A change order form is only as good as the fields on it. Miss one — schedule impact, an itemized cost breakdown, a signature line — and the document is weaker as evidence of what both sides actually agreed to. Here's what belongs on every change order form, and why.
A change order that's missing pieces — no itemized cost, no schedule impact, no clear description — leaves room for disagreement later about what was actually approved. Every field on the list below exists to close one of those gaps, so if a change ever gets disputed, the paperwork answers the question instead of leaving it up to memory.
A paper form works fine as long as it actually gets filled out, signed, and filed somewhere it won't get lost in a truck. The tradeoff is speed and follow-through: a paper change order usually means writing it up back at the shop, which is exactly the delay that leads to change orders getting skipped altogether. A digital form fixes the delay — filled in and signed on the client's doorstep, with both people getting a copy immediately.
ChangeOrder builds this exact field set into a guided flow — describe the change by voice, it's priced with your saved rates, and the client signs on your phone before you leave the site.
A form is the list of fields; a template is a ready-to-print document with those fields already laid out. This page covers the fields — grab the finished document on the change order template page.
Yes. Electronic signatures are legally valid for construction change orders under the U.S. ESIGN Act in the same way a wet signature is, as long as both parties intended to sign and the signed document is retained.
Yes — even small ones. A quick note on an invoice or a text message doesn't create the same clear record as a signed change order, and small unrecorded changes are exactly the ones that get disputed or forgotten.