Mid-job, the client asks for “one small thing” — open the wall a little wider, add an outlet, move a light. It sounds like twenty minutes. It turns into $800 of labor and materials, and at final payment the client says they never agreed to pay for it. Without a signed price agreed before the work, it is your word against theirs. The Change Order Field Authorization kit fixes that moment in about three minutes: stop, write the extra down, lock the price, get it signed — then cut. No signature, no extra work.
What it is
This is a 9-page printable packet, a fillable phone version, and a change-order log spreadsheet that work together as one field routine:
- START HERE sheet — where your files live in your Etsy account and which file to open first
- Sign Before I Cut — the sign-before-work-starts rule, the 4-step field routine, and a word-for-word field script
- Change Order Authorization — original scope versus added work fenced apart, with a full PRICE LOCK: labor, materials, other costs, total for the change, contract total before, and new total after
- Signature page — both sides sign before the added work starts; payment and schedule effect in writing
- Filled example — the $800 wall-cut extra written out line by line, signed before cutting began
- Photo & Proof Checklist + Verbal Request Log — before and after photos and a log for extras asked out loud
- Change Order Summary Log (printable) — every change on one page with a running total and percent change
- Declined Change Record — when the client says no or will not sign, the decision is documented, not argued
- Price Lock Terms + pocket reminders for your clipboard
The fillable PDF version is included — tap and type every field on site and sign on the spot, no printer needed, with 137 fillable fields.
The Change Order Log (.xlsx, for Excel and Google Sheets) keeps the contract honest across a whole job: original contract, one row per signed change, cumulative changes, new contract total, and percent change all calculate automatically. Demo data showing the $800 extra lets you see it working in about a minute before you enter a real job.
Why it was created
Extras are where good jobs quietly lose money. The work is real, the cost is real, but the agreement was a conversation in a hallway — easy to forget, easy to dispute, and impossible to prove at final billing. This kit was created for that exact three-minute pause: it fences the added work apart from the original scope so there is no confusion about what was already included, it locks the price in parts the client can read, and it puts the schedule and payment effect in writing beside the signature. The declined-change record matters just as much — a client who refuses to sign has made a decision, and the kit records it instead of leaving the crew to argue later.
Who it’s for
- Contractors, remodelers, and builders whose clients add work mid-job
- Crew leads and foremen who get the verbal ask on site, away from the office
- Solo contractors who are both the estimator and the person holding the saw
- Any contractor who has finished an extra for free at final payment once and will not do it again
How to use it
When the ask comes, stop before the work starts. Write the extra on the authorization page, separate from the original scope. Build the price lock line by line, state the new contract total, note any schedule effect, and get both signatures. Log it in the spreadsheet the same day, take the before photos the checklist calls for, and only then cut. If the client will not sign, complete the declined record and do the contracted work only.
This kit is an organizational and communication tool, not legal advice. Contract and change-order rules vary by state and by your written contract — consult an attorney in your state with questions.
Companion guide: Change Order Field Authorization: Software, Devices and Tools That Work With It
Get the kit
CONTROL: THREE MINUTES OF PAPERWORK PROTECTS EVERY EXTRA YOU EVER DO. Get the Change Order Field Authorization for $12.95, or find DealShore on Etsy.
Get free sample pages + new kit alerts — email contact@dealshore.com