8 Signs You Need Construction Change Order Software

When was the last time you had a construction project go exactly as planned? A project where the final scope, timeline, and budget matched the original contract—and zero change orders were required along the way? 

Chances are this has never happened because change orders are commonplace in construction. The bigger your projects, the more changes you encounter. In fact, the AIA analyzed over 18,000 construction projects to find that 100% of them had at least one change order, with some requiring more than ten.  

Many subs turn to construction change order tracking software to streamline change management and minimize risk. But how do you know if you need it? 

8 Reasons to Consider Change Order Software

While a well-defined change order process is essential for all subcontractors, those with fewer, smaller projects may find that manual methods suffice. But, if your subcontracting business is growing rapidly, you’re managing dozens of change orders per month, and you’re regularly running into any of the following challenges, then consider implementing change order software. 

1. Change order requests (COR) forms are often missing key information.

Getting a change order approved starts with submitting a detailed and complete change order request (COR) form. CORs must provide evidence of why a change is necessary and record all details of the change event. When any information or documentation is missing, the request usually gets kicked back without signoff, further delaying work. 

Change order software addresses these challenges, making it easy for PMs to record new change events while onsite per the client’s requirements, complete all required form fields, and attach any necessary backup information.

2. Change orders get rejected because of inaccurate pricing.

Pricing discrepancies are another common reason for change order rejections. Relying on outdated pricing information can cause PMs to significantly underbill or overbill, jeopardizing the chances of getting the change order approved and maybe even your relationship with the GC. Plus, manual calculations are prone to errors, and inconsistent pricing across projects makes it difficult to track profitability and identify areas where you might be losing money. 

Change order software, like Siteline, enables field teams to price changes automatically using built-in rate tables. This ensures consistency and accuracy across all change orders, leaving no room for miscalculations or data entry mistakes. Plus, by tracking pricing trends with change order software you can refine your pricing models over time to ensure maximum profitability.   

3. You can’t tell which change order document is the most recent version.

Not every change order gets approved the first time around. You often have multiple versions floating around in emails and paper files and may struggle to track which version is current and approved. This can affect downstream project plans and accounting documentation.

It’s another common reason subcontractors consider change order management software. These tools enable real-time updates to change orders and centralize all documentation in one place, so there’s never any doubt about which version is the most current. 

4. You’re struggling to get timely change order approvals.

One of the worst things that can happen is for the PM to authorize more labor or order materials before a change order is approved—and then have the GC withhold payment down the road. 

When change events are identified in the field, it can be all too tempting to call the GC for verbal authorization so laborers can continue to work. However, performing that work before the change request is authorized by the proper party in writing often leads to disputes and jeopardizes your ability to get paid. 

Change order software can generate pre-filled, GC-specific CORs and submit them directly to the GC. Some tools can even send reminders to approve outstanding requests, as well as enable you to see GC responses—whether it's an approval, revision request, or rejection—directly within the system. This helps facilitate faster approvals, saving you valuable time in the long run.

5. Pending change order approvals are mucking up your cash flow forecasting.

Cash flow is a constant balancing act for subs. Your business essentially has to finance the costs of a project months before you’ll ever get paid. Pending change orders represent potential revenue. When you can’t easily see which change orders are awaiting approval, you’re unable to forecast cash flow accurately. 

Change order software gives an instant look at change order status and more insight into your cash flow and financial forecast. If a large change order is pending, you can anticipate the influx of cash upon approval and plan accordingly. Conversely, if approvals are slow, you can adjust your financial projections. 

6. Communication breakdowns between the field and back office are all too common.

Without seamless communication between the back office and PMs, important field updates sometimes don’t reach accounting (or vice versa), and change-related decisions can get lost. Both field and accounting teams need to reference approved change orders to update project plans and the schedule of values (SOV). They can’t afford to waste time searching inboxes, PM tools, and client folders. This puts accounting at risk of missing key submission deadlines and can cause unnecessary project delays. 

With change order software, PMs can document changes in real time, providing the back office with immediate access to the information they need to quickly review, update, and process requests. Plus, PMs can see instantly when change orders are approved, adjusting schedules and resource allocation accordingly. 

7. You’re tired of excessive manual work when it comes to change orders.

Between adding COR logs to spreadsheets, manual pricing entry, recreating and reformatting COR forms, tracking down documentation, and chasing change order approvals—change orders can take up dozens of hours of your team’s time every month. 

Change order tracking software lets you create CORs with a few clicks, get approvals more quickly, automatically update SOVs, and support faster billing cycles. With the right tool, you’ll be able to create change orders in less than a minute. Take it from VanKirk Electric: Before implementing Siteline, they spent 15 minutes on each change order across 60-plus projects every month. Now, their team gets each one done in under a minute, saving them a total of 16 hours per month. 

8. You have no visibility into change order trends.

The more change orders you process, the more likely trends are to arise. Some GCs may be willing to approve certain types of changes or might have preferred pricing structures. Others may consistently push back on particular pricing elements. But if spreadsheets are your go-to tool for tracking change orders, you’ll never be able to spot these trends. 

Advanced change order management tools can give you valuable data to support your pricing negotiations by analyzing the pricing trends across multiple change orders with a specific GC. You can use this historical data to justify pricing and proactively address potential objections in future CORs, allowing you to maintain higher profit margins. 

Choosing the Right Change Order Software for Your Business

You’ve made it this far, so we’re guessing you can relate to at least some of these challenges. It’s time to consider implementing change order software. 

You can get started by checking out our take on eight of the top construction change order software. Or you can skip straight to Siteline. It’s construction billing software for trade contractors that includes a comprehensive change order management solution. Subs use it to: 

• Instantly generate pre-filled COR forms according to GC requirements, gather backup documentation, capture electronic signatures, and send them directly to the GC.
• See which requests are in draft, have been submitted, require revisions, or are rejected.
• Easily apply approved requests to their corresponding SOVs. 
• Make it easy for PMs to record new change events and price new change orders using accurate rate tables. 
• Track and compare pricing trends across multiple change orders to inform future pricing negotiations. 
• Export pending change orders across every project to prioritize the actions required to get them approved and added to the SOV.
• Generate detailed COR logs and attach logs to pay applications as backup.

Ultimately, it helps subs reduce errors, save time, keep everyone on the same page, and get paid faster. If those outcomes would make a difference in your world, book a demo of Siteline today.