Information About The Individual Sections
Of The Change Order Forms

NO monthly fees - each form package is a one-time payment for unlimited, forever usage!

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First an image of the form with reference numbers assigned to it… :o)

And now what those reference numbers are all about…

Section 1

You'll enter your license number and expiration date in these fields. The form that does not have provision for license information is completely blank in this section (matching the same style # in the proposal forms).

Section 2

This is where you'll enter your company name. I can help with this and if you want it to be a different color I can help with that as well.

Section 3

You'll enter your company information such as address, phone, email, website, etc. in this section.

Section 4

This section is a Page ___ of ___. Chances are with this form it'll be 'Page 1 of 1'.

Section 5

This is where you'll enter the number of your change order form.

Section 6

In this section you'll include:

• The Date


• The address and/or description/location of the project


• Your contact person as well as his/her phone number, fax number, and email address

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SECTION 7 - VERSATILITY AT ITS FINEST

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This is the section for the meat of your change order, what you'll be doing, what it involves, etc.

This section is 'wide-open' meaning you're not locked in to writing up your change order in a format that you don't want to use.

• If you want to write it up in a line item format you're able to.

Change1	$100.00
Change2	$200.00
Change3	$300.00

• If you'd rather write it up as paragraphs you're able to.

"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum."	$200.00
"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum."	$400.00

• If you wish to combine the two above methods, or use a completely different layout, you're able to.

There are no restrictions so that all trades will find it to be perfect for their needs.

If you perform more than one trade that makes this form *especially* useful to you because you can use it for every trade you're involved in!

Section 8

Here is where you'll enter the cost of the change order as well as the new total dollar amount for the project.

Section 9

Style #1 and Style #4 have the following basic legalese:

"All material is guaranteed to be as specified. All work to be completed in a substantial workmanlike manner according to specifications submitted, per standard practices. Any alteration or deviation from above specifications involving extra costs will be executed only upon written orders, and will become an extra charge over and above the estimate. All agreements contingent upon strikes, accidents or delays beyond our control. Owner to carry fire, tornado and other necessary insurance. Our workers are fully covered by Workmen’s Compensation Insurance. If either party commences legal action to enforce its rights pursuant to this agreement, the prevailing party in said legal action shall be entitled to recover its reasonable attorney’s fees and costs of litigation relating to said legal action, as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction."

Style #2 and Style #5 have the following basic legalese:

"All material is guaranteed to be as specified. All work to be completed in a substantial workmanlike manner according to specifications submitted, per standard practices. Any alteration or deviation from above specifications involving extra costs will be executed only upon written orders, and will become an extra charge over and above the estimate. All agreements contingent upon strikes, accidents or delays beyond our control. Owner to carry fire, tornado and other necessary insurance. Our workers are fully covered by Workmen’s Compensation Insurance. Accounts overdue beyond 30 days of billing will be charged at an interest rate of _____ per annum. Customer is also liable for an additional _____% of unpaid balance plus incidental collections costs, including attorney fees. If either party commences legal action to enforce its rights pursuant to this agreement, the prevailing party in said legal action shall be entitled to recover its reasonable attorney’s fees and costs of litigation relating to said legal action, as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction."

The Style #3 and Style #6 forms are blank in that area so that you can enter the specific legalese text that you'd like to be there (feel free to copy any and/or all of the above).

Section 10

This is where you enter the number of days that the offer is good for and then sign the document. The pdf version has the option to be signed digitally.

Section 11

This is where your customer signs their acceptance of the change order.

A Trip Wire To Be Aware Of

Be absolutely certain that the person signing the change orders for the project you're on is allowed to legally contract for the company you're contracted with or you could find yourself not being paid - if they're not legally allowed to contract for that company then that company doesn't have to pay you.

Unfortunately there are DC's/GC's as well as Owners who have and still do take advantage of that 'loophole' and get away with not paying.

After a contractor on a public works project dragged (drug?) me through the mud and tightened that loophole around my neck (and then skipped out, legally, on $98,000 worth of change orders) I then started demanding that the names of every person, that is allowed to contract for the company that I'm contracting with, be written into the contract so that I would know whether or not I could rely on the signature.

If the person that wants to sign my change order form isn't listed in the contract then guess what?

He 'aint signing *my* change order!

Not only that but there's going to be one upset DC/GC back in his office because all of a sudden the work has come to a halt - but it's his own fault for not putting the person's name in the contract!

There's more than one way to skin a duck! Hand slap to forehead … that's not even the way the saying goes is it? :o\

If they want to pull that stunt 'my superintendent wasn't authorized to sign those change orders' then I'm going to flip the tables when the first change order comes up and their superintendent isn't listed in the contract as being allowed to legally bind the company.

The job stops, the head honcho (hh aka DC/GC) gets quite upset and then after much bellowing on the part of the hh all of a sudden lo and behold comes a document across the fax machine that is an addendum to the contract allowing the superintendent to contract for the company!

Either that or the job stops, the hh gets even more upset, and everything has to wait until the super faxes the change order(s) to the hh, he reviews them and then signs the paperwork himself, then he faxes the paperwork back to the superintendent who then gives the signed paperwork to me.

Maybe not such a huge deal if the hh is in the office - but if he's on the road or on vacation he's *not* going to be a happy camper.

Good incentive for the DC/GC to put together a better contract!

Anyhow, also, change orders should be paid right along with the regular progress payments - keep track of them to avoid any troubles down the road.