A superintendent asks for "just a quick add" on-site, it feels easier to say yes than to stop and paperwork it, and the extra work happens. Multiply that by every job, every month, and it adds up to real, unbilled work — scope you performed and never got paid for because there was never a record it happened.
Verbal Change Requests Are Where Sub Profit Leaks Out
A small on-site request rarely feels worth stopping for, especially with a GC you want more work from. But scope that was never documented is scope that's very hard to bill for later, no matter how reasonable the original request was.
Why This Hits Subcontractors Harder Than GCs
A GC negotiating a change order with the owner is dealing with one relationship, and usually has more leverage to insist on paperwork before extra work starts. A sub asked for a favor by the GC's superintendent on-site is in a weaker position to push back — which makes documentation discipline more important, not less.
What a Proper Change Order Should Include
- What changed from the original scope, specific enough that there's no ambiguity later
- Labor and material cost for the added work, priced the same way as the original bid
- Written approval before the work starts — even a quick text confirming the price counts for something
- How it affects the contract's total value and the next invoice
Getting the GC to Approve Before the Work Starts
The moment to get a change order approved is before the extra work happens, not after — a GC who's already gotten the free work has no urgency to sign anything acknowledging they owe you for it. A fast, simple way to send a change order for approval removes the excuse to skip the paperwork "just this once."
PunchProfit change orders are built directly from the original estimate, so pricing a scope change is fast, and they route to the GC for approval through the same portal as the original bid — so "can you just add this" becomes a documented, billable change instead of free work.