Change orders priced on site, approved in writing, added to the invoice
The “while you’re here” request becomes a priced change order on your phone. The customer approves it in the portal with a timestamp, and it rolls into the next invoice — nothing absorbed, nothing argued about later.
Three steps, one app
Capture it on site
Open the job, tap New change order, describe the extra work and add a photo of why — the rotten sheathing, the panel that is out of code. Price it from your estimate lines or type a lump sum.
Customer approves from their phone
The customer gets a text or email, opens the portal with no account, reads the scope and price, and taps Approve. FieldsHub records who approved it and when.
It rolls into the invoice
Approved change orders are added to the next progress or final invoice automatically, itemised, so the customer sees exactly what the extra was for.
One record from “can you also…” to “paid”
A change order has a description, line items, a price and an approval timestamp. It lives on the job, shows in the client portal, and is added to the next invoice the moment it is approved — so the final bill matches what the customer agreed to, line by line.
Why do change orders cause so many disputes?
Because the work gets done before the price is agreed. A homeowner asks for one more outlet while you are in the wall; you say sure; three weeks later the number on the invoice is the first time they see a cost. Nobody lied, but the customer feels ambushed and you end up eating the extra to keep the peace. Multiply that by every job in a season and it is the single biggest hole in a small contractor’s margin.
The fix is boring and it works: price the change, show it to the customer, get a yes you can point to, and only then do the work. A change order in FieldsHub is that yes — a scope, a price and a timestamped approval on the customer’s own phone — and it is the reason the final invoice is never a surprise.
What should a change order contain?
A reference to the original estimate or contract, a plain description of the added or removed work, the reason (with a photo when the reason is a hidden condition), the line items or lump-sum price, any effect on the schedule, and the customer’s approval with a date. That is the whole form; our free change-order template in the blog walks through each field.
FieldsHub pre-fills the reference and the customer, lets you reuse line items from the estimate, attaches the photo from your camera roll, and stores the approval. Declined change orders stay on the record too, which matters when a customer later asks why something was not done.
Which plans include change orders?
Change orders and the client portal they are approved in are on the Pro and Business plans (see the pricing page for current prices and included users). Basic and Starter include estimates, invoicing and payments; on those plans you can still add an extra line to the next invoice, but there is no separate change-order record or in-portal approval. AI drafting of change orders — describing the change and having the wizard price it — is on the roadmap and not available today.
Change orders by trade
The scope creep is different in every trade — an extra circuit, a corroded shutoff, rot under the siding, a thickness upgrade on the slab — but the fix is the same: price it before you do it and get a yes in writing. Pick your trade for a page built around it.
What it does not do (yet)
- Change orders and in-portal approval are on Pro and Business; Basic and Starter can add lines to an invoice but have no change-order record.
- No AI drafting of change orders yet — you price them from estimate lines or as a lump sum.
- No AIA-style change-order forms (G701) — export the change order as a PDF instead.
Change orders questions
Can a customer approve a change order without an account?+
Yes (change orders are on Pro and Business). They get a text or email with a magic link, open the change order in the portal and tap Approve. FieldsHub records the approval time and who approved it.
What happens if the customer declines?+
The change order stays on the job as declined, with the date. Nothing is added to the invoice, and you have a record that the option was offered.
Do approved change orders change the schedule?+
You can note the schedule effect on the change order so the customer sees it when approving; the project schedule itself is updated by you.
Related reading
Free Change Order Form Template for Contractors (and How to Use It)
The seven fields a change order needs, a copy-ready layout, and the process around it — price before you do the work, get a dated approval, add it to the next invoice.
Read →Change Orders · 6 min readManaging Change Orders Without the Headaches
Change orders don't have to be a source of conflict. Learn a systematic approach to documenting, pricing, and getting approval for scope changes that keeps projects moving.
Read →Invoicing · 7 min readProgress Billing for Small Contractors: Deposits, Payment Schedules and Milestones
How to set a payment schedule that keeps cash ahead of costs on a multi-week job — deposit size, milestone choice, what to do about change orders, and what progress billing is not.
Read →Try it on tonight’s bid
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