Raise your hand if you have ever sent a Change Order Request to your General Contractor and felt like it disappeared into the internet ether. It could be that your customer is too busy managing a fast-moving construction project or it could be that your process is broken. In this blog post, we are going to highlight five basic things you can do to ensure your CORs make it to the top of your customer's stack of paperwork.
Key Takeaways
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Optimize Subject Lines: Use a standardized format [Project] - [Company] - [COR #] to ensure visibility and searchability.
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Prioritize Quality: Legible handwriting, digital documentation, and supporting photos reduce the time customers spend on research.
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Respect Deadlines: Late submissions create friction for General Contractors and delay the approval/payment cycle.
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Maintain Accurate Logs: An up-to-date COR log is the most critical document for tracking revenue and reducing risk.
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Professionalism Wins: Streamlined, digital processes like Clearstory differentiate your company and build trust.
1. Be clear
Use clear subject lines to get your emails opened.
Your customers wade through hundreds of emails every day. To give yours a fighting chance:
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Lead with the project name — it’s their search anchor.
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Add your company and COR number so they know exactly what’s inside.
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Finish with a 3-5 word description that explains why it matters.
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Concise, focused emails become quick wins for your customer: they can open, review, and archive in seconds. Remember, less customer effort = faster customer action.
BAD SUBJECT LINES:
- Here is my Change Order
- Scan BizHub 4455333z5331
- (empty)
- Please approve
GOOD SUBJECT LINES:
- [Project Name] - [Your Company Name] - COR [Number] - [Short Description]
Follow the same guidelines with your email content. Each email should address one clear-cut topic: the info or action you’re requesting. No need for information overload. State the facts and your reason why it needs to be completed — in as few words as possible. To get what you need in a short amount of time, the goal of your email should be to minimize distractions and keep your customer focused.
Oh, and it doesn’t hurt to be nice!
Take a second to ask yourself: How can I make my communication more succinct and more effective so my team can accomplish more, in less time?
Remember this equation: less customer effort = faster customer action.
2. Quality
Everything you submit to your customer represents the quality of your work.
When asking for a Change Order, make it clear you’ve earned it.
Here are three straightforward tips:
- Legibility: Ensure Time & Material Tags are easy to read; consider going digital if handwriting is an issue.
- Visual Evidence: Include photos to decrease the research time required by the customer.
- Professional PDFs: Ensure scanned documents are high-quality and not sloppy to avoid being deprioritized.
Are you slowing down your projects and frustrating your customers with unprofessional documentation?
Don’t have good handwriting? Go digital.
3. Respect deadlines
Time is important.
Every day a Change Order Request waits in limbo, the project’s budget and schedule are at risk.
We've all been there: heavy workloads that lead to missed deadlines. There's no doubt you’re working hard, but let's face it...when your Change Order is late, it becomes harder for a customer to remember what your COR is about, and that can hold up the approval process. Don’t forget, if you are working for a General Contractor, they have a customer they are reporting to that is also holding them accountable for deadlines. Make your GC’s life easier by submitting things on time.
The bottom line is: it’s typically inefficient processes and poor tracking that create delays in your COR deadlines. If you're always racing against the clock with your CORs, maybe it's time to take a look at your Change Order process.
If you are late submitting your CORs, why should your customer be on time getting them approved and paid?
4. Stay organized
Keep your Change Order Request logs up to date.
Poorly organized COR logs can hurt your customer relationships. If your Change Order Request log is incorrect, unclear, or out of date, it makes your Change Order Requests difficult to deal with, and it can even create an unnecessary loss in revenue for you or your customer. Never forget that this log is the most critical change order document you will send your customer. These logs confirm the customer has received and processed all of the change orders you submitted. Remember, Change Order Requests represent very little upside in profit to your customer, but entail a huge amount of risk. To get what you need, when you need it, make it simple for a customer to see what has to be done to keep your team (and the project) moving forward.
How can you make it easier for your customers to sort, review, and stay on top of your COR log?
A helpful Change Order Request log should include:
- Description of the change
- Reason for the change
- Cost impact
- Schedule impact
- Authorization status
5. Strengthen ommunication
Differentiate your company from your competitors.
Keep in mind that while they're speaking with you, your customer is in the middle of dozens of discussions with other contractors. A clear, standardized Change Order communication process not only speeds approvals—it also reduces project risk for everyone involved. If you streamline your COR processes, the efficiency and clarity you provide will separate your company from the competition. Respond to customers promptly and you’ll give them more reasons to stay focused on what you want—reviewing and approving your Change Order Requests ASAP.
Take a look at a few of your recent emails or handwritten tags you’ve sent to customers. How can you streamline and simplify your message in order to ensure your objectives become a higher priority with your customers?
Master the 5 Secrets With Clearstory
From our streamlined system that makes sure your emails never get lost to an app that keeps all your Change Order Requests in one place, Clearstory makes it easy for you to maintain great communication and come across as a trustworthy professional.
Clearstory is an all-in-one, simple solution that streamlines and manages Change Order Requests from the field to office. When your Change Order Request process is clear, concise, easy to understand and professionally done, your company will stand out from the crowd.
Your customers will be happier to work with you, your life will be less stressful, and your company will get paid sooner rather than later.
To get started, connect with one of our team members by 
Frequently asked questions
What is a Change Order, and how does the process work?
A Change Order is a formal modification to the original construction contract, typically affecting scope, cost, and/or schedule. A typical Change Order process includes:
- Identify the change and document the revised scope.
- Capture supporting details (T&M tags, photos, and notes).
- Submit a Change Order Request (COR) for review.
- Review, clarify, and negotiate as needed (including cost and schedule impacts).
- Approve, execute, and track the change through billing and closeout.
What are the key steps and timeline for getting a Change Order approved?
Timelines vary by project complexity and contract requirements—some changes can be approved the same day, while others may take one to two weeks. A common roadmap looks like:
- Day 0–1: Submit a complete COR with clear scope, supporting documentation, and cost/schedule impacts.
- Day 1–3: GC/owner review and request clarifications if needed.
- Day 3–7: Pricing and scope alignment; approvals routed to the right stakeholders.
- Week 1–2: Final authorization and documentation tied to billing and project tracking.
Tools like Clearstory can help keep COR documentation, communication, and approval status visible to all stakeholders in one place.
Why are Change Orders important for contractors and subcontractors?
Change Orders help ensure additional or revised work is documented, authorized, and paid. They protect contractor and subcontractor margins, reduce disputes, and keep project teams aligned on what’s changing and why.
What risks do I face if I don’t manage change orders well?
- Delayed approvals and delayed payments
- Lost documentation (and lost revenue)
- Schedule impacts that aren’t tracked or communicated
- Disputes with GCs, owners, or trade partners
- Budget overruns caused by unclear or unapproved scope changes
