How to use the change order generator
- Enter the original contract sum and the net total of any change orders already approved.
- Choose whether this change adds work or removes work (a credit).
- List the materials, subcontractor quotes and other costs, then your labor hours and rate.
- Set your overhead & profit markup and the change in contract time.
- Open “Turn this into a printable change order”, describe the change, and print it or save it as a PDF for both parties to sign.
How the change order is calculated
Cost of change = materials + subcontractors + labor + equipment Markup = cost × O&P % Change order = ± (cost + markup) Prior sum = original sum + previous change orders New contract sum = prior sum + this change order
Worked example
The owner asks for two extra recessed lights on a $48,500 kitchen remodel. Lights cost $42 each, the electrician quotes $380, and your crew needs 6 hours at $65. With a 15% markup:
- Cost of change = $84 + $380 + $390 = $854.00
- Overhead & profit = $854 × 15% = $128.10
- Change order = $982.10 (about 2% of the original contract)
- New contract sum = $48,500 + $982.10 = $49,482.10, plus 1 day
What goes on the printed change order
The form follows the structure of widely used industry change order forms such as AIA G701:
- Your business details and logo, the owner or client, the project and a change order number and date.
- A description of the change — what is added, removed or substituted, and where.
- The contract sum history: original sum, net change by previous change orders, sum before this change, this change, and the new contract sum.
- The change in contract time, in days.
- An itemized cost breakdown with the markup shown as its own line.
- Space for the contractor and owner to sign and date.
Change order best practices
- Get it signed before you start. A verbal “go ahead” is hard to prove later. Write the change up the same day and get a signature before ordering materials.
- Number every change order in sequence (CO-1, CO-2…) so the running contract total is always clear.
- Price the time, too. Extra work often delays other trades. If the change adds days, say so on the form.
- Follow your contract. Many contracts set the markup allowed on changes, how they must be requested and who can approve them.
- Don’t forget credits. When the owner deletes work, issuing a fair credit builds trust and makes your add-on change orders easier to approve.
- Unknown cost? If the cost can’t be fixed in advance — hidden rot, for example — agree to do it on a time-and-materials basis and record it daily with the T&M ticket calculator.
Rules on written change orders vary. California, for example, requires change orders on home-improvement contracts to be in writing and signed by both parties before the extra work begins. This tool helps you prepare the document; it is not legal advice.