Change order template for agencies
A change order is the one-page form that stops a 'quick favour' from quietly eating your margin. When scope, timeline or fees move, you write it down and get a yes - before the work happens. It's what your SOW's change-order clause points to. Copy it below, or keep scope and approvals visible to the client in a branded client portal.
0/5 filled - the rest of the [prompts] you finish in your copy.
CHANGE ORDER Change Order #: [number] Date: [date] Project: [project name] Relates to SOW #: [SOW number] Between: [Agency name] ("Agency") and [Client name] ("Client") 1. CHANGE REQUESTED [What is changing and who asked for it. 1-3 sentences. e.g. "Client requested a second homepage concept and a blog template, not in the original SOW."] 2. REASON [Why - a new requirement, a change of direction, something discovery surfaced.] 3. IMPACT ON SCOPE - Added: [new deliverables or work] - Removed / changed: [anything that drops out] 4. IMPACT ON TIMELINE - [e.g. "Final delivery moves from [date] to [date]" / "No change"] 5. IMPACT ON FEES - Additional fee: [amount] ([fixed] / [N] hours @ [rate]) - Revised project total: [amount] - Billing: [added to the next invoice / invoiced on approval] 6. WHAT STAYS THE SAME [Confirm the rest of the SOW is unchanged.] 7. APPROVAL Work on this change begins only once both parties approve it below. Agency: __________________ Name: [name] Date: ________ Client: __________________ Name: [name] Date: ________
pick a version, copy it, or download as .docx or .pdf — then make it yours.
How to fill it in
Tie it to the SOW
Reference the original SOW number so the change order reads as an amendment, not a brand-new agreement.
Separate the three impacts
Spell out scope, timeline and fees separately - a change usually moves all three, and clients only feel ambushed when one is hidden.
Get the yes before the work
The whole point: no approved change order, no work. It protects your margin and the client from a surprise invoice.
Show the revised total
Restate the new project total, not just the delta - it prevents 'I didn't realise it added up to that' later.
Keep them with the SOW
By month three nobody remembers the verbal 'sure, add it'. The signed change order does.
A filled-in change order
A realistic, filled-in version - so you can see what good looks like before you start.
CHANGE ORDER
Change Order #: AR-CO-02 Date: 9 Apr 2026
Project: Brand refresh Relates to SOW #: AR-2026-01
Between: Northwind Studio ("Agency") and Acme Roasters Inc. ("Client")
1. CHANGE REQUESTED
Acme asked for a second logo direction and a set of 6 social templates,
neither of which is in the original SOW.
2. REASON
New requirement: a social launch was added alongside the packaging rollout.
3. IMPACT ON SCOPE
- Added: 1 extra logo direction (1 round); 6 social templates
- Removed / changed: none
4. IMPACT ON TIMELINE
- Final delivery moves from 25 Apr to 2 May
5. IMPACT ON FEES
- Additional fee: $3,000 (fixed)
- Revised project total: $15,000
- Billing: invoiced on approval
6. WHAT STAYS THE SAME
All other terms of SOW AR-2026-01 are unchanged.
7. APPROVAL
Agency: __Maya R.__ Name: Maya Rourke Date: 9 Apr 2026
Client: __Dana P.__ Name: Dana Park Date: 9 Apr 2026This is a starting template, not legal advice. Have a qualified professional review any agreement before you rely on it.
Common mistakes
- Doing the extra work first and invoicing it later - the fastest route to an awkward payment call.
- Bundling the change into the next invoice with no paper trail, so it reads as a surprise.
- Noting the added fee but not the moved deadline - then missing a date you quietly changed.
- Treating every small change as 'free' until they add up to a week of unbilled work.
- Keeping approvals in email threads no one can find when the scope dispute arrives.
Stop tracking changes in email
Scope changes scattered across email threads are impossible to find when a dispute lands. Forge keeps scope, approved change orders and what's been delivered in a branded client portal - so the client always sees what they approved, and you always have the paper trail.
Frequently asked questions
What is a change order?
A short written amendment to a signed SOW that records a change to scope, timeline or fees - and both parties' approval - before the new work starts.
When should an agency raise a change order?
Any time a request falls outside the SOW's agreed scope: extra deliverables, added revision rounds, a moved deadline, or anything that changes the fee.
How is a change order different from a new SOW?
A change order amends an existing SOW for a contained change; a new SOW is for a new project or a substantial new phase of work.