Change orders

Send a change order as a Client Agreement, and have its approved cost commit to the budget the moment the client accepts.

A change order is a kind of Client Agreement — the same priced, signable record as a proposal, used when scope changes mid-project. Its job is to get the client's sign-off on the added cost, and when they accept, that cost commits to the budget automatically.

Create a change order

  1. From Records, click Create Record.
  2. Pick the Project, then choose Change Order under Client Agreements.
  3. The builder opens with a header labeled Change Order.

Add the changed line items

  1. Click Add items.
  2. Pick the budget lines this change affects, then click Apply (the button shows how many you selected).
  3. Review the imported quantities and totals, then save the record. These values come from the budget; make quantity changes there before importing the lines.

Note

If you already know which lines changed, start from the sheet: select them on the project's Budget, open Selected row actions, click Create a record from these lines, and choose Change Order under Client Agreements. The budget saves before the builder opens with those lines. Save the record to keep them.

Note

If a budget line already has an approved price from an earlier record, you'll see a Committed $X · will replace chip next to it. Acceptance of this change order replaces that prior commitment for the line; sending alone does not.

Send and get acceptance

  1. Add the client in the side panel's Recipients section, with the Signature? toggle on if you want it signed.
  2. Click Send, then confirm in the send window.
  3. The client reviews and signs from their portal if you required a signature. For acceptance obtained outside Foreman, use Mark Accepted on the sent agreement.

What happens on acceptance

The moment the client accepts a budget-linked change order, Foreman commits it to the project budget — no manual entry, no double-typing. Each linked line picks up the change order's Approved Price and its Budgeted Cost, both taken from the snapshot the client saw.

Both are last write wins, not additive: a change order that re-states a line replaces that line's earlier figure rather than stacking on top of it, which is why the Committed $X · will replace chip appears while you're building it.

Note

A declined change order does not become an approved commitment. Deleting an eligible unsigned agreement reverses its contributions and rebuilds the budget; signed agreements cannot be deleted.

Don’t see this?

If you can't send a change order, your role may not allow sending Client Agreements. Ask your organization owner.