Electrical Change Orders Written With AI: Ask for Extra Work Clearly

Write one page with five parts: what changed and why, the extra price, the effect on dates, a clear choice for each item (approve or decline, and what each means) and a line to reply or sign on. AI can draft it from your site notes in minutes, provided you work out the numbers first and check every word.

Customers stall when a change order reads like a bill or a legal letter, or when the price arrives after the work. Send it before the extra work starts, price it from your own rates, and attach the photo or message that caused it. Then it is a decision the customer can make in two minutes instead of an argument they have next week.

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Seven moments on an electrical job that call for a change order

These are seven points where extra work tends to turn into an argument. Spotting the moment is half the job, because the evidence you need is easiest to collect while the problem is still visible.

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Two of these are easy to miss. The second hides inside any quote that gave a fitting allowance: the extra belongs to the customer's choice, and the allowance line is your evidence, so it pays to word those lines well (allowances and provisional sums shows how). The sixth is the one electricians absorb because raising it feels petty, right up to the third wasted visit.

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A change order never replaces your terms or your quote's exclusions. If your terms say variations must be requested in writing, or that small extras under a set value are covered by day rates, the change order follows that. A quote with clear exclusions makes the third and fifth moments far easier to raise, and the domestic quote tutorial covers how to write them. Have a solicitor check your variation clause, because an AI-drafted clause is a starting point and nothing more (AI-drafted terms and conditions explains the checks).

The five parts, with wording for each

1. What changed and why. One or two sentences of fact, naming the trigger and pointing to the evidence: "After first fix the kitchen layout changed, and you asked for a supply to the new island."
2. The price. Itemised, so each item can be approved on its own. Show the basis (hours, rate, materials, markup), say whether it is a fixed price or a capped estimate, and add that tax is extra where it applies.
3. The time. The effect in working days and the milestone that moves, for example "second fix finishes one day later and testing moves from day 10 to day 11". If there is no effect, say "no effect on the programme".
4. The choices. Approve everything, approve some items, or decline, and what happens in each case. Declining is a normal answer, so say what you'll do if you get it.
5. The reply line. How to approve, by when, and a promise that nothing extra starts until you hear.

The approval wording matters more than any other sentence on the page, because it is what the customer actually acts on. Three versions cover most jobs. For email: "Reply 'Approved: A and B' by [date] and we'll book the extra day." For paper: "Approved by [name] on [date]. Items approved: A, B, both." For a decline: "Declined: please complete the original scope only." A short reply from a phone can be enough when the page it answers is clear, provided your contract accepts approval by message, which is worth checking.

Where the extra work is needed to make something safe, say so in one plain sentence and say what you will do if the customer declines, for example leave that circuit disconnected and record it. Don't dress a preference up as a safety requirement. Assistants tend to add urgency, so read the draft for words like "essential", "required" and "unsafe" that your notes never used.

Pricing the extra: your sums first, the assistant's words second

Price from your own rate sheet: labour hours at your charge-out rate, materials at cost plus your handling percentage, and a separate line for each item. Use a fixed price for what you can see, such as extra sockets. For discoveries, where you can't know the full scope until you've opened the wall, use an estimate with a cap and a promise to update if you reach it. If your rates come from memory rather than records, a price guide built from your past jobs is a better source than any assistant's idea of a normal price.

The reason to keep the arithmetic out of the chat is that errors there look tidy. In one first attempt (illustrative), an assistant asked to price an island supply from 6 hours at $80, $140 of materials and a 20% handling charge applied the markup twice: 140 x 1.2 x 1.2 is $201.60, which turned a $648 item into $681.60. Nothing about the table looked wrong. So do three lines of arithmetic yourself, paste the results, tell the assistant to copy them exactly, and use a second pass to re-add them as a check.

A rewire variation, from site notes to the page the customer gets

The illustration is a whole-house rewire of a three-bedroom house, quoted at $6,900. The programme: first fix on days 1 to 5, plastering on days 6 and 7, second fix on days 8 and 9, testing and certificate on day 10. On the afternoon of day 5, the customer and her builder change the kitchen layout. The plasterer starts the next morning, so the electrician needs an answer that evening.

The notes, as they were typed in the van

Day 5. Kitchen 1st fix done bar island. Customer + builder moved kitchen layout,
island now. Wants 2 double sockets on island + a feed to it. Screed went down
yesterday so cant go under floor, run in conduit thru base cupboards west wall
approx 18m. Also 4 more doubles dining room, both walls. Plasterer starts
tmrw so need a yes tonight. Think its an extra day.

The numbers, worked out by you

Three lines of arithmetic, done before the assistant sees anything. The rate is $80 an hour and materials carry a 20% handling charge (both illustrative). Item A's materials are $38 of cable, a $64 island unit with two double sockets, a $24 breaker and $14 of conduit and clips. Item B's are four sockets at $6, four boxes at $2.50, 20 m of cable at $1.50 and $6 of sundries.

The new contract total is $6,900 + $972 = $7,872. The time effect is one working day, because second fix runs through day 10 instead of ending on day 9, so testing and the certificate move from day 10 to day 11. Those four facts (two item totals, the new total, the date change) are what the assistant gets to copy.

The prompt and the first draft

You are helping an electrician write a change order for a homeowner. Use ONLY the
facts and figures below. Copy every number exactly; do not recalculate, round or
add anything (no contingency, no tax, no payment terms). Friendly, plain, respectful
tone. Sections: what changed, the items with prices, the effect on dates, the
customer's choice item by item (approve or decline each, and what declining means),
and how to reply. Do not describe anything as urgent or required for safety.
Facts: [paste the notes, the table above, the original contract total and the programme]

A typical first pass (illustrative) looks sound at a glance.

Change order 1, [site address]. Hi [first name], after first fix the kitchen layout changed, so here is the price for the extra work. Item A, island supply and two double sockets: $648. This work is required for safety once the island is in. Item B, four extra double sockets in the dining room: $324. Total extra: $972, making the new contract total $7,872. This will delay completion by approximately two days. Payment is due on approval. Please reply with your choice by [date].

Four problems, and none is a typo. "Required for safety" is an invented justification for what is simply the customer's request, and a customer who later reads it may feel manipulated. "Approximately two days" turns a known one-day shift into a vague two, and speaks of completion when only testing moved. "Payment is due on approval" is a payment term your contract may not contain. And the draft never explains why the island supply costs what it does, or what declining means. All four are the sort of thing a polite, fluent draft slips in while following instructions about tone.

What the customer receives

After your edits, the page reads like this.

Change order 1: kitchen island and dining room sockets

Job: rewire of [site address]. Original contract: $6,900. Date: [date].

What changed: After first fix the kitchen layout changed, and you asked for a supply to the new island and four more double sockets in the dining room. Photos of the kitchen as it stands are attached.

Item A, island supply: a new circuit to an island unit with two double sockets. Because the screed is down, the cable runs through the base cupboards in conduit instead of under the floor. Labour 6.0 hours at $80 = $480. Materials $140 plus 20% = $168. Total $648.

Item B, dining room: four extra double sockets. Labour 3.0 hours = $240. Materials $70 plus 20% = $84. Total $324.

Total extra: $972, making the new contract total $7,872. Tax is extra where it applies.

Time: this adds one working day. Second fix finishes on day 10 instead of day 9, and testing and your certificate move from day 10 to day 11.

Your choice, item by item: approve or decline each one. If you decline an item, we carry on with the original scope without it and record it as not included. Reply, for example, "A approved, B declined" by [date], or sign below. We won't start the extra work until we hear from you, and these prices hold until second fix begins.

That took about ten minutes in the van (my estimate): five on the arithmetic, two for the draft and three for checking. Compare it with the van notes above. The customer can answer in four words, the electrician has a record, and the plasterer's start doesn't depend on an argument.

The same request in three voices

The facts stay fixed while the voice changes with the reader. Ask the assistant for a tone, never for different numbers.

A homeowner who texts back

Hi [first name], quick one before the plasterer starts tomorrow. The island needs its own supply, and with the screed down it has to run through the cupboards. That is $648. The four extra dining room sockets are $324. Together they add one day. Just reply "A approved, B approved", or tell me which you'd like to drop. Photos attached.

A site manager on a main contractor's job

Further to the revised kitchen layout (drawing revision [x]), we submit change order 1: island supply, $648; four additional sockets in the dining room, $324; total $972. Programme effect: one working day, with testing moving from day 10 to day 11. We will not proceed with these items until we receive written instruction. Please confirm by [date].

A hazard found behind a wall

Suppose a kitchen refit opens a wall for new sockets and exposes failed insulation on the existing cable that feeds the rest of a socket circuit. The tone changes again, because the customer didn't ask for this and the choice isn't a free one.

While opening the kitchen wall we found the existing cable to the rest of this circuit has failed insulation (photo attached). We have isolated it and cannot reconnect it as it is. Option 1: replace the affected run, estimated at $306 and not to exceed $380, adding half a day. Option 2: leave that part of the circuit disconnected, and we'll record that on the paperwork. Please reply by [time] so we can plan tomorrow.

The $306 comes from 3 hours at $80 ($240) plus $55 of materials with the 20% handling charge ($66). The cap is there because you can't know what else is in the wall. Note that Option 2 is an honest choice, not a threat: you can't certify work you've left unsafe, and the page says what happens if the customer says no.

Three smaller change orders: an RFI, a doorstep yes, a decline

An instruction from site, in one line

A site manager texts "pls add 6 data sockets to meeting room 2 per RFI 14". Your schedule of rates has data outlets at $62 each (illustrative), so six come to $372 and the programme isn't affected. The assistant drafts the page in a minute, and the slip to look for is in the reference: one draft quoted "RFI 41". Instruction numbers, drawing revisions and room names are exactly what a draft changes quietly, so read every reference against the original message.

A spoken yes

The customer says yes on the doorstep at about ten past four. Send a confirmation within the hour, and give the assistant only what was said: "Items A and B, $972, one extra day, agreed on site around 4.10". A typical draft thanks the customer, restates those facts and asks for a one-word reply. The slip to watch is added scope: one draft promised "the outside socket we discussed", which nobody had discussed. Delete anything that wasn't agreed.

A decline

If the customer declines Item A, complete the original scope, record the decline in your log with the date, and keep the page. It answers the question the kitchen fitter will ask in a month: where is the power for the island? Ask the assistant for one line for the handover paperwork, such as "Island supply not included at the customer's request (change order 1, item A declined on [date])". Don't quietly do the work cheaply to keep the peace. A job done on a handshake is the one that reappears as a complaint.

Eight checks before a change order reaches the customer

1. Every number matches your own sums, line by line, including the new contract total.
2. Each item states its basis: a fixed price, or an estimate with a cap.
3. The time effect names a milestone and a number of working days, or says there is none.
4. References (drawing revision, instruction number, room name) match the original message.
5. Nothing is described as urgent, unsafe or required unless your notes said so.
6. No payment terms, discounts or promises appear that aren't in your contract.
7. Declining is explained, and the reply line has a date and a "we won't start until we hear from you" sentence.
8. The photos or messages that caused the change are attached.

Then use a second pass as a cheap audit. Give the assistant your sums and the draft, and ask it to report, not to rewrite.

Here are my sums and the draft change order. Without changing the draft:
(1) re-derive every total from the components I gave and list any mismatch,
(2) list any number in the draft that is not in my sums,
(3) list any sentence about safety, urgency, payment or discounts that is not in
my notes. If a category has nothing to report, say so.

1. Totals: item totals and the new contract total all match.
2. Numbers not in your sums: none.
3. Sentences not in your notes: "these prices hold until second fix begins".

The third finding is fine here, because you added that sentence on purpose, and that is the point of the audit: it shows you everything the draft contains that you didn't supply, and you decide whether each item stays.

A change order log that shows work at risk

A change order that isn't recorded is a change order you'll forget. Keep one log, in a sheet or in your job software, with a number for every change order, and read it once a week next to your site diary (diaries, RFIs and snag lists covers the diary half).

A SUMIFS on the status column gives the totals: $1,344 approved ($972 + $372), $786 sent and waiting ($306 + $480) and $215 declined. The middle figure is the one to watch. If any of that $786 has already been worked, you're carrying the cost until someone replies, and the weekly read is when you chase. Over a year the same log shows which triggers cost you most, which tells you what to add to your quote's exclusions next time.

Change order questions electricians ask

Can I start the extra work before the customer replies?

That depends on your contract and how much you can afford to lose if the answer is no. If the issue is a safety one, make the situation safe and record it. For anything else, wait for a written reply. If you do accept a spoken yes on site, confirm it in writing within the hour, so the record shows what was agreed.

What if the customer says it should have been in the original quote?

Compare the request with your written scope and exclusions, line by line, and say so calmly in one sentence. If the quote really did omit it, absorb the cost and note why for next time. An assistant can lay the two wordings side by side, but it can't decide who is right, and you shouldn't ask it to argue your case.

Should I use my job software's variation feature or a document?

Use the software's feature if it has one, because one consistent record is worth more than a prettier page. Draft the wording with AI and paste it in. Whatever you use, give every change order a number, keep a log of them in one place, and make sure each one can be tied to a job and a date.

How long should a change order stay open?

Put an expiry on it, for example seven days or until second fix begins, whichever comes first. Prices move, materials get ordered and the programme shifts, so an open-ended offer becomes a problem later. If the customer replies after it expires, reissue it with fresh dates rather than honouring an old figure by default.

Is it safe to paste customer details into an AI chat?

Avoid names and addresses. Use placeholders such as [first name] and [site address], then merge the real details into your own document afterwards. Consumer ChatGPT and Claude plans have a switch for model training in privacy settings, and business plans don't train on content by default, but placeholders keep the question from arising.

Further reads

• How Small Builders Use AI to Price Variations and Change Orders — Pricing variations and change orders for small building firms.
• AI Tools for Contracting Businesses: Subcontracts and Change Orders — Subcontracts and what a lawyer should still review.
• Plumbing Change Orders: Four Worked Examples Drafted With AI — Four worked examples from a neighbouring trade.
• Construction Final Account: Variations, Deductions and Sign-Off With AI — How variations add up at final account and sign-off.
• General Contractor AI: Turn Site Messages Into Change Orders — How the main contractor's side handles change orders.
• How to Use AI as an Electrical Contractor: Admin Yes, Code Answers No — Which electrical jobs suit AI and which never do.
• AI Electrical Quoting Software: Build Three-Option Upgrade Packages — How to build three comparable packages for a panel or consumer unit upgrade: what quoting software and AI draft for you, and the checks before a quote is sent.
• Electrical Contractor AI: Setting Up Permit and Inspection Tracking — A spreadsheet tracker for permits, notifications and inspection dates, plus AI prompts that draft the chasers and flag jobs before they stall.
• AV Proposal Software: Adding AI-Written Scope and Exclusions — Draft room-by-room scope, exclusions and assumptions with AI, have the engineer check them against the design, then load the approved text into proposals.
• ChatGPT for Electrical Contractors: Bid Clarifications and RFIs — Prompts and sample outputs for clarification lists, RFI wording and submittal letters on commercial jobs, with confidential-data rules.
• Data Cabling Quote: Count Drops, Cable Runs and Test Lines With AI — A contractor-side data cabling quote for a 12-drop office: drop schedule, cable metres, test and label lines, exclusions and a count check done with AI.
• Electrical Contractor Proposals: Scope and Exclusions With AI — Draft an electrical contractor proposal with AI: scope, clarifications, exclusions and payment terms, plus a check that AI hasn't changed your figures.
• Electrical Permit Application: Track Permits and Inspection Dates With AI — A contractor's permit tracker: one job record for applications, a dated sheet for inspections, and AI for scope summaries, chase lists and correction notices.
• Fence Contract Template: Draft With AI, Add Permit and Boundary Clauses — Drafting prompts for the permit, boundary, utility, weather and payment clauses of a fence contract, with the mistakes to fix and a lawyer-ready pack.
• Painting Contract Template: Colour Approval and Change Orders With AI — Colour-approval and change-order clauses for a painting contract, with AI drafting passes and checks before a local lawyer reviews it. Not legal advice.
• Pay Applications for Subcontractors: Schedule of Values With AI — Build the schedule of values, report percent complete, add stored materials and retainage, then use AI to check the package against the contract.
• AI Tools and AI Development: The Complete 2026 Guide — the AI hub, including every tutorial in the AI-for-business series.

Sources: privacy defaults as published by OpenAI and Anthropic for their plans (checked September 2026). Rates, hours and prices in the worked example are illustrative and not taken from any rate card.