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# Creating Change Orders

To many landscapers, change orders feel like a betrayal. You're deep into a job, your crews are humming, your schedule is tight, and then it hits. A client wants to add something. Or fix something. Or change something they swore was final. Suddenly you're chasing down old texts, decoding half-remembered conversations, and trying to make sense of sticky notes and voicemails. You're not just managing a job anymore, you're managing chaos. And worst of all, you're the one who has to call the next client and say, "We're delayed." Again.

But here's the truth: change orders aren't the enemy. They're the moment your client says, **"I trust you."** They're proof that your work is so good they want more of it. Most change orders add 5 to 10% to the contract, and contractors who treat them as part of the process see real revenue growth without chasing a single new lead.

Elevation Advisor treats a change order as a full proposal of its own, with its own pricing, schedule, budget, and invoices. Your client reviews it and signs it the same way they signed the original.

## How Change Orders Work

Once your client has accepted a proposal, you can't edit that agreement any more. That's on purpose: the signed scope and price are a record. A change order is how you add to it, take something out of it, or refine it without disturbing what your crews and your books already agree on.

Every change order carries the same **Integrated Sales Psychology and Strategies (ISPS)** structure as your proposals, so it's a natural extension of your sales process rather than an awkward interruption.

Before you start, set expectations on timing. Give your client a realistic window for when the added work happens, and be clear that your crew stays on their property until the job is finished rather than jumping between sites. That single promise settles more nerves than any discount.

## Creating a Change Order

![Figure 1: The three-dot menu on an accepted proposal.](https://elevation-knowledgebase.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/Proposals/Accepted_Proposals/Images/Change_Order_1.png?v=3 =850x430)

1. Go to your **Proposals** page.
2. Click the **three dots** next to the accepted proposal you want to change.
3. Choose **Create Change Order**.
4. Give it a name in the window that opens, then click **Save name**. This name shows on the client's paperwork and on the invoice, so name it for what is changing.

The change order opens on the Takeoffs screen holding the current scope of the project, and from there it behaves like any proposal.

* Click **Edit** on a work area to add a section or pull in a template.
* Click **Delete and Credit** inside a section to take it out and credit the client for it. **Remove Credit** puts it back.
* Added sections show in **green** and removed sections in **red**, so the change is easy to read at a glance.
* If the change is complex, you can build packages inside the change order the same way you build them on a proposal. For something simple, like a few more plants, you don't need packages at all.

||| ℹ️ You can't edit a section that is already under contract. To swap hydroseed for sod, duplicate the Lawn section, click **Credit and Delete** on the original, then edit the duplicate.

To rename or delete a change order later, use the pencil or trash icon next to it on the Proposals page.

## How Change Orders Are Numbered

Every change order is numbered the moment it's created. Its default name is your proposal name plus the number, like "Backyard Renovation - Change Order #1." Rename it to something the client will recognize; the number stays attached either way.

The number comes from the change orders that are on the proposal right now, not from a running tally of every one you've ever started. The next one is always one higher than the highest number in use.

* **Delete the most recent change order and its number comes back.** With #1, #2, and #3, deleting #3 means the next one you create is #3 again.
* **Delete one from the middle and the gap stays.** Deleting #2 out of #1, #2, and #3 means the next one is #4. Nothing is renumbered behind your back.
* **A rejected change order keeps its number.** It stays on the proposal with a rejected status and holds its spot.
* **Deleting one change order leaves the others alone.** They keep the numbers your client already saw.

||| ℹ️ Because a number can come back into use, give each change order a descriptive name. "Change Order #2" tells a client nothing. "Add 10x12 flagstone landing off back door" tells them exactly what they're signing.

## Pricing the Change

The **Markup** page works exactly as it does on a proposal.

* Added sections are marked up to meet your PMM goals, and you can fine-tune each one with the slider.
* Credited sections default to the markup you originally agreed to. Adjust it if you're offering a partial credit.
* The tax rate is carried over from the original proposal.

## Payments on a Change Order

Open the change order's proposal page and scroll to **Payment terms**. Only you see this panel; it sets what your client sees.

![Figure 2: Payment terms on a change order.](https://elevation-knowledgebase.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/Proposals/Presenting_Proposals/Images/V2_CO_Payment_Terms.png?v=3 =800x266)

* **Down payment**: the percentage of this change you want collected right away. Enter 0 if you don't want one.
* **Billed to date** and **Remaining payments** are filled in for you from the original contract. They're there for context; you can't edit them.
* **Additional payments**: how many payments to add to the schedule to cover the change. Enter 0 to spread it across the payments the client already has left.
* **Or one payment per**: instead of a count, bill the change in chunks of a dollar amount.

Here is the math Elevation Advisor runs:

1. A change order down payment is its own invoice and goes out right away, on top of the existing schedule.
2. What's left of the project is the new total minus everything already billed, minus that down payment.
3. That balance is spread evenly across the payments still to come plus any payments you added.
4. The final payment absorbs the rounding, so every schedule adds up to the penny.

A few rules worth knowing:

* **Payments already invoiced are history.** They are never recalculated and never reissued.
* **A credit-only change order gets no down payment.** Taking a percentage of a negative total would invoice your client for a refund.
* **If no payments are left to bill, add at least one.** There's nothing left to spread the change across otherwise.
* Every change order is handled the same way, whether it's the first or the fourth.

### Example

|  | Before the change | After the change |
| ---- |
| Contract total | $60,000 | $75,000 (a $15,000 change) |
| Billed to date | $26,000 | $26,000 |
| Remaining balance | $34,000 | $49,000 |
| Remaining payments | 3 | 4 (one added) |
| Each payment | $11,333.33 | $12,250 |

## What Your Client Sees

The change order uses the same page as the proposal, with change order wording.

![Figure 3: What's changing on your project, with the Added tag.](https://elevation-knowledgebase.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/Proposals/Presenting_Proposals/Images/V2_CO_Whats_Changing.png?v=3 =1290x755)

* A **Change order** badge at the top, so nobody mistakes it for a second contract.
* A **What's changing on your project** section listing only what moved, tagged **Added** or **Removed**, with the price of the change.
* A payment schedule showing the down payment on the change, what's still owed, and each payment to come.
* **Approve this change?** at the bottom, where the client types their name, agrees to the terms, and signs.

Their email says their change order is ready to review and carries a **Review the change order** button. If they're standing in front of you, select the change order on the Proposals page and click **Client Accept** to sign on the spot, or use **Accept for client** on the change order itself when they've already said yes and you don't want to send anything. See [**Client Sign-Off: Seamless, On-Site, and On Your Terms**](https://support.elevationadvisor.com/en-us/article/client-sign-off-seamless-on-site-and-on-your-terms-1x8opmq/).

## Once It's Approved

* A signed PDF of the change order is attached to the confirmation email.
* You and your client both get email confirmation.
* **Budgets**: crews see the new time and material allocations.
* **Invoicing**: the change order is added to the invoicing story, down payment first, then the updated schedule.
* **Smart Calendar**: the schedule reflects the new scope.
* The change order appears under the proposal on the **Proposals** page. Click the **plus sign** next to a proposal to see its full change order history.

||| ℹ️ If your client upgrades to a bigger package through their proposal link, that package change overrides existing change orders. Once a change order exists on a project, online package changes are turned off and the client is asked to contact you instead. See [**Upselling with the Update Package Feature**](https://support.elevationadvisor.com/en-us/article/upselling-with-the-update-package-feature-1ipfp01/).