Progress billing · Quebec
Construction change orders: a tracking guide for specialty contractors
Follow each change from the first site question to the approved price, then attach only the correct amount to the periodic package asking the customer for payment.
Key takeaways
A construction contract describes the work and its price. During the project, part of the work may be added, removed, or altered. For example, an unexpected obstruction may require a pipe to be rerouted. That event may affect labour, material, price, or time, but it does not automatically change the contract.
A payment application is the package in which the contractor requests, for a defined period, amounts allowed by the contract and applicable rules.
A construction change tracker keeps the complete sequence: what happened, the direction received, every price sent, the written decision, and the amount that can move into that application. Give every change a stable identifier, or ID, that does not change. Keep any time impact in the project’s contract and scheduling records; this guide focuses on price and billing control.
Keep two questions separate:
- What work is actually changing? This is the change’s technical status.
- Which price was proposed, and what decision was made? This is the price and approval status.
Do not replace an earlier price. Preserve it, create a new price revision, and link the decision to that exact revision. A change is ready to add to billing only when the approved price, written decision, and billing line agree.
What is a construction change order?
A construction change is work added, removed, or altered from the agreed scope. It can begin with a site question, a new drawing, a customer request, an unexpected condition, or a written direction.
A change order is one document that some contracts use to confirm a change. Its name, author, effect, and required authority depend on the contract. A site question or a direction to start work is therefore not automatically an approval of the price.
The simplest sequence is:
- someone reports the situation;
- the team clarifies the scope, meaning the exact work that would be added, removed, or altered;
- the contractor prepares a price and preserves every revision sent;
- the person authorized under the contract issues a written decision on one revision and amount;
- the billing team adds only the permitted amount to the correct payment application.
A payment application is the package in which the contractor requests, for a defined period, amounts allowed by the contract and applicable rules. A schedule of values, often shortened to SOV, is the table that divides the contract price among portions of work. This tracker connects an approved change to that table without treating a request, direction, or estimate as approval.
What should a construction change tracker record?
Start with the contract’s terms. A Canadian project may use change, change order, change directive, site instruction, request for proposal, or proposed change. These terms are not always interchangeable. The contract defines the documents, authorized people, and decisions for the project. Your tracker should preserve those terms.
Next, give each case a stable internal ID, such as CHG-017. That ID connects the initial question, directions, price revisions, supporting records, decision, and billing link. The case title can change. The ID does not.
When a change affects an installed quantity, measure that quantity with the same method used for the rest of the work. After approval, add the amount to one identified payment-application version, then keep submission and the customer’s decision as separate events. The guides to field progress measurement and progress billing provide more detail, but they are not required to understand this tracker.
A useful log separates actors, records, and states.
Swipe horizontally to view all columns.
| Stage | Primary actor | Record or data | Useful state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signal | Foreperson, project manager, or client, as the project defines | Question, direction, marked-up drawing, or meeting record with date and reference | Needs clarification |
| Technical definition | Person responsible for coordination | Scope, location, quantity, and assumptions | Scope clarified |
| Work direction | Person authorized under the contract | Dated event and source reference | No direction recorded, written direction recorded, work in progress, or work complete |
| Pricing | Estimator or project manager | Detailed price revision and supporting references | Draft, active, or superseded |
| Decision | Person authorized under the contract | Written reference, selected revision, and decided amount | Partially approved, approved, rejected, or withdrawn |
| Billing | Billing coordinator | Active contract or SOV version, SOV line, and application line | Blocked or ready to bill |
Technical status and price status answer different questions. The work can be clear enough to begin while the price remains under discussion. A preliminary price can also exist while a quantity still needs confirmation. Work direction and execution form a separate timeline, so record each dated direction, start, and completion event instead of overwriting one current-status field. Do not compress these facts into one open or closed field.
How does a site question become an amount ready to bill?
The following workflow is an operational model. Adapt the document names, approvals, and steps to the contract.
1. Open a case at the first event
Create the change ID when a question, direction, or variance appears. Record the date, source, reference, project, location, owner, and next action. Write a factual summary. Do not decide yet that the cost will be accepted.
2. Clarify the scope
Link every technical response to the same change ID. Record the area, system, quantity, drawing, and version that define the scope. If two unrelated requests arrive, create two cases. One oversized case hides ownership, decisions, and amounts.
3. Create a price revision
Give every version an ID, such as CHG-017-R1. Separate labour, materials, equipment, subcontractors, and adjustments permitted by the contract. Keep amounts numeric. Put the basis, assumptions, and supporting references in separate fields.
4. Preserve superseded revisions
If negotiation produces a new price, create CHG-017-R2. Mark R1 as superseded and R2 as active. R1 stays in history, but it no longer contributes to the active total. This rule prevents an old amount from returning in a summary.
5. Link the decision to the exact revision
An actionable decision names the received reference, selected price revision, amount, and date. Do not write only “approved” in an email or general note. If the decision approves R2 at 15,400 Canadian dollars (CAD), the tracker must not associate it with R1’s amount.
If only part of a proposal is approved, do not mark the full proposal as approved. Keep the partial decision linked to the submitted price. Create a new price limited to the accepted portion and open a separate case, linked to the original case and the same source decision, for the unresolved remainder. Record a written decision that clearly identifies the new price and accepted amount before changing its status to Approved.
6. Check the billing gate
The billing coordinator confirms four items: approved price status, active revision, approved amount, and decision reference. The coordinator then links the change to the active contract or SOV version, SOV line, and payment application line. The tracker shows READY only when the references and amounts agree.
Each allocation keeps the sign of the adjustment it represents. The allocations, including any offsets, must add up exactly to the approved amount.
7. Approve the payment application
Ready to bill does not mean submitted, accepted, invoiced in the accounting system, or paid. The amount enters one specific payment application revision. An authorized person reviews and approves that revision before submission. After submission, use the construction payment application tracker to keep requested, accepted, invoiced, and paid amounts distinct.
Which construction change order tracker can you copy?
The free workbook separates four things that teams often mix: the change, proposed prices, decisions, and the link to billing. Start in the changes tab. Add the other rows as the case advances. The workbook includes drop-down lists, formulas through row 101, and a billing-handoff check.
The tab-separated values, or TSV, downloads below are plain text tables. They are useful when you want to import each tab into another spreadsheet. If you only want to get started, download the complete Excel workbook.
The workbook uses commercial status to mean the state of the price and its approval: pricing in progress, pending decision, partial approval, approval, rejection, or withdrawal. It stays separate from technical status, which says whether the work is clear enough to price.
Operational tab 1: changes
One row shows the current state of one case.
Change ID | Project | Contract term | Subject | Location | Source | Source reference | Date received | Owner | Technical status | Commercial status | Active price revision | Approved amount CAD | Decision reference | Ready to bill | Blocking reason | Last updated
The light-gray columns calculate the billing gate. The formula looks for one active revision that matches the case and approved amount. It also looks for exactly one complete decision and one or more complete billing links with the same revision, amount, and reference. A missing or inconsistent value, duplicate active revisions, or multiple matching decisions return BLOCKED with a reason.
Operational tab 2: price revisions
One row represents one distinct revision. The total adds the components without turning the amount into text.
Change ID | Price revision ID | Prepared date | Labour CAD | Materials CAD | Equipment CAD | Subcontractors CAD | Contract-defined adjustments CAD | Total CAD | Status | Assumptions and basis | Supporting references | Prepared by | Reviewed by
The contract-defined adjustments field is intentionally neutral. The workbook provides no rate or eligibility rule. Use only the categories and rules in the contract.
Operational tab 3: events and decisions
One row represents one dated event. The table preserves the full sequence without treating a direction as an approval.
Event ID | Change ID | Event date | Event type | Direction | Source reference | Factual summary | Linked price revision | Decision result | Decision amount CAD | Decision reference | Recorded by | Next action | Target date
Operational tab 4: billing links
One row allocates part or all of an approved case to one exact SOV line and payment application line. Use more than one row when the approved amount is allocated across lines or billing periods.
Link ID | Change ID | Approval reference | Approved revision | Approved amount CAD | Allocated amount CAD | Active contract or SOV version | SOV line | Payment application ID | Application line | Billing status | Validation | Reviewed by | Review date
Validation returns OK only when the main case, active revision, approval reference, approved amount, SOV version, and both application fields agree. The main gate also verifies that all matching allocated amounts add up to the approved amount. It returns REVIEW REQUIRED until the reviewer and review date are present. It does not decide whether the amount is eligible. A human makes that decision under the contract.
If you import the TSV files into one workbook, keep the four file names as the tab names, without the .tsv extension. The formulas use those exact names.
How do you track a negotiated change without losing the first price?
Consider a fictional example. A technical question reports a Level 3 routing conflict. A written direction asks the team to reroute a pipe. The team creates CHG-017.
The first revision, CHG-017-R1, totals CAD 17,000 before tax.
Swipe horizontally to view all columns.
| Component | R1 | R2 |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | CAD 7,360 | CAD 7,360 |
| Materials | CAD 4,800 | CAD 4,200 |
| Equipment | CAD 1,200 | CAD 1,200 |
| Subcontractors | CAD 2,500 | CAD 2,500 |
| Contract-defined adjustments | CAD 1,140 | CAD 140 |
| Total | CAD 17,000 | CAD 15,400 |
After negotiation, the team creates CHG-017-R2 at CAD 15,400 before tax. It marks R1 as superseded and R2 as active. The written decision identified as CO-012 approves R2 at exactly CAD 15,400. The tracker’s active total is therefore CAD 15,400. R1 remains visible, but contributes zero to the active total.
The billing link then connects CHG-017-R2 to the active schedule-of-values version SOV-v6, SOV line SOV-04, payment application PA-008, and application line PA-008-L19. The formula confirms the references and the allocated total. A person still checks the contract, SOV line, and payment application revision before submission.
This example determines no entitlement to payment. It supplies no rate, deadline, tax, holdback, or accounting treatment. The numbers show only version control and amount reconciliation.
When is a construction change really ready to bill?
Use a simple decision gate. Every failed control should produce a specific next action.
Swipe horizontally to view all columns.
| Control | Pass condition | If it fails |
|---|---|---|
| Identifiable scope | The case, location, source, and scope are traceable | Request technical clarification and keep the case blocked |
| One active revision | Exactly one revision has active status and its total matches the approved amount | Supersede old revisions without deleting them, then correct any amount mismatch |
| Exact decision | The reference selects the active revision and amount | Obtain or clarify the written decision |
| Active billing basis | The contract or SOV version and SOV line are named | Confirm the version and line before adding the amount |
| Specific application | The amount links to one application revision and line | Create the link before application approval |
| Human review | A second person confirms the references and amount | Keep the ready state, but do not submit the application |
The last control matters. A formula can confirm that data agrees. It cannot confirm a person’s authority, interpret the contract, or approve an external submission.
What weekly routine keeps a change order log current?
Reserve 20 minutes at the same time each week. The project manager, estimator, and billing coordinator do not need a long meeting. They need the same tracker and clear decisions.
- Filter cases with an overdue next action or target date.
- Review cases whose technical scope still needs clarification.
- Compare every submitted price with its latest active revision.
- Request a written reference for incomplete decisions.
- Review
BLOCKEDcases before preparing the payment application. - Have a person other than the preparer review
READYcases. - After submission, move amount follow-up to the payment application tracker without deleting the change history.
Rejected or withdrawn cases remain in the tracker. They keep a clear status, date, and reference. They do not contribute to the active total.
Common failures and corrective actions
- One generic in-progress status: separate technical status from commercial status.
- A price with no revision: create a revision ID and link every decision to it.
- A new price overwrites the old one: retain both rows and mark the old revision as superseded.
- Approval with no reference: keep the billing gate blocked until the reference is recorded.
- One approved amount copied to two SOV lines: create one billing link for each SOV line and document the decided allocation explicitly.
- A photo or email nobody can find: store a stable reference and factual summary, not only a person’s name.
- A closed case disappears: retain approved, rejected, and withdrawn cases to preserve history.
What do official Quebec and Canadian sources show?
The Ordre des architectes du Québec explains that site-change terminology can cause confusion. Its article distinguishes several documents, points back to the contract, and cautions against grouping unrelated changes. This source helps structure a tracker. It does not replace the contract’s definitions.
The Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec guide supports documenting causes and event dates, then defining the required price detail and supporting documents in the contract. Aplon uses this pattern to recommend stable case + chronology + price revisions + references. That structure is Aplon’s operational recommendation.
The Canadian Construction Documents Committee, abbreviated CCDC, publishes standard construction documents and guides. Its official CCDC 24 table of contents lists a request for consideration, proposed change, change order, change directive, and summary of changes as separate records. CCDC 16 also covers terminology, process, and pricing. These guides support keeping the document type and contract term in separate fields. Their detailed content is paid. This article does not infer a contractual procedure from the table of contents.
For public-body construction contracts covered by Quebec’s Regulation respecting construction contracts of public bodies, sections 44 and 45 address changes through a change order and methods for determining price. The regulation also requires certain expenses to be substantiated, while Schedule 6 defines the categories used in an actual-cost calculation. This framework is limited to the contracts it covers. It is not a general rule for private projects or every subcontract.
These sources support a limited conclusion: name records according to the contract, keep dated events, preserve price revisions, and link the decision to the exact version. The contract and applicable rules determine notices, deadlines, rights, rates, and required proof.
Checklist before the next billing cycle
Identification and scope
- ☐ Every change has a stable ID.
- ☐ The contract term and source-document type are separate.
- ☐ Date, location, source reference, and owner are recorded.
- ☐ The next action and target date are visible.
Price and versions
- ☐ Every price has a revision ID.
- ☐ Only one revision per change is active.
- ☐ Superseded revisions remain visible and do not feed the active total.
- ☐ Amounts are numeric, with assumptions stored in separate fields.
- ☐ Supporting references make the records retrievable.
Decision
- ☐ The written decision names or identifies the selected revision.
- ☐ The decided amount matches that revision’s total.
- ☐ Decision reference and date are recorded.
- ☐ Rejected or withdrawn cases remain in history with a clear status.
Billing handoff
- ☐ The active contract or SOV version is named.
- ☐ The SOV line and payment application line are specific.
- ☐ The workbook shows
OKfor the billing link. - ☐ A second person has reviewed the references and amount.
- ☐ An authorized person will approve the exact payment application revision before submission.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a change order and a change directive?
The answer depends on the project documents. Official sources use several terms for distinct records and steps. Follow the contract’s definitions and keep each record type in the tracker. This article does not supply a universal contractual definition.
Should you open a change before you know the price?
Yes for this operational model. The ID connects the question, scope, price, and decision. Opening the case does not mean that the amount will be accepted.
Can you revise an estimate after submitting it?
Create a new revision and preserve the submitted version. Mark the old version as superseded when the new one becomes active. The decision must identify the exact selected revision.
Is verbal approval enough to mark the amount ready?
The proposed tracker requires a written reference before it returns READY. This is an internal control rule. Check the contract’s requirements and authorization rules for the project.
Where should you track the amount after it enters a payment application?
Keep the change and its versions in this tracker. Follow the requested, accepted, invoiced, and paid amounts in the construction payment application tracker. The two trackers share a stable link, but do not replace each other’s records.
Official sources and scope
- Ordre des architectes du Québec: site change terminology
- Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec: guide to better project-execution conditions
- Canadian Construction Documents Committee: CCDC 24 table of contents
- Canadian Construction Documents Committee: CCDC 16, Guide to Changes in the Contract
- LégisQuébec: Regulation respecting construction contracts of public bodies
This content is for general information only. It is not legal, tax, accounting, or contractual advice. Verify the contract, current instructions, applicable rules, and project-specific advice.
Sources verified on August 27, 2026. To report a correction, contact Aplon.
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