Write and send Contractor Foreman change orders from a client request

1. From the main menu open Change Orders under Financials and click the blue + icon; fill the required Project and Subject, plus Requested By, Date and Time / Days Delay if the change moves the schedule.
2. Use Add Item to Change Order to import from the Cost Items Database, the Original Estimate, a Change Order Request or a template, or choose Add Manual Change Order Item and enter name, MLESO item type, quantity, unit cost and markup.
3. Click the three-dot icon, select View/Email PDF, pick a template, click the Email icon and choose the customer in the Email Selection Wizard, then click Next.
4. Track the approval and move the status by hand when needed. The form takes several screens per change, so small extras often go ahead on a verbal yes and are argued over at the final invoice.

Dana wants a second window on the kitchen east wall at Maple St. Write the change order with the window, 6 hours of install labor and 20% markup, and send it to her for approval.

1. 01

   Look for an existing request first

   The agent calls list_change_orders on the project. If a change order request or a draft already covers the same window, it builds on those lines instead of creating a second document the client could approve twice.

2. 02

   Price the change the way you bill it

   Items get quantities, unit costs and your markup. When you say the client should see one figure, the change order is set to lump sum; when the extra replaces something already in the estimate, the agent asks whether the removed item is credited before it totals anything.

3. 03

   Write the reason in the client's words

   The description records who asked, when and what changes ("Client request on 9 Oct: add second window on kitchen east wall"). That line is what settles a dispute months later, so the agent never leaves it empty.

4. 04

   Send only after your OK

   send_change_order waits for your confirmation and shows the total and the recipient first. A change with no cost to the client is flagged for you to mark as No Cost Change Order in the app, so the contract value stays the same.

Change order CO-17 drafted: Maple St Remodel (P-0142)
Second kitchen window: window unit $936, install labor 6 h $432 (20% markup)
Total: $1,368, itemized
No open request found for this work
After your OK: sent to Dana Whitfield for e-signature, status Pending Approval
Total Project Amount changes only after Dana approves

• A Contractor Foreman change order moves through Open, Pending Approval, On Hold, Unbilled/Approved and Billed, and the status can also be changed by hand on its status timeline.
• Contractor Foreman adds a change order to the project value only once it is approved; draft and on-hold change orders stay out of the Schedule of Values, and the Original Contract Amount is never overwritten.
• A Change Order Request in Contractor Foreman cannot be converted into a change order; its items are imported into a new change order instead.
• Ticking No Cost Change Order in Contractor Foreman documents the change without adding its amount to the contract value.
• Contractor Foreman can also collect the owner's signature on a change order directly on a phone or tablet in the mobile app, and the signature then shows on the PDF.

send_change_order asks for your OK by default. To run it on a schedule without you, switch confirmation off for that tool in your dashboard.

Sources: Contractor Foreman KB: Basics of Change Orders · Contractor Foreman KB: Submit a Change Order for Approval · Contractor Foreman KB: Change Order statuses · Contractor Foreman KB: Tracking costs against a Change Order

curl https://cotlet.dev/api/v1/contractor-foreman/create_change_order \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $COTLET_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"project_id":"84213","title":"Second kitchen window","items":[{"name":"Window unit","quantity":1,"unit_cost":780,"markup_percent":20},{"name":"Install labor","quantity":6,"unit_cost":60,"markup_percent":20}],"lump_sum":false,"description":"Client request on 9 Oct: add a second window on the kitchen east wall."}'

{
  "change_order_id": "CO-17",
  "project_id": "84213",
  "title": "Second kitchen window",
  "status": "draft",
  "lump_sum": false,
  "lines": [
    {
      "name": "Window unit",
      "total": 936
    },
    {
      "name": "Install labor",
      "total": 432
    }
  ],
  "total": 1368
}

MCP: add https://cotlet.dev/mcp/v1 with the same key; the tool is contractor-foreman_create_change_order. Example data.

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