SyntectonSupport

Financial Control

Create a Change Order

Document a scope or cost change against a project contract, route it for approval, and post it to the budget.

Updated May 28, 2026Who this is for:
Project Manager
Project Engineer
Accountant
Open in Syntecton

Change orders track every approved deviation from the original contract — scope adds, deducts, schedule shifts, and unforeseen conditions. This guide walks through creating a Prime Contract Change Order (PCCO) in Syntecton and posting it to the project budget.

Create the change order

1

Open the Change Orders tool

From the project home, open Financial Control → Change Orders. Switch to the Prime Contract tab.
2

Start a new PCCO

Click New Change Order. Pick the prime contract from the dropdown — Syntecton will auto-number the PCCO based on your project's numbering rule.
3

Fill in the header

Required fields:

  • Title — short description, e.g. "Relocate mech room door".
  • Reason — Owner Request, Design Change, Field Condition, etc.
  • Status — defaults to Draft.
  • Schedule impact — calendar days added (can be 0).
4

Add line items

Click Add Line for each cost component. Map each line to a budget code — Syntecton validates that the code exists and is not locked.
5

Attach supporting documents

Drop in pricing back-up, sketches, or RFI references. Files are versioned and follow the change order through every approval step.
6

Route for approval

Click Submit for Approval. The workflow follows the approval matrix configured for the project (typically PM → Owner Rep → Owner).
7

Post to budget

Once approved, click Post. The budget's Approved Changescolumn updates immediately and a journal entry is queued for accounting sync.

What happens next

  • The prime contract's Revised Contract Sum reflects the change.
  • Any tied subcontract change orders (SCOs) become eligible for execution.
  • The schedule baseline is flagged if calendar days were added.

Troubleshooting

"Budget code is locked"

The fiscal period containing that code has been closed by accounting. Ask your Company Admin to reopen the period or post against a different code.

Approval is stuck

Open the change order and check the Activity tab — you'll see who the next approver is. Use Nudge to send a reminder email.

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