Template: change order (the two-minute form that keeps the extra)
In one paragraph
A one-page change order for a home improvement contract that puts the three statutory elements where the customer signs: scope of the change, amount added or subtracted, and the effect on the progress payment schedule and completion date. It carries the subcontractor disclaimer B&P 7159 requires on every change order, runs a new contract total, re-checks the down payment cap against that total, and has the customer sign before the changed work starts. Beside it, the aluminum-wiring change order from the Phase 3 case, written the way it should have been.
The rule
Extra or changed work on a home improvement contract is part of the contract only if the change order is in writing and signed by the parties before the changed work begins (B&P 7159(c)(5), (d)), and it is enforceable against the buyer only if it states in writing, before the work, the scope, the amount added or subtracted, and the effect on the progress payments or completion date (7159(e)(3)(B)). If the contract uses subcontractors, each change order carries the subcontractor disclaimer (7159(c)(7)(C)).
Why it matters
The change order is where the margin on a job is kept or lost. Written at the wall, it is an invoice line the customer already agreed to; skipped, the same work is a lawsuit on an unjust-enrichment theory. The form takes two minutes and the statute tells you exactly what has to be on it.