Record Payments for Approved Change Orders

Manage construction Change Order payments seamlessly with ConstructionOnline's integrated financial management tools

BACKGROUND

ConstructionOnline’s powerful financial management tools seamlessly integrate construction estimating, change orders, invoicing, payments, and more to ensure accuracy, clarity, and profits on all construction jobs.

To streamline Change Order management, ConstructionOnline™ empowers construction teams with flexible options for tracking Change Orders, creating invoices, and documenting payments - all in one single, comprehensive online system. 

This article contains the following sections: 

1. Prerequisites 
2. Best use recommendations
3. Step-by-step instructions
4. Alternative access point information
5. Additional information

PREREQUISITES 

• Payments can only be recorded for an “Approved” Change Order, and an Invoice must first be created from the Change Order before any payments may be recorded.
  • Invoices for "Approved" Change Orders can be created through one of two methods: 
    • 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. 
    • Accounts not integrated with QuickBooks Online - or not configured for automatic Invoice generation - can Create Invoices from Approved Change Orders manually.

BEST USE 

When multiple payments are meant to be applied to a single Change Order Invoice, the recommended best practice is to record each individual payment separately on the Invoice. Doing so helps company records to best align with financial ledgers and ensures clear, accurate management of corporate financials on all fronts.

STEPS TO RECORD PAYMENT FOR APPROVED CHANGE ORDERS

1. Navigate to the desired Project via the Left Sidebar.
2. Select the Financials tab and choose the Change Orders category.
3. Double-click on the Change Order that should be receiving the payment to open the Change Order Details window.
4. Choose the Payment tab within the Change Order Details window:
   1. For "Approved" Change Orders with associated Invoices, the Record Payment button will be displayed. Click to open the Create Payment window. 
      
      
   2. For "Approved" Change Orders without associated Invoices, the option to Record Payment will not be available, and a message will advise that "No Invoices have been created for this Change Order yet."
      
      
      
      1. A new Invoice will need to be created before proceeding.
   3. If the Payment tab is not displayed within the Change Order Details window, verify the status of the Change Order. The Payment tab is only available for "Approved" Change Orders; those that are "Rejected" or "Pending Approval" do not offer access to the Payment tab. 
5. From within the Create Payment window, details regarding the payment to be applied to the Change Order can be documented, including: 
   1. Payment Date: Automatically populates to the current date; however you may modify to an earlier or later date as needed
   2. Memo: Manual entry field that can be customized with multiple lines of text to note relevant payment details (i.e. a check number, financial contact, additional notes, etc.)
   3. Accounting Integration: A “Send this payment to QuickBooks” option will appear in the Create Payment window in instances where the Company Account is integrated with QuickBooks Online and the following conditions have been met: 
      1. A Primary QuickBooks Customer has been assigned to the Project
      2. The Project has been linked to the Company QuickBooks Account
      3. The Invoice has been "Sent to QuickBooks"
   4. How much payment would you like to record? Allows you to choose how payments are applied to the Change Order's Invoice. The line items selected/deselected in the "Items to Include" window will update automatically based upon the option selected here.
      
      Payments can be applied to the Change Order's Invoice in one of three ways:
      
      
      
      1. Remaining total of all lines: This default option selects all Line Items with a remaining balance on the Change Order Invoice
         • Any Line Items already marked as "Paid in Full" will be automatically deselected within this option 
      2. % of each line: This option allows you to record a payment for a percentage of each Line Item with a remaining balance on the Change Order Invoice
         
         
         • Any Line Items already marked as "Paid in Full" will be automatically deselected within this option
      3. Custom amount of each line: This option gives the user total control to customize how much of the payment is applied to which Line Items
   5. Items to Include: 
      1. Company Users have total control of how payments are applied to Change Order Invoices in ConstructionOnline™ with flexible options to "Include All Rows" or select individual Items. 
      2. The Payment Total in the bottom right-hand corner of the Create Payment window will automatically update based on calculations related to the payment preferences selected (i.e. how much payment is recorded and what items are included).
         
         
6. To complete entry of the Payment Details, click the blue “Create” button to Record the Payment. The Payment will populate within the Payments section of the Change Order Details window.
   1. At this time, eligible payments will also be sent to QuickBooks (in instances where the option to "Send this payment to QuickBooks" was selected during payment creation).
7. To finalize edits to the overall Change Order Details, click the blue “Save” button OR click the “Save & Notify” button to finalize edits and send email notifications. 
   
   

ALTERNATIVE ACCESS POINT

Payments for Change Order Invoices can also be recorded within Invoice Details from ConstructionOnline's Invoicing feature by following these steps:

• Within the Project Financials, navigate to the Invoicing category. 
• Identify the Change Order Invoice from the list of Project Invoices. 
• Click on the blue, hyperlinked Invoice # or Invoice Title to open the Invoice Details and access options for recording Invoice Payments. 
• Select the Record Payment button from the top row, and populate Payment Details in the Create Payment window using Steps 5-7 above. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Permissions: Only ConstructionOnline™ Company Users with “Can Create, Edit, & Delete” permissions for Change Orders can edit Change Order details, including Change Order Payments. 
  • ClientLink™ and TeamLink™ Users cannot record Payments for Change Orders.
• Mobile App: The ability to record a payment for an “Approved” Change Order is exclusively accessible via browser access to ConstructionOnline™. 
  
  • Most other Change Order Details are available for modification in the ConstructionOnline™ 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.