Overview
Change Order Agreements let you attach a binding contract directly to a change order — so when your customer approves a scope change, they're also signing off on the terms that go with it. The agreement is collected alongside the change order approval on the same public page your customer already uses.
You can set a default Change Order Agreement template in your Business Settings that applies to every change order, or customize the agreement on a per-change-order basis. Your team can also sign as the company representative before or after sending.
When to Use This Feature
You want customers to formally agree to the terms of a scope change — not just approve the price — before work begins.
Your change orders involve significant dollar amounts or materials, and you need a signed record in case of a dispute.
You have different agreement language for different types of change orders (e.g., emergency repairs vs. planned upgrades) and want to match the right terms to the right job.
You want to sign as the company representative before sending the change order to the customer.
You want to streamline your paperwork by collecting the change order approval and agreement signature in one step.
How It Works
Every MotionOps account comes with a default Change Order Agreement template already set up in Business Settings. While a change order is in draft, you can select which agreement template to use — the default CO agreement is pre-selected automatically.
When you enable Include Service Agreement in the preview settings, the agreement appears on both the internal change order page and the public approval link you send to your customer. Your customer sees the change order and the agreement on the same page and must sign both before their approval is recorded.
If you want to sign as the company representative first, you can do that from the change order preview — the same options available on proposals (Send & Sign, Send & Sign Later) are available here.
If you need different agreement language for a specific change order, you can edit the agreement directly on that CO using Edit Agreement. This creates a local copy that applies only to that CO — it does not change your default template.
Set Your Default Change Order Agreement Template
Your default template is set in Business Settings and pre-selected automatically on every new change order. You can update it at any time.
Click the Settings icon in the top-right navigation bar.
In the left sidebar, select Service Agreements.
At the top of the page, find the Change Order Agreement selector and choose the agreement template you want to use as your default.
To edit the content of the default template, click the agreement name to open it, make your changes, and click Save.
Your updated default template will apply to all future change orders.
Attach an Agreement to a Change Order — Web App
While the change order is in draft, you can select the agreement template to use and enable it for the customer-facing approval page.
Open the change order you want to send.
In the preview settings panel, toggle on Include Service Agreement to include the agreement on the customer-facing public approval page.
In the change order editor, locate the Agreement section. The default CO agreement template is pre-selected. To use a different template, select it from the dropdown.
Click Save to save the changes.
The agreement now appears on the internal preview and will be shown to your customer on the public approval page.
Customize the Agreement for a Specific Change Order
If the selected template language doesn't fit a particular job, you can edit it directly on the change order. This creates a local copy for that CO only — your default template is not affected.
In the change order preview settings section, click Edit Agreement.
Make your edits to the agreement text.
Click Save. The edited agreement is saved as a local copy for this change order only.
Sign and Send the Change Order — Web App
From the change order preview, you can sign as the company representative before or after sending to the customer.
In the change order preview, click Send.
Choose how you want to handle your company signature:
Send & Sign — Sign the agreement now as the company representative, then send the change order to the customer.
Send & Sign Later — Send the change order to the customer now and sign the company side of the agreement at a later time.
The customer receives the change order approval link. The agreement is included on the same page — they must sign both the change order and the agreement before their approval is recorded.
Attach an Agreement to a Change Order — Mobile App
On the Mobile App, you can enable the agreement from the change order preview settings and sign as the company representative before sending to the customer.
Open the work order and tap Change Orders to access the proposal history.
Create a new change order, or open an existing draft or pending change order.
Select an agreement on the create or edit page.
Send to the customer to sign later, or collect the signature from the field.
What the Customer Sees
When your customer opens the change order approval link, they'll see the change order details and the agreement on the same page. They review both and provide their signature before confirming approval.
The approval is not recorded until they have signed the agreement. Once they sign and approve, the change order status updates and the signed agreement is stored on the job record.
Tips & Best Practices
Set your default template before your first change order. Once you configure your Change Order Agreement template in Business Settings, it pre-selects automatically on every new CO — no extra steps per job.
Use "Send & Sign" for high-value change orders. Having your company signature on the agreement before the customer sees it creates a clear paper trail from the start.
Customize sparingly. The local copy feature is useful for edge cases — emergency work with different liability terms, or jobs requiring state-specific language — but for most scope changes, your default template is enough.
Check the Include Service Agreement toggle before sending. The agreement only reaches the customer if this toggle is on in the preview settings. Make it part of your send checklist.
Things to Know
Every MotionOps account includes a default Change Order Agreement template. You can update it anytime in Settings → Service Agreements.
The default CO agreement template is pre-selected automatically while the change order is in draft. You can switch to a different template before saving (Web App only).
The agreement only appears on the customer-facing approval page when Include Service Agreement is toggled on in the preview settings.
Using Edit Agreement on a change order creates a local copy for that CO only. It does not modify your default template or any other change orders (Web App only).
The customer must sign both the change order and the agreement before the approval is recorded. Both are collected on the same public page.
The company representative signature (Send & Sign or Send & Sign Later) is independent of the customer signature and can be completed at a different time.
Troubleshooting
I don't see an Agreement section on my change order.
Make sure the change order is still in draft status — the agreement template selector is available while the CO is being edited. If the section is missing entirely, contact support.
The customer says the agreement isn't showing on their approval page.
Check the preview settings for that change order and confirm Include Service Agreement is toggled on. If it was off when the link was sent, the agreement won't appear on the public page.
I used Edit Agreement on a change order and now my default template looks different.
Editing the agreement on a change order creates a local copy for that CO only — it does not affect your default template. Check Settings → Service Agreements to confirm the default template is unchanged.
The customer approved the change order but the agreement wasn't signed.
If Include Service Agreement was toggled off when the customer approved, they were not shown the agreement. Going forward, confirm the toggle is on before sending the approval link. You can send the change order again with the toggle Include Service Agreement turned on, and the customer will be able to sign the agreement as well.
Have questions? Reach out via the support chat or email support@motionops.com.