a price, only deciding whether to pay one. Stop at the point where the scope changes, write it down, and get the signature first. What a late signature is worth in a dispute depends on your state and your contract.
Is a text or email approval enough instead of a signature?
Whether a text or email counts as a signed amendment depends on your state and on what your contract says about changes. A numbered change order signed on a phone, with the date on it, is the cleanest record, and it takes about as long as sending a text. If you rely on anything less, check your contract first.
General information for tradesmen, not legal advice. Contract terms, notice requirements and what counts as an enforceable amendment vary — check your state and your own contract before you rely on any template, including this one.
