Available in Sage 50 Premium Accounting and higher.
Change Order
A change order allows you to keep track of changes to estimates for the job. The estimates on the job record are updated when you select Update Job Estimates. The change order must be approved before the job estimates can be updated.
Do I have to use a change order to change the estimates for a job?
No, you can change the estimate on the Estimated Expenses and Revenues tab in Maintain Jobs. However, using change orders gives you a way to keep track of details regarding the estimate change such as when the estimate changed, how much it changed by, and who approved the change.
Important! Once you have saved a change order for a job, you must use change orders to change the estimated expenses and revenues for that job.
Tips:
- When you enter the amount for the change order, enter the amount that the estimates are changing by, not new estimate amounts. For example, if an estimate is increasing by $50, enter 50. If it is decreasing by $50, enter -50. The amounts you enter here will be added or subtracted from the current estimates for the job when you update the job estimates.
- You can print or email this change order. Simply select the appropriate button in the toolbar. The change order form shows changes to the estimated revenues and the projected end date. Those are the changes that your customers would need to know about. Changes to estimated expenses are not shown on this form.
- You can view a list of change orders by clicking the List toolbar button.
- Checking the Applied to transaction checkbox does not automatically apply the change amounts on this change order to any transactions. It is just a way to note that the change amounts on this change order have been entered on a transaction such as an invoice or proposal for this job.
- If you want to see what the current estimates are for the selected job, click the View current estimates for Job link located under the Change note field. This will open the job record.
- A change order cannot be modified after it has been used to update job estimates.
Important! The primary purpose of change orders is to update estimated revenues. For this reason, you can only save change orders for jobs that have estimated revenues, even if the change orders are for updating estimated expenses or the projected end date.
Who approves change orders?
This depends on your process. It may be the customer the job is for or it may be someone in your company. The approved date and approved by fields give you a way to track who approved this change and when. You don't have to enter this information if it isn't useful for you or doesn't apply to your company.
What does Change in schedule do?
This allows you to use this change order to update the projected end date for the job. When you select Update Job Estimates, the projected end date will be updated if this checkbox is checked.
Note: If you're only changing the projected end date and no estimate amounts, be sure to enter information in the Change description field. Otherwise, you can't save the change order. If this job uses phases, you'll need to select a phase also. The date doesn't affect anything with the phase. It's just necessary to save the change order.
Tell me about the fields on this window.
Job ID: Select the job that the change order is for. Change orders can only be created for existing jobs. You cannot enter a new job from this window. The Job ID is required.
Change Order no.: Enter the number you want to use to identify this change order. You cannot use the same change order number more than once for the same job. The Change Order Number is required.
Change Order date: Enter the date for this change order. This could be the date the change order is being entered, the date the change was requested, or the date the change should take affect. This date is required.
Change in schedule:Select this if you want to change the projected end date for this job.
New projected end date:Enter the new date that you expect this job to be completed. The projected end date will be updated on the job record when the job estimates are updated.
Change note: Enter any notes about this change such as why the change is being made or who requested the change. You can enter up to 2000 characters. If you need to enter more information about this change, you can attach a document to this change order. How do I attach a document?
View current estimates for Job: Click this link to see the current estimate amounts for this job. Viewing the current estimate amounts can help ensure you are entering the correct change amounts on the change order.
Change amounts for a job that doesn't use phases and cost codes: Enter a description and the amounts that the estimated revenues and/or expenses for the job are changing. You can enter a change for one estimate or for both.
Change Description: Enter a description for the change. Most likely, this is the reason for the change.
Change to Est. Expenses: If the estimated expenses for this job are changing, enter the amount the estimated expenses are changing by here.
Change to Est. Revenues: If the estimated revenues for this job are changing, enter the amount the estimated revenues are changing by here.
Change amounts for a job that uses phases and cost codes: Select the phase and cost code (if applicable), then enter a description and the amounts that the estimate is changing by for that phase/cost code combination. You can enter a change for one estimate or all three for each phase/cost code combination you select. You can change the estimates for as many phase/cost code combinations as necessary.
Phase: Select the phase that the estimate is changing for.
Cost Code: Select the cost code for the phase that the estimate is changing for (if applicable).
Change Description: Enter a description for the change to the estimate for this phase/cost code combination. Most likely, this is the reason for the change.
Change to Est. Units: If the estimated units for this phase/cost code combination are changing, enter the amount the estimated units are changing by here.
Change to Est. Expenses: If the estimated expenses for this phase/cost code combination are changing, enter the amount the estimated expenses are changing by here.
Change to Est. Revenues: If the estimated revenues for this phase/cost code combination are changing, enter the amount the estimated revenues are changing by here.
Important information about Change Amounts
The change amount is the amount that the current estimate is changing by. For example, if you have a current estimate of $200 and the new estimate is going to be $230, you should enter 30 as the change amount. If you have a current estimate of $200 and the new estimate is going to be $180, you should enter -20 as the change amount.
If you need to see the current estimates for the job, click the View current estimates for Job link which is located below the Change Note field.
Approved: Select this checkbox once the change order has been approved. If this checkbox is selected, you can update the job estimates.
Approved date: Enter the date that the change order was approved.
Approved by: Enter the person who approved the change order. This could be the customer or someone at your company who authorized the change.
Applied to transaction: Select this checkbox if the changes on this change order have been reflected in a transaction such as a proposal or invoice. This is for informational purposes only. The change order is not automatically applied to any transactions if this checkbox is selected.
Update Job Estimates: Select this to update the job estimates with the changes on this change order. This will cause the estimates on the job record to be adjusted. Be sure the information on the change order is correct before you update the job estimates. Once the change order has been used to update job estimates, you can't modify the change order. Text at the top of the change order screen will indicate whether or not the change order has been used to update the job estimates. This information is also available on the Change Orders list.
Important Note about Change Orders for Jobs with the Percent of Proposal Billing Method
Estimated revenues for jobs with the Percent of Proposal billing method are applied to the job from proposals. Change orders cannot be used to update estimated revenues for these jobs. You must enter or update a proposal to change the estimated revenues.
Note: You can use change orders to update other estimates for jobs with the Percent of Proposal billing method, just not estimated revenues.
You can't print or email change orders for jobs with the Percent of Proposal billing method. Why not?
Change orders are sent to customers to inform them of changes to estimated revenues. Since you can't use a change order to change the estimated revenues for a job with the Percent of Proposal billing method, there is nothing to print on the form.