What goes on an independent contractor work order
On a project already under way, the work order is what stops a favor becoming a precedent. The client asks for something outside the scope; you can do it, and usually you should — once it has a number on it and somebody has said yes in writing. That is all a change request is, and the only thing that makes it work is doing it before the work rather than after.
- The project, and the agreement this varies
- What is being added or changed, described so it cannot be read two ways
- Who asked, and when — which matters when it is queried later
- The cost, as a fixed figure or as hours at the agreed rate
- What it does to the timeline, which is often what they care about more
- What it does not include
- Approval: a name, a date and a signature, before anything starts
The sample line items and example prices this sheet opens with are on the independent contractor invoice template — the same table, which is about the trade rather than about this paper, so it lives in one place rather than on all six.
What you get
A PDF, and a link your customer can open in any browser. Word and Excel versions are not available yet — if a spreadsheet is what you need, this is not yet the tool for it, and saying so is cheaper for both of us than you finding out after typing everything in.
Pick how it looks
Six looks, from a plain classic sheet through a bold top band to a shop ticket, and your initials go on automatically until you upload a logo. See all six.
How to send it
Most customers want the paper on their phone, so the work order goes out by WhatsApp, text or email, or as a link that needs no app and no account on their side. Or download the PDF to print it or keep it for your own records.
Questions
Do I really need paperwork for a small change?
For a genuinely small one, no. The test is not size but whether it sets a pattern — the fifth small change is the one that ate a week, and by then nobody remembers agreeing to the first four. If you have done three unpriced favors on a project, the next one gets a number.
How do I raise one without souring the relationship?
Send it as a normal part of how you work, and send it immediately. “Here is what that would take and what it does to the date” is a useful answer to a request. The same message two weeks later, attached to a bill, is an ambush.