The wall is open. The original repair is visible. So is the corroded pipe nobody could see during the estimate. This is where “we'll sort it out later” begins its short, distinguished career as a terrible operating system.
A Change Order is a numbered record attached to an existing job for revised scope, price, approval, and status. It can update the job total and an eligible outstanding balance after approval. It does not automatically create an invoice or collect payment; billing defaults to pending manual follow-up. Customer approval by public link applies only to eligible signature-based change orders. If payment is required first, the current public view and approval path is not available.
Put the changed scope on the job before the crew just handles it
A hallway conversation is not a scope-control process. Neither is a text thread that billing discovers three weeks later.
Local Business Pro Change Orders keep the added or revised work attached to the job that owns it. An authorized operator can include:
- A customer-facing description of the change
- Internal notes for the team
- Service, product, or custom line items
- Quantity, price, tax, and calculated totals
- An optional Job Segment
- The approval path that matches the company's process
The original job remains the commercial anchor. The change order gives the new decision its own number and status without rewriting history or pretending the extra work was in the original scope all along.
That distinction matters inside the complete jobs-and-estimates revenue workflow: the approved estimate establishes the job, and the change order documents what changed after that job existed.
Choose the approval path that matches the work
There are two approval paths, and they are intentionally different.
Internal approval
An internal-only change order can be approved by an account that belongs to the business. This supports shops with a defined operational approval process. It does not replace customer consent when a contract, company policy, or local requirement calls for it. Local Business Pro records the operational decision; it is not a substitute for legal advice.
Customer signature by public link
An eligible customer-signature change order can be sent with a valid public link. The customer can review the customer-facing scope and total, enter the required name and signature, approve it, or decline it.
Draft and internal-only records stay read-only in the public experience. Approved records are not casual editing territory either. The point is a visible decision, not a document that quietly changes after everybody agreed.
This is related to, but distinct from, the original estimate approval and payment handoff. The estimate handles selected scope before the job; the change order handles revised scope after the job exists.
When payment is required first
Payment-first change orders do not use the current customer public view or approval action. They need an operator-managed path outside that flow. Do not send the link expecting it to approve the change and collect money in one step; that is not the current capability.
What approval changes—and what it does not
When an eligible change order is approved, its total is added to the job total and, where appropriate, the outstanding balance. The approval is recorded with the job, and the approved record and line items are locked against casual edits.
What approval does not do is equally important:
- It does not automatically create an invoice.
- It does not append itself to a draft invoice.
- It does not charge a saved card.
- It does not collect a payment.
The billing disposition defaults to pending manual. That keeps the financial follow-up explicit: review the approved change, decide how it should be billed, and then use the normal workflow to create an invoice from the job.
If a change order is voided under an eligible status, the approved scope delta can be reversed from the job. The status and activity remain part of the job history, so the record does not simply evaporate because the plan changed again.
Keep the change with the right job stage
On multi-stage work, the question is not only what changed. It is where the change belongs.
A change order can carry an optional Job Segment, keeping revised scope with the stage that uncovered or owns it. An electrical correction can stay with Inspection Corrections. Added stump work can stay with Stump Grinding. The commercial change remains attached to the parent job while the field context remains attached to the right stage.
See how to attach changed scope to the right job stage. Segments organize execution; change orders document scope and approval. Neither automatically schedules work or produces an invoice.
Four scope changes that deserve a visible decision
Plumbing hidden damage
Opening a wall reveals corroded piping beyond the approved repair. Add the labor and material lines, explain the changed scope, and send an eligible customer-signature change order before proceeding. If there is no payment-first requirement, the customer can approve through the valid link. Billing still receives an explicit follow-up.
Electrical panel discovery
The electrician finds grounding or feeder work outside the original scope. An internal approver can authorize the operational change when that matches company policy. That does not automatically satisfy any customer-consent or legal requirement the work may carry.
Arborist hazard change
The crew identifies an additional hazard or cleanup requirement after work begins. Attach the change to the relevant segment, document the revised line items, and preserve the approval evidence with the job. The software records the decision; it does not offer arboricultural or legal judgment.
HVAC duct modification
Installation exposes duct changes that were not part of the selected option. Record the added work separately from the original package, obtain the appropriate approval, and reflect the approved amount in the job total. If you are still presenting alternatives before approval, use good-better-best estimate packages instead.
Decline, void, and keep the history understandable
A customer can decline an eligible sent change order and provide a reason. Approved scope can follow the controlled void path when current conditions allow it. Creation, sending, approval, decline, and void activity stay connected to the job.
That history helps the next person understand what was proposed and what decision followed. Add clear supporting context using the normal job notes and documentation workflow; keep internal notes internal and customer-facing scope plain enough to review.
Frequently asked questions
Does a change order automatically create an invoice?
No. Approval defaults to pending manual billing follow-up. Invoice creation remains a separate operator action.
Can a customer approve online?
Yes, when the change order uses customer-signature approval, has a valid public link, is in an eligible state, and does not require payment first.
Can an approved change order be edited?
Approved change orders and their line items are locked against casual edits. A controlled void path handles eligible reversals.
Is the recorded signature legally binding everywhere?
Local Business Pro records approval evidence. Enforceability depends on your terms, jurisdiction, and professional guidance; no universal legal outcome is promised.
Who can manage change orders?
Staff actions require the appropriate jobs permission and valid access to the business and job. Access can vary by account and permission setup.
Document the next change before more work starts
Take one active job where the scope has moved. Write the customer-facing change, add the correct line items, choose the approval path, and decide who owns the manual billing follow-up before the crew continues.
The extra work stops being a conversation somebody has to remember. It becomes a visible decision attached to the job.
Ready to Stop Losing Customers?
Document one real scope change, review the approval path and billing follow-up, then send or approve it through the process your business uses.
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