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Working with change orders

A change order records a change to the agreed scope or price — added gutters, rotten decking, a credit — without touching the estimate. It’s usually made after the contract is signed, but it can be authorized before. Change orders live in the Contract changes section of the project’s Construction tab. The Financials tab computes the contract total and balance due from the signed proposal plus authorized change orders, so once the contract is signed, authorizing one updates what the customer owes immediately. Before signing, there’s no contract total yet, so an authorized change order counts from the moment the contract is signed. There are two ways to get a change order authorized: email it to the homeowner to e-sign, or mark it authorized yourself once they’ve agreed some other way. E-signing leaves you a signed copy on file without chasing a signature by hand. On the Business plan, Headquarters by XBuild adds operations: pipeline stages, tasks, work orders and crews, and project finances. Compare what each plan includes in Plan comparison. If you don’t see this feature in your account, contact support@x.build.

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1. Create a change order

  1. Open the project’s Construction tab and find the Contract changes section.
  2. Click + New change order and fill in the fields below.
  3. Click Create change order. It starts as a draft — visible to your team, counting toward nothing, fully editable.
Every change order gets a number when you create it — CO-1, CO-2, and so on per project. That’s the number the homeowner sees on the document and in the email. If the added work needs its own work order, an authorized change order offers Create work order →. Attach to work orders… links existing ones — it stays available after the change order is sent or authorized.

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2. Send it for signature

Send for signature turns a draft change order into a document the homeowner reads and signs from their phone or computer — no account, no app. It’s available on the web app; the mobile app shows where each change order stands.

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Review the document

  1. On a draft change order’s card, click Send for signature.
  2. The change order opens as the document the homeowner will get: your company details, CONTRACT ADDENDUM with the CO number, a line referencing the signed contract, the lines, and This change order · Previous contract total · New contract total.
  3. Edit anything that needs it — title, lines, quantities, prices. Changes save as you type; the footer reads Edits save automatically.
  4. Click View PDF to see the exact PDF that will be attached to the email.
  5. Click Next · email preview.
The homeowner never sees your margin or base prices — only the quoted amounts, on the document, the email, the signing page, and the PDF.

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Preview and send the email

  1. Check To and Name. They’re filled in from whoever signed the contract (or the project’s homeowner) — change them if the change order should go to someone else.
  2. Edit the Subject and Message if you like. The preview shows the View contract change button and the attached PDF exactly as the homeowner will see them.
  3. Click Send.
The card now reads Sent · awaiting signature, with who it went to and when — and Viewed with a date once the homeowner opens it. A sent change order doesn’t count toward the contract total yet. The Overview tab lists it as awaiting signature – not counted, and the Financials tab shows it as Sent · awaiting signature, not counted.

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What the homeowner sees

The email’s View contract change button opens a page with the change order — styled like your proposal page — and a signature box. When you named the recipient, the box reads [Name], sign here. The homeowner types their name and clicks Accept change order. The moment they sign:
  • The change order becomes Authorized and counts toward the contract total and balance due.
  • The card reads Signed by [Name] with the date, in place of Authorized.
  • The signed PDF is filed to the project’s Documents, and XBuild sends your team a Change order signed email with it attached.
  • The homeowner sees Change order signed — thank you. and can click Download signed copy.

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Withdraw and re-send

A sent change order can’t be edited — the homeowner is reading that exact version. Withdraw it when you need to change something or it went to the wrong address:
  1. Open the sent change order’s card and click View. It opens read-only.
  2. Click Withdraw, then confirm.
  3. It’s a draft again — edit it, then Send for signature again. The homeowner gets a new link.
The old link stops working; anyone who opens it sees This change order is no longer available. Contact [your company].

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3. Or mark it authorized yourself

When the customer agrees some other way — on the phone, over text, on the driveway — click Authorize on the draft change order’s card. XBuild records who authorized it and when, and from that moment:
  • The contract total includes the price change and the balance due reflects it.
  • The change order is locked — only its attached work orders can still change.
Authorizing doesn’t need a signed base contract. If the proposal isn’t signed yet, XBuild warns you but authorizes anyway. Authorize is your confirmation that the customer said yes, so keep whatever record of the agreement you’d normally keep — or use Send for signature to get a signed copy instead. Either way, the original signed proposal is untouched (see E-signatures and authorization). A sent change order can’t be authorized by hand — it’s waiting on the homeowner’s signature. Withdraw it first if they’ve agreed another way.

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4. Void instead of delete

There is no delete for change orders — a record the contract total once pointed at must never disappear. The off-ramp is Void: Void is final — a voided change order can’t be re-authorized. If the work is back on, create a fresh one. A change order on an invoice can’t be voided. Once it’s on a sent or paid customer invoice, Void is hidden. An invoice with payments on it can’t be voided either, so the way back is: move each payment off that invoice by editing it to leave it unapplied (or apply it to another invoice), void the invoice, then void the change order. Don’t void a payment you really received — that takes it out of what the customer has paid. If the customer has already paid and you’d rather leave the invoice alone, create a credit change order (a negative price change) instead. While the change order is only on a draft invoice, Void still shows but is refused; remove the change order from the draft invoice first.

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5. Bill it

An authorized change order that adds to the contract becomes something you can invoice: Change order #N · [title] for the homeowner, or Supplement charge · [title] for the carrier. Pick it in Generate invoice on the Financials tab — see Customer invoices. Credits reduce the contract total but are never billed on their own.

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6. When not to use one

  • The proposal isn’t signed yet and the change belongs in the original scope. It’s usually simpler to edit the estimate. A change order still works on an unsigned job — for extra work a crew finds, say — and XBuild authorizes it with a warning that the base contract is unsigned.
  • Your own overrun. If a surprise costs you more but the customer isn’t paying more, record the extra bill as a cost and let the margins tell the truth.

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7. Troubleshooting common issues

  • The balance due didn’t change after I created the change order. Drafts don’t count — only authorized change orders feed the contract total. Send it for signature, or click Authorize once the customer has agreed.
  • The balance due didn’t change after I sent the change order. A sent change order counts only once the homeowner signs it. Until then it’s listed as awaiting signature – not counted.
  • The card says “Email didn’t send: withdraw and send again.” The email to the homeowner didn’t go out. Check the address, then Withdraw and Send for signature again.
  • The card says “Contract changed since this was sent: withdraw and re-send.” Another change to the contract was authorized after you sent this one, so the totals on the homeowner’s copy are out of date. Signing is held — the homeowner is asked to contact you. Withdraw it and send it again so the totals are current.
  • The homeowner says the link doesn’t work. The change order was withdrawn, voided, or re-sent — each one retires the old link. Check the card; if it’s been re-sent, point them to the newest email.
  • I clicked Void and got “The homeowner just signed this change order.” They signed while the card on your screen still read Sent, so nothing was voided. The card has refreshed to Signed by [Name]. Void it again only if you really mean to discard the signature.
  • I clicked Void and got “This change order changed elsewhere — reloaded.” A teammate sent, withdrew, or changed it since your page loaded. The card has refreshed — check its status and try again if it still applies.
  • I can’t edit a change order. It’s been sent, authorized, or voided — locked by design. Withdraw a sent one to edit it. For a further change, create another change order; to undo an authorized one, void it.
  • I authorized the wrong amount. Void the change order and create a new one with the right numbers. The voided record stays visible.
  • I don’t see Send for signature. It’s on draft change orders only — not supplements, and not on change orders that are already sent, authorized, or void. It’s also a web-app action; the mobile app doesn’t send.
  • I don’t see Void. The change order is on a sent or paid customer invoice. Edit any payments on that invoice to leave them unapplied, void the invoice, then void the change order — or create a credit change order instead. See Void instead of delete.
  • I clicked Void and it was refused. The change order is on a draft invoice. Remove it from the draft invoice, then void it.
  • Creating or editing a change order isn’t on my phone. Creating, editing, and sending change orders are on the web app. The mobile app can authorize and void them.
  • I don’t see the Contract changes section. It lives on the Construction tab, which is part of the gradual rollout. If the tab is there but the section isn’t, contact XBuild Support.
For further assistance, contact XBuild Support at support@x.build.