How do I put a change to the job in writing?

The five parts of a change note

A change note is a short message about one change, sent before the extra work starts. It doesn't repeat the whole job. It says what is different and points back to the agreement it changes.

Five parts cover it, in this order:

1. Say what changes. Write the work that is added or removed, in plain words, and where it is.
2. Put a number on it. Write the extra cost or the credit as a number, and say whether tax is on top.
3. Say how the dates move. Write the new finish date, or say that the date doesn't move.
4. Name the first agreement. Say which agreement this changes: the date you agreed it, or its record ID if it's on TrustChain.
5. Ask for a yes before you start. End with one line asking the client to reply yes. Send it, and start the extra work only after the yes arrives.

A change note you can copy

The renovation job template's Changes part says extra work is quoted first and starts only after the client confirms in writing, and that each change is written down as its own note while the original text is not edited. This is that note, ready to send by text or email. Fill in every bracket.

"Change to our agreement of [DATE OF THE FIRST AGREEMENT]: [WHAT IS ADDED OR REMOVED]. That's [EXTRA COST OR CREDIT] [PLUS TAX / TAX INCLUDED], and the finish date moves from [OLD FINISH DATE] to [NEW FINISH DATE]. Everything else stays as we agreed. Reply yes and I'll start on it."

Filled in, for a bathroom job: "Change to our agreement of June 2: add a second bathroom fan and move the outlet beside the vanity. That's $340 plus tax, and the finish date moves from Friday June 12 to Monday June 15. Everything else stays as we agreed. Reply yes and I'll start on it."

If the change takes work out, write the credit as a number too, so the final invoice has nothing left to argue about. For freelance work it's the same note: name the new item or the extra revision round, its price, and how it moves the delivery date.

• Small renovation or repair job agreement: the template this note comes from, with its Changes part

When the change is agreed on site or by phone

Plenty of changes get agreed standing in the room or on a call. That's fine, as long as a note follows. Send it the same day, in the words you both used, and ask for a reply.

If the client corrects the note, the corrected version is the change. If they reply yes, you have the change in writing. If they say nothing, you still have a dated note of what you understood, which beats a memory, but ask again before you start the work.

Hold off on the extra work until the yes arrives. Starting first is how a favour turns into an unpaid extra.

Never edit the original

Don't change the first agreement, even to tidy it up. Edit the original and there are two versions of it, and nobody can show which one you both agreed to. Leave it exactly as it was and add each change as its own dated note.

Number the notes as you go: change 1, change 2. Keep them with the first agreement, in the same thread or folder, so the whole job reads in order: what was agreed first, then each change and the yes that came with it.

At the end, the final invoice is the first agreement plus the changes, and each extra line on it points to a note.

Doing it on TrustChain

TrustChain has no button for changing a signed agreement, and an agreement's text can't be edited once it's created. A change is a new, short agreement of its own, and the first one stays exactly as you both signed it.

Give it a title that says what it is, for example "Change 1 to the kitchen job". In Scope of work, start with the first agreement's record ID, the 8-character code at the end of its public link and on its certificate, then write the five parts. Invite the same person. You both sign it the same way, each after an identity check by Sumsub, and it gets its own public link once you've both signed.

The two records aren't linked inside the app. The record ID written into the change is what ties them together, so anyone holding both can see which agreement the change belongs to. If you anchored the first agreement, you can anchor each change the same way, so every record in the job has its own dated fingerprint on Polygon. On Free, each anchor is a paid extra. Each change counts as one agreement on your plan for that month.