Change orders: how to bill new work without losing the original contract

A change order is the thing that happens when the job changes after the contract is signed. The owner adds a room, the GC asks for an extra soffit, the spec changes from one fixture to another. The work is real and you should get paid for it. The paperwork is where it goes wrong.

On a G702, change orders get their own line: - Line 1 is the original contract sum, and it doesn't move. - Line 2 is the net of all change orders. - Line 3 is Line 1 plus Line 2, which is the contract sum to date.

The original contract stays the same, and every change sits next to it, so anyone reading the form can see what was agreed at the start and what has changed since.

There are two ways a change can show up.

New work that's not in the original contract. This becomes its own line on the G703, with its own scheduled value. It bills like any other line, and it adds to Line 2. It stays visible, so the GC can see the extra scope on its own.

A change to the price of an existing line. Maybe the drywall line goes up because the owner wants a higher-grade finish. The line's scheduled value rises, and the increase is recorded as a change order on that line. The original line amount stays on record, and the change shows as an addition. That matters because anyone comparing the pay app to the contract needs to see the difference.

The mistake most subs make is changing a line's price in place. The total looks right on the day, but the original contract is gone. Months later nobody can say what was agreed on the first day, and a dispute becomes a fight about memory.

Two more things to watch.

Don't bill change work before it's agreed. A change order should exist in writing before the work is billed. If the GC or the client approves by phone, get it in writing the same day, even if it's a short email.

Deductions are changes too. If the owner takes scope out, the line comes down, and that goes on Line 2 as a negative change. A common surprise is a sub who billed the full line in one month and then learns the line was cut. The fix is to record the deduction the day it's agreed, not at the end.

NailMyPay records each change order with its number, date, reason, and the name of the person who recorded it. Change orders flow into Line 2 without raising any one line past what's already been billed, so the form stays honest. The full history is on the job page, which makes the question "what was the original, and what has changed?" easy to answer. You can try the change order flow on your first pay app for free, if you want to see how it looks on a real job.