CONSTRUCTION OPERATIONS GUIDE
Download the Excel template
Free .xlsx workbook with a blank log and worked examples.
Use the template below for one job, then bring its open items to your weekly project review. Give every item an owner, a due date, and a next action that someone can complete.
A change order form describes one proposed change to the construction contract. It usually records the requested work, the price and schedule impact, and the approval required by your project. A construction change order log is the running list of all those changes. Use the form to document a decision and the log to see which decisions and invoices still need attention.
Open the log when the original scope is agreed. Add a row when a request or site condition could change the work, even if you are still waiting on details. Save the supporting documents under the same change order number so a new project manager can trace the decision without searching through email.
Use one row per potential change and keep its ID as it moves through pricing, approval, and billing. These three entries show a Friday snapshot from a fictional residential addition.
CO-07 · RFI-14
Approved, unbilled
Move the duct around a revised beam. Allow one extra day before the ceiling closes.
$2,600 estimated direct cost · $3,450 approved · $0 billed
Office lead adds it to Tuesday’s progress invoice.
CO-08 · Site photo 23
Needs pricing
Repair damaged subfloor and check whether the flooring start date will move.
Direct cost and client price pending
Estimator confirms labour and material costs by Monday.
CO-09 · Client email
Awaiting approval
Add an exterior outlet. Confirm the change before the wall closes.
$240 estimated direct cost · $360 proposed
Project manager follows up on the submitted price by Monday.
Use the source column to link to the RFI response, drawing revision, photo, or client request. When a change is approved, add a reference to the approved document and record the approval date. When it’s billed, add the invoice number. Keep the original scope and the approved change easy to find so the next reviewer can see how the agreement evolved.
Keep direct cost and client price in separate columns. Direct cost is what you expect the added work to cost your company. Client price is the amount you propose or agree to charge. To calculate the unbilled balance, subtract the amount already invoiced from the approved price on the same tax basis. Keep pending prices outside that total and update the balance after each invoice if a change is billed in stages.
On the fictional addition, the superintendent finds that a revised beam crosses the planned duct route. The project manager opens RFI-14, attaches a sketch, and asks the designer to confirm an alternative route. The reply provides the scope needed to price the change. The project manager records it under CO-07 and checks when the ceiling crew can return.
The estimator uses the mechanical trade’s quote and the crew’s labour estimate to put direct cost at $2,600. The project manager submits a client price of $3,450 with the extra day stated. That leaves $850 in estimated gross profit before overhead. When the client approves, the project manager saves the approval, checks the revised contract amount against the approved change, and reviews where the additional cost belongs in the project budget.
At Friday’s review, the full $3,450 is still unbilled. The office lead takes ownership and adds it to Tuesday’s progress invoice. Once the invoice is issued, the office lead records the invoice reference and updates the billed amount to $3,450. The change drops out of the unbilled queue, and the team can still trace it back to the designer’s response.
1. Needs pricing
Check which scope details or trade quotes are missing. Assign the next request to one person and agree on a due date.
2. Awaiting approval
Look at work coming up on the schedule. Confirm who owns the follow-up and flag any crew or material decisions that depend on the response.
3. Approved but unbilled
Compare approved changes with issued invoices. Assign the remaining amount to a specific billing cycle and confirm who will reconcile it.
End the review by reading back the next actions and dates. If an item carries over to the following week, its owner should be able to explain what’s holding it up and what will move it forward.
If you bill $1,200 of the $3,450 approved for CO-07 on one progress invoice, the remaining balance is $2,250. Keep the same change order number, record the invoice reference, and update the billed amount as each invoice goes out. The log should show the running total; the invoices provide the itemized record.
For a credit, use the same sign for the approved amount and the amount issued. An approved $400 credit appears as −$400. If you issue a $150 credit, record −$150 and keep the remaining −$250 visible as a credit still due. Keep pending and declined changes in the log for reference and leave them out of the approved billing balance.
In Konstructo, you can review RFIs in Project Coordination and open the same job’s change orders, budget, and client invoices during a financial review.
Explore cost management
See how RFIs are organized
Bring one change order to a walkthrough and follow it from the project record into financial review.
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