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GuideThe rehab

Change orders

Record a change to the scope mid-job and see what it does to your budget and profit before you approve it.

Where it is
A house › Rehab › Change orders
Who can use it
Owners, admins, and team members on the house

The electrician opens a wall and finds knob-and-tube. That's a change order: a named, priced change to one budget line, with a record of when it was approved.

Write one

  1. Step 1: Open Change orders under Rehab and choose Add change order.
  2. Step 2: Give it a Title and a Reason.
  3. Step 3: Type the Cost. Use a minus sign for a change that saves money.
  4. Step 4: Type Days if it adds time. This is a note; it doesn't move any task dates.
  5. Step 5: Pick the Budget line it changes.
  6. Step 6: Leave Status on Draft or Submitted and choose Save.

Nothing in the budget changes yet.

Approve it

  1. Step 1: Choose Edit on the change order and set Status to Approved.
  2. Step 2: Choose Save. A box spells out the effect before anything happens.
  3. Step 3: Choose Approve.

Example

Approve change order

Approving updates Electrical. Budget goes from $73,260.00 to $75,295.00. Remaining goes from $48,822.60 to $50,857.60. Spent does not change. Projected profit goes from $21,093.35 to $19,058.35.

Replace knob-and-tube in the attic: $1,850.00, plus the 10% contingency on it.

ApproveCancel
The confirmation for a $1,850 change order on the Electrical line.
How it countsApproving adds the cost to that one budget line. Budget and Remaining go up, and Projected Profit goes down by the same amount. Spent doesn't move: a change order isn't an expense. Log the expense when you pay.

After it's approved

  • An approved change order is locked. The only change left is to set its status to Void, which takes the cost back off the line.
  • You can't void one if expenses have been logged on that line since. Write a second change order for the opposite amount instead.
  • A change that lowers a line can't take it below what's already been spent there.
  • Rejected and Void are final. Start a new one if things change.
  • Change orders can't be deleted, so the house keeps a full record.
Heads upAnyone who can open the house's change orders can approve one, team members included, and nobody is notified. If only you should approve them, turn off Change orders, punch, and permits for that person under Members.

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