Skip to main content

Creating Change Orders

Creating new Chang Orders, understanding Cost Breakdowns, setting up your CO recipients, and responding. Everything you need to know about

Written by Josan Garcia

Dashboard > Select a Project > Change Orders

Permissions

Always remember to ensure the correct people have the appropriate permissions to access your project and company data. This can be done per individual or by applying Permission Templates.

To add a Change Order, users will need View permissions for Change Orders

This guide will walk you through the process of adding change orders, including your CO recipients and sending it out.

Adding Change Orders

  1. In the Change Orders module in your selected project, click on the blue "+ Add CO" button at the top of your page.

  2. Your new Change Order screen will open, and you can begin by giving the change order a descriptive title, summarizing the nature of the modification.

  3. Next, select the recipients and assignees who should be involved in the change order process. Ensure that the appropriate team members are assigned to facilitate effective communication and accountability.

  4. Fill out any additional fields that are required by your user team, such as the change reason and any other relevant information.

  5. Once you have provided all the necessary details, click the "Save" button.

Customize the PDF Settings

After saving your Change Order details, you can determine how you want the PDF to look when sending it out.

  1. Click on the "PDF Settings" button, you can customize your Change Order to include a Terms & Conditions (T&C) footer, Drawing Pins in the PDF, and/or the ability to hide your lines item total, overhead, and profit from the PDF.

Change Order Cost Breakdown

Now that you've saved your new Change Order, you're ready to start providing all of the details of the cost breakdown

Note: The breakdown information section will be visible upon saving the change order you created.

Depending on what you've chosen in your Change Order Settings, you might see more or less fields when entering your cost breakdown. Be sure to choose the option that works best for you.

There are two methods of Cost Breakdown for Change Orders:

1. Lump Sum

The Lump Sum option provides a general overview of the costs associated with the change. It allows you to enter a single, consolidated amount that represents the total cost of the change order.

2. Itemized Breakdown

The Itemized Breakdown option enables you to breakdown specific cost components of the change order, including Labour, Equipment, Material, and Subcontractor costs. This level of detail allows for a more accurate analysis of expenses associated with the change.

Within the Itemized Breakdown, you will find the following categories:

Labour

This category includes the costs associated with the labor required for implementing the change order.

Material

Here, you can outline the costs of materials required for the change. Provide a breakdown of the materials and their corresponding costs to accurately reflect the expenses.

Equipment

If there is equipment involved in executing the change, this category allows you to record the associated costs.

Subcontractor

This category provides the ability to input the costs associated with subcontractor services.

- Overhead and Profit are calculated against the Total cost associated with the CO.

Note; As mentioned above, you can choose how much and what kind of information you want to see in your Change Orders and Potential Change Orders in Company Settings > Modules > Change Orders
​

Find out more here!
​

Change Order Settings

Submitting

Once you've entered all the information needed for your Change Order, you can Submit it for Approval. Submitting will send the Change Order to your recipients via email

Responding to Change Orders

Once your Change Order has been submitted, your recipients will receive an email where they can respond to it.

Recipients can add their responses in SiteMax or directly through the email.
​

*Change Order Assignees will receive an email notifying them that the CO has been submitted for their review


​

*Change Order Recipients will receive an email notifying them that they have been copied on a CO

Responding in SiteMax

When recipients choose to review the Change Order in SiteMax, they will click on the "Review in SiteMax" button and they will be automatically sent directly into the Change Order where they can do the following:

  • Add Response

  • Approve

  • Reject

As soon as a Response is added, an email will be sent to all the Change Order recipients showing the responses added.


Once the Change Order is Approved or Rejected, it will be reflected in the Status column of your Change Order list.
​

Responding via Email

If you do not have access to SiteMax, or simply want to send your response through email, all you need to do is reply to the Change Order email you received. Whatever you include in your email will be included in your response and appear in the Response box inside the Change Order
​

Editing Change Orders

While the Change Order is still in Pending status, updates can be made. You can update Pricing, add any new Attachments, clarify Descriptions, etc. Changes made will automatically be saved, but your recipients will not be notified.
​
If you want your recipients to see these changes, you will need to resend the CO

  • Click on the "Resend" button to send out the Change Order

  • To ensure that the changes appear on the Change Order's PDF and history, be sure to click on the "Update and Regenerate PDF" button

Finalizing Change Orders

Once a Change Order has been Approved, you can do a few things:

Send to Accounting

Send your approved Change Order to your Accounting Department for processing

  1. Open the Approved Change Order and select the "Send to Accounting" button

  2. A new screen will open and you can add your recipients

  3. An email will be sent to your selected recipients, notifying them that a Change Order has been approved

  4. There is no action required for the Change Order, but the recipient can choose to locate the CO themselves and make any updates within, or choose their own. method to process the Change Order

You can view which Change Orders have been Sent to Accounting in the column on your main list.
​

Send for Signature

You can also send your Change Order out to receive a signature from a user.

  1. Click on the "Send for Signature" button in the selected Change Order

  2. A new screen will open where you can select your intended recipient

  3. Click Send to send the email notification

  4. Your recipient will receive an "ACTION REQUIRED" email, where they can click the "To Sign" button to be directed to the Change Order that they can sign

  5. They can then open the PDF and add their Signature

Mark as Paid

If a Change Order has been approved and all costs have been paid, you can mark the CO as Paid.

  1. Navigate to and open your Approved Change Order

  2. Select "Mark as Paid" at the bottom left of the Change Order

  3. You can see which Change Orders have been Marked as Paid in your Project's full list.
    ​

Note: Once "Mark as Paid" has been selected, you can reverse it by selecting "Mark as Unpaid"
​

Related Articles
Did this answer your question?