Scope Change and Additional Work Tracker

Additional work often starts with a real project problem: an extra opening, a changed finish, an unexpected service route or a client request made during the job. The risk is not that the work is unimportant. The risk is that the request, cost, price, approval and invoice trail end up in different places.

Use this tracker as an on-page or print-friendly working record. It does not decide what the contract requires or replace the agreed contract/change-control process.

Blank tracker structure

Field	What to record
scope change reference	A unique short reference, for example `V-014`
Job and customer	The job reference and customer/project name
Date raised	When the request or issue was first recorded
Description and reason	Clear description of the change and why it arose
Requested by / evidence	Customer, contract administrator or project source; reference to email, drawing, photograph or instruction
Cost impact	Known/estimated people, stock or materials, equipment, external supplier and other direct cost impact
Price/proposed value	The value requested or agreed, excluding any unsupported assumption
Commercial status	Not priced, priced awaiting decision, approved, declined, instructed at risk, invoiced, paid
Approval evidence	Written acceptance, signed instruction or other reliable reference; leave clear where this is absent
Invoice/application reference	The invoice or application where recovery is requested
Expected payment / outcome	Expected date, paid date, dispute note or next action
Owner and next action	The person accountable and the next specific step

Fictional worked entry

Field	Illustrative entry
scope change reference	V-014
Job	HAY-042 — rear extension
Date raised	14 May
Description	Client asked to move a doorway after the opening had been formed
Evidence	Client email and revised sketch saved as HAY-042/V-014
Cost impact	10 people hours, additional lintel and plastering; estimate recorded separately
Proposed value	£1,150, subject to written agreement
Commercial status	Priced awaiting decision
Approval evidence	None yet — do not mark as approved
Next action	Project lead to obtain written decision before non-urgent work proceeds

This is a fictional example. It does not establish a contractual entitlement, price or approval method for another job.

How to use the tracker

Create an entry when the potential change is identified, not when you finally invoice it.
Link the request to the job, evidence and the person who raised it.
Separate the cost estimate from the proposed price. A higher cost does not automatically mean the customer has agreed a price.
Keep status honest. “Instructed at risk” should not be silently changed to “approved”.
Review open entries at the weekly job-cost and credit-control meeting.
When a scope change is invoiced or included in an application, record the reference and follow the payment like any other customer balance.

Common errors to avoid

Starting additional work without recording the request and commercial risk.
Treating a verbal discussion as a documented agreed value when the evidence is unclear.
Recording the selling price but not the extra people/material cost.
Marking a scope change complete because the work is finished, even though it has not been invoiced or paid.

Who this is for

This resource is most useful if your business quotes and delivers individual jobs, projects or client assignments. Use the same approach for the work that is most material to your business.

Related FoxSums resources

Next step

Record a request before extra work starts, then keep its approval, price and recovery trail in the tracker.

Important

General information only. Check the facts and current official guidance for the business’s circumstances.

Sources and review

Evidence check date: 2 November 2026.
FoxSums operational guidance. This resource does not make a tax, legal or regulatory determination.

Browse the Resource Hub →