Change orders in Adaptive let you track cost and revenue changes against your budget, send external change orders to owners for signature, and include them in draw packages. This article covers how changes appear on the budget, how to create and send change orders, and how they flow into draws.
Note: Sending change orders for signature is currently in beta.
1. Viewing Changes on the Budget
The budget page includes dedicated columns that display change values for each line item on both the cost and revenue sides.
Click any value in the Changes column to view the underlying change order.
Click the Changes column header to open the dedicated changes table, which shows all change orders in one place.
2. Change Order Types
When you add a change order, you can choose from three types:
External — Can be sent to owners for signature and is included in draw packages.
Internal — Internal only. Not sent for signature and not shown in draws.
Budget modification — Internal only. Not sent for signature and not shown in draws.
Note: Only external change orders can be sent for signature and shown in draw packages.
3. Creating a Change Order
To create a change order:
Click Add a change in the top right corner.
Select the change type (external, internal, or budget modification).
Enter a description for the change.
Add values for the cost budget and revenue budget.
Click Save.
New change orders are created in a Draft state.
4. Configuring Draft Change Order Behavior
You can control whether draft change orders impact the budget through job settings.
To configure this behavior:
Go to Job Settings.
Scroll down to the toggle Only apply approved change orders to the budget.
Toggle on or off based on your preference:
Toggle on: Draft change orders will not appear on the budget. Only signed change orders impact the budget total.
Toggle off: Draft change orders will be included in the budget total alongside signed change orders.
5. Setting the Owner Email
Before sending a change order for signature, you must set an owner email in the job settings.
Important: Without an owner email configured, you will not be able to send change orders for signature.
6. Sending a Change Order for Signature
Once the owner email is set, you have two options for an external change order:
Send for signature:
Send the change order directly to the owner.
Add a comment (e.g., "please sign this").
Attach a file if needed.
Click send.
Mark as signed directly:
Use this option when the owner has signed off-platform or in another way.
This can be done before or after sending for signature.
7. Tracking Change Order Activity
Each change order includes an activity log that shows:
When the change order was sent for signature
The comment included
Any replies from the owner
Once signed, the change order displays a Signed status. You can view or download the signed PDF at any time.
8. Including Change Orders in Draws
When creating a draw, you can configure the export to include change orders.
Select Changes in the draw export configuration to include change orders.
Only external change orders will appear in the draw export.
Internal change orders and budget modifications will not be included.
Key Requirements Summary
An owner email must be set in job settings to send change orders for signature.
Only external change orders can be sent for signature and included in draw exports.
Use the Only apply approved change orders to the budget toggle to control whether draft change orders affect budget totals.