Change Order Pricing Calculator

Price a change order the right way: labor, materials, subs, then markup and tax — with a summary you can paste into a text before the work starts.

Labor hours

Labor rate per hour

Materials

Subcontractors

Equipment

Markup

One markup on everything Separate labor and material markup

Markup

Labor markup

Material, sub & equipment markup

Sales tax on materials

Applied to the material cost, before markup. Set it to 0 if you don't collect sales tax.

Change order price

$2,719.13

Labor $780.00

Materials $1,250.00

Subcontractors $0.00

Equipment $150.00

Subtotal $2,180.00

Markup $436.00

Effective markup on cost 20.0%

Sales tax on materials $103.13

Total $2,719.13

In Obra an approved change order adjusts the project's agreed price, so every extra is priced, approved, and counted against the costs it caused.

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How it works

Price a change order the way you price a small job: add up what the extra work costs you — labor hours at your rate, materials, subcontractors, equipment — then put your markup on the total. Markup goes on subs and materials too; you carry, coordinate, and warranty that work, and that has a price.

price = (labor + materials + subs + equipment) × (1 + markup) + tax on materials

Some contractors mark labor and materials up at different rates — a higher rate on labor, which carries more risk, and a lower one on pass-through material. Switch the markup mode to price it that way; the effective markup line shows what the blend works out to.

Every line is rounded to the cent and the total is the sum of the rounded lines, so the summary you copy always adds up when the client checks it with a calculator.

Before the work starts, not after

A change order priced after the work is done is a negotiation you've already lost. Send the number, get a written yes — a text message counts — and only then start. Our guide covers what to put in the change order and how to keep the "while you're here" extras from eating the job. How to write a change order

Questions

01 How much should I mark up a change order? +

At least the markup you use on the base contract, and often more: change orders are small, disruptive, and unplanned, so their overhead per dollar is higher. Many contractors use 20–30% on the total; some mark labor higher than materials.

02 Should I charge sales tax on a change order? +

That depends on your state and whether you collect tax on materials, labor, or both. This calculator applies tax to the material cost only; set it to zero if your contract or state handles tax differently, and check with your accountant.

03 Can I do a change order at cost? +

You can, but you shouldn't by default. Extra work still uses your time, your insurance, and your schedule. A change order at cost means the base contract's profit is paying for it — if you want to give the client a break, make it a visible discount, not a hidden one.

04 What has to be in a change order? +

What changes, what it costs, how it affects the schedule, and the client's approval — in writing, before the work. Our change-order guide has a one-page template.

Free download

Not ready for an app? Start with our free Excel template.

A ready-made spreadsheet to track costs and income per project — with categories and the totals already set up.