Change Order Tracker Spreadsheet - Construction Change Order Log, Excel and Google Sheets, Instant Digital Download

The client added it on a walkthrough, you priced it on the spot, and nobody ever checked what it cost you.

Track every change order against what it actually cost, find which kind keeps losing money, and stop pricing extras at a discount.

You don't need to be good with Excel. You type into the white cells and everything else is worked out for you. The formulas are locked, so nothing breaks by accident.

WHAT'S INCLUDED
• Dashboard — True margin, variance and cumulative profit. Read-only.
• Start Here — Five steps from opening the file to a real number on screen.
• Change Orders — Where you close out one job. The main working sheet.
• Project Log — Every job you have closed, and cumulative profit across them.
• Settings — Your target margin and the cost categories you track.
• Instructions — What each sheet does, and what to do if a number looks off.
• About — Version, license and support.
• PDF Quick-Start Guide — two pages, first result in five minutes

PERFECT FOR
• General contractors whose jobs grow 20% after signing
• Remodelers who price extras on site with the client waiting
• Builders who hold margin on the contract and lose it on the changes
• Anyone who's eaten a change order because it was never written down

HOW IT WORKS
1. Open Settings. Set the margin a change order is supposed to earn, and edit the reasons to match how changes come up on your projects.
2. Open Change Orders. Name the project and enter the total value of approved change orders, excluding tax.
3. For each change order, pick the reason it was raised and enter what you estimated it would cost.

COMPATIBILITY
✓ Google Sheets
✓ Microsoft Excel 365
No macros. No add-ons. Works immediately.

FAQ

Q: Does this work in Excel and Google Sheets?
A: Both, and it was tested in both. Google Sheets: File > Import, or open and make a copy. Excel 365: open it directly. No macros, no add-ons, nothing to install. One difference worth knowing: Google Sheets draws both charts but leaves the figures off the bars, so the dollar amounts on the charts are an Excel-only touch. Everything you type and every number the workbook calculates is identical in the two.

Q: How is this different from the Job Cost & Profit Tracker?
A: Same engine, different question. That one measures the contract. This one measures only the change orders, because the margin on extras is usually worse and hides inside a healthy-looking project.

Q: Why group change orders by reason instead of by number?
A: A number tells you nothing you can act on. A cause tells you which kind of change to price differently, or write out of the contract entirely.

Q: What should go in the approved change order value?
A: The total the client approved in change orders, excluding tax. Not the original contract.

Q: I'm not confident with spreadsheets. Will I manage?
A: Yes. The white cells are the only ones you touch. The Quick-Start Guide has your first real number on screen in about five minutes, and if you get stuck, message me.