Change Orders: What Homeowners Should Check Before Approving

A useful change order typically identifies:

• the work being added, removed, or modified
• the reason for the change
• the price impact
• any schedule impact
• how it relates to the original scope
• written approval

The clearer that documentation, the easier it becomes to interpret later invoices.

Without written documentation, it becomes harder to determine:

• what the current agreed scope is
• what the current agreed price is
• whether an invoice item was actually authorized
• whether an amount has been counted more than once

Written records reduce ambiguity.

Keep the states of a change order distinct:

Confirming that you received a document is not the same as approving the change or paying for it.

Once approved, a change order adjusts the committed amount for the project. Your revised expectation becomes:

Original accepted quote total + approved change orders

Invoices are then measured against that revised amount rather than the original quote alone.

Keeping approved changes separate from invoices helps avoid counting the same amount twice.

Verbal changes are common, but they are harder to reconcile.

If a change was only discussed:

• ask for written confirmation
• request the price impact in writing
• keep the email or message thread
• note the date of the conversation

Having documentation does not change the outcome of a disagreement by itself, but it makes the conversation clearer.