Create a change order when the scope or price of a job changes after your client has agreed to the original estimate. You can start one from the Estimates tab of the project, then build it, send it, and get your client's approval online.
Available on the Flex, Pro, Scale, and Business plans. You need permission to edit Estimates, proposals, & change orders. Works on desktop and in the mobile app.
Start a change order
The two most common ways to start one:
Estimates tab: on desktop, select Create change order. In the mobile app, select the + button, then Create change order.
A sent estimate: in its Change order records card, select Add change order. The change order is linked to that estimate.
Other entry points: the Overview tab's Change orders card, Create > Change order, Convert to change order in an unsent single-option estimate's options menu, and Convert to > Change order on a document, where Handy (Handoff's AI assistant) builds it. To link an unlinked change order to an estimate later, select Link estimate at the top of the change order.
Build the change order
A change order works like an estimate. Add, edit, or remove line items in the table, or describe the work in the chat on the estimate screen and Handy adds the items.
To enter a credit that lowers the total, use a negative unit cost. A change order can have a negative total.
Send the change order and get approval
Open the change order and select Preview.
On desktop, select Send. In the mobile app, select Send change order.
In the Send change order dialog, choose how to send it: SMS, email, or a link you copy.
Select Send.
Your client opens the change order online without logging in. They select Accept, or Sign and accept when a signature is required. They can also select Decline or Give feedback.
If your client approves or declines outside Handoff, open the options menu and select Mark as > Approved or Declined. See How to accept a proposal on behalf of your client.
To change a change order after you send it, open the options menu and select Edit. It moves back to drafts until you send it again. An approved change order cannot be edited.
If a change order was approved by mistake, open it, select the options menu (⋮), select Reopen for approval, then confirm. It goes back to Sent so your client can review and approve it again. Your client isn't notified, so share it again when it's ready. Reopen for approval is greyed out when the change order has linked invoices or payment requests. See If a proposal was approved by mistake.
What happens to totals, the budget, and invoices
Totals: once you send a change order, it counts toward the original estimate's total and toward percentage invoices on that estimate. It stops counting if it is declined or canceled.
Budget: after approval, the change order appears in the Budget tab as its own group labeled with CO-. The Business plan does not include the Budget tab.
Invoices: to bill an approved change order on its own, select Convert to > Invoice, or select Add invoice. The invoice is for the change order's total. A credit cannot be invoiced this way.
Bill each change order one way so it is not billed twice. Use its own invoice, or a percentage or payment schedule invoice on the original estimate, which includes it. Row-based invoices on the original estimate do not include it.
Deleting an approved change order also removes the budget data created from it and its invoices. This can't be undone.