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Change Order Systems · Pacific Northwest Trades
Change Order Systems for Contractors in Oregon, Washington & Idaho
Verbal approvals that never make it to the invoice are one of the most consistent sources of margin leakage in the trades. We build the system that closes that gap permanently.
The problem
What change order systems means for a trades business.
A change order system is the documented workflow that captures every scope change from field approval through billing. It's how a plumbing job that starts at $4,200 and turns into $6,800 ends up on an invoice at $6,800 instead of $4,200 because the extra work "wasn't submitted in time." We serve HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing contractors across the Pacific Northwest.
For most trades businesses doing $2M or more, unbilled change orders represent meaningful lost revenue every month. The problem isn't that field technicians forget to report the work. It's that there's no system requiring documentation before the job closes. We build that system.
Every scope change gets documented in the field as it happens
Change orders route for written approval before additional work proceeds
Approved changes connect directly to billing so nothing falls through
You can see how much revenue change orders add every month
Disputes about what was approved become rare because approvals are documented
Technicians have a clear process to follow instead of relying on memory
Signals you need this
Who needs this.
Any trades business where field technicians get verbal approval for additional work
Plumbing contractors where job scope regularly expands beyond the original estimate
HVAC businesses where emergency call-back work gets done without formal approval
Electrical contractors doing commercial work where change orders require formal documentation
Roofing businesses doing insurance work where supplements need documented approval trails
Three or more and there's real money sitting in the gap. Usually it's not one big leak. It's a few small ones that compound every month.
Before and after
Without a change order system vs. With Sentric's change order system in place
What we build
Every extra dollar of work, invoiced.
Approval before the work
Every change gets a written, signed yes before a crew touches it. Verbal approvals stop costing you money.
Capture in the field
The change order is created where the change happens, not reconstructed from memory at invoicing time.
A paper trail that ends disputes
When a customer pushes back, the documentation is complete and the conversation is short.
We build it inside the tools you already pay for. If your field service platform and your accounting software can talk to each other, we make them. If something genuinely has to change, we'll say so and tell you why, but the tool was rarely the problem.
How it works
Three steps. No homework.
Walk one job
Thirty minutes. We take a real job, warts and all, and follow it from the day you sold it to the day the money hit the account. Every place it catches gets written down. You keep what we find whether you ever hire us or not.
Rank the friction
Change Order Systems might not even be your biggest leak. If something else is costing you more, we'll tell you and start there instead.
Build it and run it
We build the fix, train your people on it, and stay on it until it holds. Then we take the next one. Everything we build is documented and yours, whether you keep us for a year or just a month.
Questions
What owners ask us first.
Do you require long-term contracts?
No. Month to month. You stay because the work is delivering.
What cities do you serve?
We serve trades contractors throughout Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. See the full city list below.
How long does implementation take?
Most system builds run 30 to 60 days depending on the state of your current setup. The free audit tells us what we are working with before we scope the build.
Can you work with our existing bookkeeper or CPA?
Yes. Our work is on the operational and technology side. We make sure your financial partners get clean, accurate data to work with.
How is this different from hiring an office manager?
An office manager executes inside whatever systems exist. We build the architecture and manage it so the systems stay current as the business grows.
What trades do you work with?
HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing contractors doing $2M to $8M in annual revenue across Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.
What does the free 30-minute audit cover?
We review your current systems, find where margin or time is leaking, and tell you what it is costing. No pitch and no commitment.
Do you implement or only advise?
We implement and manage. We configure your tools, document your processes, and run the systems ongoing.
Where we work
Change Order Systems across the Northwest.
All work is remote, so location never changes what we can do. These pages cover the market specifics for each city.
Portland, ORSalem, OREugene, ORBend, ORMedford, ORHillsboro, ORGresham, ORCorvallis, ORAlbany, ORGrants Pass, ORRoseburg, ORKlamath Falls, OR
Seattle, WASpokane, WATacoma, WAVancouver, WABellevue, WAKennewick, WAYakima, WABellingham, WAOlympia, WAEverett, WA
Related
Related systems we also manage
Thirty minutes is enough to find out if this is a problem in your operation.
The audit is free. No pitch. No commitment. A straight read on where your systems stand.
Book 30 MinutesNo long-term contract. No commitment. No homework after the call.