How to Create Change Orders and Extensions of Time (EOT)

This guide covers how to create and manage change orders and extensions of time (EOTs) in Mastt to track contract changes and their financial and schedule impacts on your construction projects.

Before You Start

• Have your contract details and variation documentation ready
• For EOTs, confirm your contract has completion dates already set in the contract's Key Dates tab

Adding a Change Order

Navigate to the Changes Form

1. Click Cost in the left-hand navigation
2. Choose one of three ways to add a change order:
   • From the Overall page: Click the blue + Add button in the upper left corner and select + Add Change, or locate the contract you want to vary, click the Action button next to it, and select + Add Change
   • From the Changes tab: Click Changes in the top navigation to view your Change Order register, then click the blue + Add Change button in the upper left corner, or select Add Your First Change in the center (only visible if you have no change orders)

The change form opens with a tab-based layout, giving you quick access to different sections of the form.

Select the Contract and Complete Change Order Details

1. Enter a Change Title (required field)
2. Select the Varying Contract from the dropdown menu
3. Choose a Change Category
4. Select the appropriate Status:

Add Change Line Items

1. Click the Line Items tab in the change form
2. For each line item, enter:
   • Line Item Name: Descriptive name that will appear in correspondence and reports
   • Change Amount: The cost change amount (positive or negative)
   • Requested Amount (if applicable): Enter the amount if it differs from the approved Change Amount
3. Set the tax rate in the Tax % column — rates pre-fill from the contract tax rate but can be changed per line item
4. Click Add Line Item to add more change line item

Link Line Items to Contract Line Items

1. For each line item, click the dropdown under Contract Line Item:
   • Select Entire Contract to vary the main contract amount, or
   • Select a specific contract line item to vary that individual line

• Click the dropdown under Budget to assign the line item to a specific budget — if left blank, the change will follow the default budget allocation from the contract
• You can create multiple changes against the same contract line item — each change is tracked separately in your Changes register

Add Description and Recommendation

1. Navigate to the Description tab in the change form
2. Enter your recommendation text in the Recommendation field using the rich text formatting toolbar — this appears on Change Recommendation PDFs only
3. Review the Approval Description with pre-filled contractual language — this appears on Change Approval and Change Order PDFs
4. To customize the approval text, toggle on Customize your letter's text and edit as needed

Add Additional Fields

1. Navigate to the Additional Fields tab
2. Enter any tracking numbers or identifiers important to your change management

Add Notes and Supporting Documents

1. Use the Notes field for internal comments and audit trail entries — these are not shared externally
2. The Notes field supports rich text formatting, including bold, italics, and lists
3. Drag and drop supporting documentation into the Attached Files upload area, or click inside the box to browse

Save the Change Order

1. Click the blue Add button in the bottom right corner
2. A confirmation message will appear confirming your change was created successfully

The change is saved and visible immediately in your project. Change amounts automatically calculate in the Estimated at Completion (EAC) and related financial figures based on the status selected.

Adding Time Impact (EOT)

Extensions of time are added through the Time Impact tab in the change form. Follow the steps in Adding a Change above to open the form and select a varying contract, then navigate to the Time Impact tab.

Enter Time Extension Details

1. Enter the Requested EOT (Days Claimed) to record the number of weekdays the contractor has requested
2. Enter the Change EOT (Days Approved) to record the approved time extension
3. Review the Revised Completion Date, which automatically calculates based on weekdays only
4. Add Comments if needed — these are visible to project users only and do not appear in variation letters
5. Navigate to the Line Items tab and ensure at least a $0 value is entered on a contract line item, then click the blue Add button to save

Troubleshooting & FAQs

Q: Why aren't my change orders appearing in the correct budget?

Change Orders follow different budget rules depending on how they're set up. If a change order is linked to a specific contract line item, it will automatically use that line item's budget allocation. If it's linked to the entire contract, you can manually allocate it to a budget or leave it unallocated. If you want to update a change order from a line item change order to a contract-level change order (or vice versa) after it's been included in a payment, you'll need to remove and re-add the payment for the allocation to update.

Q: Why isn't my change order showing on the payment form?

Your change order must have a status of In Principle or Approved to appear on payment forms and in payment applications. Change Orders with a status of Draft, Forecast, or Pending are not available for payment processing.

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