Change Order Cost Tracker

Change orders are where construction budgets quietly blow up. The Change Order Cost Tracker gives every revision a home: description, category, who requested it, the cost, the schedule impact and its status. As orders move from pending to approved, the tracker rolls them up against your baseline budget and contingency.

You always see the revised committed budget, how much contingency remains, and total schedule slip — plus a category breakdown so you can tell whether labor, materials or design changes are driving the overrun. Filter the log, export the audit trail, and keep the project financially honest.

• Live roll-up: Approved, pending and rejected totals vs baseline.
• Contingency drawdown: Remaining buffer after approved changes.
• Schedule impact: Total added days from approved orders.
• Category breakdown: Spend by material, labor, design, permit, other.
• Filters: Slice the log by status and category.
• Full record: Requester, date and amount per order.
• Export: CSV, JSON or plain text audit trail.

1. Budget. Enter baseline contract and contingency.
2. Add orders. Description, category, requester, date, amount, schedule days, status.
3. Track. Move each from pending to approved or rejected as decisions happen.
4. Review. Read the revised budget, remaining contingency and schedule slip.
5. Filter. Narrow the log by status or category.
6. Export. Save the audit trail for the file.

Example 1 — Small overrun. $200k baseline, $10k contingency: two approved $3k orders leave $4k buffer.

Example 2 — Material spike. Steel upgrade approved at $15k: category breakdown shows materials leading.

Example 3 — Rejected. A $8k upgrade rejected stays out of the budget entirely.

Example 4 — Schedule slip. Three approved orders add 12 days; the summary flags the slip.

Example 5 — Contingency gone. Approved orders exceed contingency: remaining shows negative, a clear warning.

• No surprises: Revised budget always reflects approved reality.
• Buffer visibility: Know exactly how much contingency is left.
• Category insight: See what type of change is costing most.
• Accountability: Requester and date on every order.
• Audit ready: Exportable record for owner or lender.
• Private: No account, no upload, nothing stored.