Managing Change Orders
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      3. Managing Change Orders

      Approve a Change Order for a Client

      Streamline construction project management by confirming Change Orders on behalf of ClientLink™ Users in ConstructionOnline™

      BACKGROUND

      As the industry's leading construction management software provider, ConstructionOnline™ understands the importance of dynamic, flexible change order management among the fast-paced construction industry.

      With ConstructionOnline's Change Order software, construction companies can create, view, and manage all changes made to a construction project's scope of work at any time during the job's lifespan through cloud-based, documented Change Orders. 

      An important aspect to managing Change Orders in ConstructionOnline™ is the ability for Company Users to Approve and Reject Change Orders on behalf of their clients to maintain consistent documentation and project progress. 

      This article contains the following sections: 

      1. Prerequisites
      2. Step-by-step instructions
      3. Video walkthrough
      4. Alternative access point information 
      5. Additional information

      PREREQUISITES

      • Change Orders must have a Pending Status in order to be marked as Approved.
        • Change Orders are set to a Pending Status by default upon creation, but they may also be reverted to a Pending Status at any time.
        • You can find more information regarding the different Statuses of Change Orders within the Understanding Change Order Statuses article. 
      • As part of ConstructionOnline’s accounting integration with Quickbooks Online, Company Accounts can configure ConstructionOnline™ to automatically create Invoices for Change Orders when Approved by the Client or on the Client's behalf. 

      STEPS TO APPROVE A CHANGE ORDER FOR A CLIENT

      1. Navigate to the desired Project via the Left Sidebar.
      2. Select the Financials tab and choose the Change Orders category.
      3. From the Change Orders Overview pane, click anywhere on the Pending Change Order you wish to Approve to open the Change Order Details window.
        1. Pending Change Orders will have an hourglass icon ⏳ within the Status column. 
      4. In the bottom left-hand corner of the window, find the green thumbs up icon 👍. 
        1. If this icon does not appear within the Change Order Details window, the Change Order has already been marked as Approved or Rejected.
          1. If you wish to change the current Status of the Change Order, you must revert the Change Order's Status to Pending and revisit these steps. 
        2. If the icon is visible within the Change Order Details window, but is greyed-out, the Approve/Reject options are disabled because the Change Order is in a Draft Status.
          1. In order to mark the Change Order as Approved, mark the toggle next to the thumb icons so that it displays a "Pending Approval" Status. This will automatically enable the Approve/Reject thumb icons. 
      5. Click the green thumbs up icon 👍 to Approve the Change Order. 
        1. This will open the Approve Change Order window where you can proof the Change Order's Details and manage the Change Order's Attachments. 
      6. Confirm the approval of the Change Order by clicking the blue "Approve" button. 
        1. ConstructionOnline™ will automatically send the Change Order to the Project Estimate. 
          1. If ConstructionOnline has been configured to automatically create Invoices as a part of its accounting integration with Quickbooks Online, ConstructionOnline will automatically create an Invoice for the Change Order and send the Change Order to Quickbooks. 
        2. Change Orders that have been marked as Approved will have a green thumbs up icon in the Status column 👍 of the Change Orders Overview pane and will be denoted by a green header within the Change Order Details pane.

      VIDEO WALKTHROUGH

      ALTERNATIVE ACCESS POINT

      ConstructionOnline™ Company Users can also Approve Change Orders from the Change Order Details pane using the following steps: 

      • Navigate to the desired Project via the Left Sidebar.
      • Select the Financials tab and choose the Change Orders category.
      • Scroll down to Change Order Details pane and locate the Pending Change Order you wish to Approve. 
        • Pending Change Orders cards will have a yellow header with a "Pending Approval" tag.

          pendingapprovalcard
      • In the bottom right-hand corner of the Change Order card, find the green thumbs up 👍 icon.
        • If this icon does not appear within the Change Order card, the Change Order does not have a Status of Pending. 
          • If the current Status of the Change Orange is Draft, right-click on the Change Order and select "Edit Change Order" from the dropdown menu. Within the Change Order Details window, mark the toggle next to the thumb icons so that it displays a "Pending Approval" Status. This will automatically enable the Approve/Reject thumb icons within this window and on the Change Order card. 
          • If the current Status of the Change Order is Approved or Rejected, you must revert the Change Order to Pending and revisit these steps.
      • Follow Steps 5 & 6 above.

         workflowicon

      View the Change Order Management Workflow! 

      ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

      • Only Approved Change Orders will show on the Estimate and be added to the Project total.
        • Pending & Rejected Change Orders will show on the Estimate, but will not alter the Project total.
      • Modifying the Markup & Price of a Change Order that has already been Approved or Rejected will revert the Change Order back to Pending status. To do this, Edit the Change Order, enter your Markup & Price changes, and select Save & Revert.
      • Permissions: ConstructionOnline™ Company Users must have Change Orders permissions set to "Can Create, Edit, & Delete" to Approve Change Orders. 
        • With appropriate Change Order permissions, ClientLink™ Users may be able to "view, approve, and/or reject Pending Change Orders." Learn more about Approving and Rejecting Change Orders from the Portal here. 
        • TeamLink™ Users cannot Approve Change Orders; however, depending on the Change Orders permissions, they may be able to "view Change Orders they're assigned to." Additionally, their permissions may be further customized so that they can receive Change Order email notifications.
      • Mobile App: Pending Change Orders can be Approved from the CO™ Mobile App. 

      HAVE MORE QUESTIONS?

      • Frequently asked questions (FAQ) about Change Orders can be found in the article FAQ: Change Orders. 
      • If you need additional assistance, chat with a Specialist by clicking the orange Chat icon located in the bottom left corner or visit the UDA Support Page for additional options.