Create A Change Order

How Do I... Create A Change Order

A change order is used to make a record of when a change is made to the original specifications in a job estimate, and to allow the customer to acknowledge their approval for the change.

To create a change order in Smart Contractor, estimate items being changed are not actually changed. They are marked as "change order cancelled", and then one or more items are added to the estimate to replace the cancelled item. The cancelled item, and the added item(s), are marked as members of a change order by assigning the same "change order name" to each of them.

This provides a clear record of the items that were changed, and what they were changed to.

To "Change Order Cancel" an item, follow these steps:

Open Job

Select a Job in the prompt at the top of the main window, then click on Edit Job Estimate in the shortcut menu to open the Edit Job Estimate form

Select Item

Select the item to change by clicking on the item in the list on the left side of the screen.

Click on the "Misc" tab

Click on the Misc tab near the top of the right side of the screen.

Check "C.O. Cancel"

Click on the C.O. Cancel check box. The program will prompt for the Change Order.

Enter A Change Order Name

Type the change order name. Use a name that is meaningful for the change being made. For example, if you are changing the material being used for a kitchen counter, type "Kitchen Counter Change". Then press the [Enter] or [Tab] key.

If the change order exists, it will be selected. If the change order does not exist, the program will ask if you want to add it. Click Yes (or press [Enter]) to add the change order. This will display the change order entry form to prompt for the change order name and date.

Click OK to save the change order name and date. This will take you back to the prompt for change order. Select the change order from the list.

Click OK at the bottom of the estimate entry form to save the change order. The program will

To "Change Order Add" an item, follow these steps:

Add New Item

Click the Add Item button (in the upper left of the screen) to add a new item to replace the item being changed. Fill in the prompts on the right side of the screen with the appropriate information.

Click on the "Misc" tab

Click on the Misc tab near the top of the right side of the screen.

Check C.O. Add

Click on the C.O. Add check box. The program will prompt for the Change Order.

Select Change Order

Select the change order. Select the same Change Order that was used for the item being cancelled.

For example, if this item is being added to replace the item cancelled for the kitchen counter change, select "Kitchen Counter Change".

The "cancelled" and "added" parts of a change order are grouped into a single change order by selecting the same change order name.

Click OK to Save.

Note: You can enter a change order that only has new items and no corresponding items being cancelled, and you can enter a change order that only has items being cancelled, with no items added to replace them.

All that matters is that you use the change order name to connect items being added and/or cancelled.

You can create any number of change orders for a job.

Print Change Order

Use the Print Change Order menu option to print the change order(s).

Note: Items that were cancelled as part of a change order will no longer appear in any of the job listing reports. Items that were added as part of a change order will appear as normal items. The job total will be updated to reflect any changes due to change orders.