How to negotiate change orders without burning the relationship

Change orders are where most subs lose money or lose customers. Usually both. Here's how to price them honestly, write them clearly, and keep the GC calling next year.

Every contractor I've worked with has the same two complaints:

Those aren't two complaints. They're the same complaint, three months apart. The way you handle change orders is the single biggest predictor of whether a customer becomes a repeat customer.

Use the same labor rates, the same markup, the same productivity assumptions. If your original bid was at 15% markup, your change order is at 15% markup — not 25% because the GC is captive now.

The GC notices. They always notice. The GC's PM has the original bid open in one tab and your change order in another. If the math doesn't reconcile, you've just told them: "the original number was a teaser, now you pay real money." That conversation never goes anywhere good.

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