Free template
Record a change to agreed work before you do it: what is added, removed or altered, how the price and dates change, and what the client decided. Download a blank form and a completed example, in Word and PDF.
Enlarge preview: Blank change orderFill it in for each change to agreed work.
Change-order number and date, the original quote or scope reference, a status of proposed, approved or declined, the reason, work added, removed or altered with its price effect, original and revised totals, schedule impact, the client’s responsibilities, and a decision record.
Word or PDF · Word and PDF
Enlarge preview: Completed exampleSee how a finished change order reads.
A web studio adds a weekly specials page for a bakery, removes an enquiry form and shortens training: a net price reduction of $110.00, a revised total of $3,040.00, a finish three working days later, and the client’s approval recorded from an email.
Word or PDF · Word and PDF
Choose a document, a version and a format. After the first download, the others need no new form.
Word files open in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Apple Pages and LibreOffice. Both are US Letter; change the paper size in your editor for A4. The PDF is for printing and filling in by hand. The example uses an invented business and client.
Net effect = added work − removed work ± altered workRevised total = original total + earlier approved changes + net effectIn the example: +$240.00 − $200.00 − $150.00 = −$110.00, so $3,000.00 + $150.00 − $110.00 = $3,040.00. If you don’t know the original total, the net effect on its own still shows the change.
A written record of a change to work that was already agreed in a quote, proposal or scope of work: what is added, removed or altered, how the price and dates change, and whether the client approved it. Some trades call it a variation.
No. Removing or reducing work lowers the price, and a change can be price-neutral. The template shows each line with + or −, and the net effect can be negative. The completed example reduces the total by $110.00.
When the client has given a decision and you have recorded it in the decision record, with the signed copy or written reply that shows it. Until then the change order is a proposal only and the original work, price and dates stand. A blank decision record is not agreement.
It depends on your original agreement and local law. The template documents the change and the decision; it is not legal advice or a contract on its own. If enforceability matters, check your contract’s change terms or take local advice.
Many businesses accept a clear written reply. The decision record has a line for how the decision was given, so note the email’s sender and date and keep it with the change order. Check whether your original agreement asks for a signature.