Template: customer options sheet (findings, the three rungs, permit path, code trail, what you chose)
In one paragraph
The one page you leave with every customer after a diagnosis: what you found, in their words and yours, with a photograph reference; the three rungs of the options ladder (repair, replace the section, replace the system), each with a cost band, whether a permit is required and why, the code sections the work must meet, and what each rung does not fix; and a signature line for the rung the customer chose, which becomes the change order or the new contract. It is the method's step 5 and step 7 on paper, and it is written so a customer can hand it to a spouse or a second contractor and be understood. Beside the blank, the sheet filled in for a dead kitchen circuit that turned out to be a shared neutral in a 1978 house.
The rule
Any work beyond the contracted scope must be described in a written change order signed before the work begins, stating the scope, the amount added or subtracted and the effect on the schedule (B&P 7159(c)(5), (e)(3)); on a service and repair contract the contractor may fix only the reported problem, so any additional finding is a separate agreement (7159.10(a)); and each option's permit path follows the California Electrical Code, which requires a permit for any installation or alteration of an electrical system except the four exemptions (89.108.4.1).
Why it matters
The options sheet is how the customer experiences the method: they see that you found the real problem, that you are giving them honest choices instead of one price, and that the code, not your preference, decides the permit. It is also the document that turns a finding into a signed change order the same day, which is the difference between the extra you are paid for and the extra you argue about.