Change Order Template
A change order is the signed amendment that adds scope, money, or time to work already under contract. It names what the original agreement covered, what is being added, what the revised fee and dates are, and it carries both signatures. Without one, the extra work is a favour you cannot invoice.
The structure below is what a working change order needs. In Ascend it is one of the pre-built document templates (Change Order / Scope-Change Form), so the approved change generates as a finished Word file from the record that already holds the project.
What’s in the document
Every section below is a placeholder that fills from a record. Generate one finished Word document per row — change the values, generate again.
The sections every change order needs
Each is a placeholder in the template — it fills from the project record when you generate.
| Field | What goes here |
|---|---|
| Reference to the original agreement | The SOW or contract this amends, with its date, so the change order is never read on its own |
| Change order number and date | Sequential per project. CO-002 tells everyone there was a CO-001 |
| Requested by | Who asked for the change, and when. Useful six months later when nobody remembers |
| Description of the change | What is being added, removed, or altered, in the same language the original scope used |
| Reason for the change | Client request, discovery finding, or a dependency that moved. Keeps the record honest on both sides |
| Revised fee | The additional amount, and the new project total. Show both — the second number is the one that surprises people |
| Revised timeline | The new dates for affected milestones, including any knock-on delay to later phases |
| Impact on existing scope | What gets deprioritised or pushed if the team is at capacity |
| Authorisation | Names, signatures, and dates for both parties. Work starts after this, not before |
This is a professionally drafted starting point, not legal advice. Laws differ by country and state. Have a qualified professional review it before you rely on it.
How to use this template
- Pick the Change Order / Scope-Change Form template in Ascend — it creates the database, an example record, an intake form, and the tagged Word document together.
- Log the request as a record against the project as soon as it lands, before anyone estimates it.
- Price the added scope, then enter the revised fee and the new project total.
- Generate the change order and send the Word file for signature.
- Start the work once the signature is back, and keep the signed original attached to the project record.
Change order vs scope change request
These are two stages of one process, and running them as a single document is where the money leaks. A scope change request is the intake: the client asks for something, and you capture what they want before anyone has priced it. It is cheap to submit and it commits nobody.
The change order is the outcome. It carries the price, the revised dates, and the signatures, and it amends the signed statement of work. One request can end in no change order at all, which is a perfectly good outcome and much easier to reach when the two steps are separate.
Agencies that skip the request stage tend to price changes in email threads. Agencies that skip the change order stage do the work and argue about the invoice later. Both failure modes come from the same place: no artefact that a client signed.
When to raise a change order and when to absorb the work
Not every request deserves paperwork. The test is whether the work is inside the scope you sold. A revision within the rounds you quoted is delivery. A fourth round when you quoted three is a change, however small it looks.
Time is the honest threshold. If a request costs more than roughly half a day of someone billable, it belongs on a change order. Below that, most studios absorb it and bank the goodwill, though the ones that track those absorbed hours usually discover the total is larger than they assumed. The scope creep tracker exists to make that number visible.
The other trigger is timeline rather than fee. A change that costs nothing but pushes a launch date still needs signing, because the delay is the thing the client will remember.
Why the fee alone is not enough
Most change orders name the additional amount and stop there. The number that prevents the difficult conversation is the revised project total, because that is what the client compares against the figure they approved at the start.
Show the knock-on effect too. Adding two weeks of build in March moves the QA window into April, which moves the launch. Naming that on the change order turns a later complaint into a decision the client already made in writing. Where the change is large enough to reshape the engagement, it is often worth checking the whole job against the project profitability calculator before you send it.
Related templates
Scope Change Request Form
The intake step that comes first — capture the ask before anyone prices it.
What Is a Change Order?
The definition, and how it differs from scope creep.
Statement of Work Template
The signed agreement a change order amends.
Scope Creep Tracker
Make the absorbed hours visible before they become a margin problem.
Frequently asked questions
What is a change order?+
A change order is a written, signed amendment to an existing project agreement. It records what scope is being added or altered, the revised fee, the revised timeline, and the authorisation from both parties. It amends the original statement of work rather than replacing it.
What should a change order include?+
A reference to the original agreement, a sequential change order number and date, who requested the change, a description of the change, the reason for it, the additional fee and the revised project total, the revised timeline, the impact on existing scope, and signature lines for both parties.
What is the difference between a change order and a scope change request?+
A scope change request is the intake: the client asks for something and you capture it before pricing. A change order is the outcome: priced, dated, and signed. One request can end without a change order at all, which is easier to reach when the two steps are kept separate.
When should an agency raise a change order?+
When the request falls outside the scope you sold. A useful threshold is half a day of billable time, or any change that moves a date the client cares about even if it costs nothing. Below that, most studios absorb the work, though tracking absorbed hours usually shows the total is larger than assumed.
Do I need a signature on a change order?+
Yes, and before the work starts rather than after. The signature is the whole point of the document. An emailed approval that names the change, the fee, and the new dates is better than nothing, but a countersigned change order is what makes the amount collectable without a conversation.
Can I edit the original SOW instead of issuing a change order?+
Editing a signed agreement removes the record of what was originally agreed and when it changed. Issuing a numbered change order that references the SOW keeps a clean trail, which matters most when a project has run through several changes and someone asks how the total got there.
Is the change order template free?+
Setting up the template in Ascend is unlimited on every plan, including Free. Generating finished documents is metered per month — 5 on Free, 100 on Solo, 500 on Studio, unlimited on Enterprise. Only generated documents count toward the number; the templates themselves do not.
Related template
Scope Change Request Form
A change order is the second half of the process. Capture the request first, price it, then issue the change order for signature.
Related calculators & guides
Work the same numbers from the next angle.
Scope Change Request Form Template
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Open toolWhat Is a Change Order?
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Open toolStatement of Work (SOW) Template
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Open toolWhat Is Scope Creep?
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Open toolScope-Creep Tracker Template
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Open toolAll Document Templates
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Open toolPrice the change from the hours, not from memory.
In Ascend the change order generates from the same project record that holds the tracked time, so the added scope is priced against what the work actually costs. The free tier covers one project end to end.
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