Why “Just a Few More Plants” Is Never Free
Every landscape contractor knows the phrase, while you’re here, can you just add a few more plants over there. This innocent request is the beginning of scope creep, and if not managed with strict financial discipline, these small, uncontracted additions quietly consume an entire project’s profit margin. A change order is a legal modification to the original contract, not a favor, since executing additional work interrupts a crew’s planned workflow, delays the project timeline, and often requires extra material deliveries.
Why a Change Order Costs More Than the Same Work in the Original Bid
Pricing a change order is different from pricing the original bid. When a client asks to add 200 square feet of paving mid-project, the same square-foot price from the initial contract can’t simply be reused, since the logistical friction the change creates has to be accounted for. Administrative burden covers the time it takes to redesign the layout, source new materials, write up the new proposal, and get a signature, and that overhead has to be billed. Remobilization costs cover a second delivery of aggregate if the first pile was only measured for the original scope. Schedule disruption reflects the genuine opportunity cost of delaying the start date of the next contracted client, which justifies a higher profit margin on mid-project modifications.
The Zero-Work Rule
Additional work should never be executed based on a verbal agreement. Work on the modified area should stop until a formal change order is priced, presented, and signed by the client, since performing the work first and billing later almost guarantees a payment dispute by the end of the project.
Standard Change Order Fee Structures
An administrative fee, typically a flat $150 to $300 per change order, covers estimating, project management, and contract revision time. Material additions are typically priced at the standard material markup plus another ten percent, accounting for secondary shipping, rush orders, or less-than-truckload fees. Labor additions are priced at the fully burdened rate plus the target margin, ensuring the extra hours generate the same or better profit as the original bid.
Where the Calculation Work Goes
When a client requests a change in the field, an accurate price needs to be generated quickly before the crew loses momentum, and rebuilding complex spreadsheets from scratch on a mobile device is highly error-prone. CalcType’s Cost Estimating & Budgeting Calculators build profitable change orders on the go, applying the correct margins to new quantities instantly.