How to get a customer to sign off on extra work

The steps

1. Stop before the work. Once the work is done, the customer has little reason to agree to the price. The moment to ask is while they still need you to do it.
2. Show them why. A photo or a short video of the rot, the stain or the old wiring explains the reason better than a paragraph. People argue with a price far more than with a photo.
3. Give one price, in writing. Each line with its quantity and price, anything taken out as a credit, and the new job total. Not a range, and not "a few hundred."
4. Say what it does to the schedule. "Adds a day" or "no change to the schedule."
5. Get the signature now. On paper if they are standing there, or send a link so they can sign on their phone from wherever they are.
6. Keep the record with the job. The signed copy, the photos, who signed and when.
7. Then do the work, and bill it. Put each signed change on the invoice as its own lines, so the final bill matches what they signed.

A change order is the document that does all of this. See What is a change order?, or download the free change order template.

What to say

• When you find something on site: "We opened the wall and found this. Here's a photo. To fix it right it's $480 more and adds a day. I'll send it to your phone now. Once you sign off, I'll keep going."
• When the customer asks for more: "Happy to do that. It's outside the original quote, so I'll send you a quick change order with the price. Sign it and I'll add it to the job."
• When they are not there: "We hit something at the job today. I just sent you the change order with photos and the price. Have a look, and sign off if it looks right, or call me with questions."

When the customer hesitates

• Ask what they would change: the price, the scope or the timing. Then send a new version.
• Give options in writing: fix it now, or leave it, and what leaving it means.
• Don't start unsigned work. If they won't sign, finish the original work as quoted and note in writing that you raised it. Starting unsigned work is how contractors end up doing it for free.
• If it is needed for safety or code, say so plainly and put it in the reason.

Make it easy to say yes

• One change per change order, in plain words, not trade shorthand.
• Show where the whole job stands: before this change, this change, and the new total. Nothing feels hidden.
• For a big change, ask for a deposit before you buy materials.
• Send it the way they will see it: a text link if they are at work, email if that is how they run their house.

Put it in the contract first

Add one line to your quote or contract: "Any change to the work, the price or the schedule will be written up as a change order and signed by the customer before the work starts." Then the talk on site is the process they already agreed to, not a surprise.

Doing it on a phone with Changed

Changed is made for this moment, for contractors who run on Jobber. The tech films the extra work or takes photos and says what changed, and Autofill writes the reason and picks the lines from your products and services. The customer gets a link by text or email, sees the photos, the video and the new job total, and signs off with a finger or by typing their name, with no app and no account. They can also ask for changes instead. They get the signed PDF by email, and the lines and a pinned note with the signed PDF land on the same Jobber job. The first 10 change orders are free. See Change orders for Jobber and What the customer sees. No Jobber? Add jobs by hand.