# Change Orders and Their Effect on Cabinet Production

Canonical: https://millbase.ca/blog/change-orders-and-their-effect-on-cabinet-production
Author: [Coby Birenbaum](https://www.linkedin.com/in/cobybirenbaum/)
Published: 2026-10-19
Updated: 2026-10-19
Archive edition: 2026-06-05

A change order affects more than selling price when work is already released.

A change order affects more than selling price when work is already released. Review materials, labor, drawings, schedule, subcontract work, and installation before accepting the operational impact. Keep the original scope and approved change distinguishable.

## Assess the change

- Identify assemblies and revisions affected by the request.
- Locate work already ordered or completed.
- Estimate additional effort and material, including recovery or disposal where relevant.
- Confirm approvals and communicate the revised release.

## An illustrative change

A customer changes a finish after doors enter the finishing route. The impact may include preparation, new material, additional handling, and a different delivery date. Quoting only the price difference between coatings would miss the broader work.

## Review the outcome

Track actual change-related effort separately so the team can learn from future requests. Do not hide the effect inside the original estimate's variance.

## Related reading

- [Quoting Cabinet Installation Labor From Past Jobs](https://millbase.ca/blog/quoting-cabinet-installation-labor-from-past-jobs)
- [Estimating Repeated Cabinet Units in Multi-Residential Projects](https://millbase.ca/blog/estimating-repeated-cabinet-units-in-multi-residential-projects)

## Definitions and further reference

- [Intuit: job costing and cost records](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/job-costing/track-job-costs-quickbooks-desktop/L2X01vi47_US_en_US)

## How Millbase can help your shop

### Bring job-cost reviews back to the recorded work

Use [Millbase project tracking](https://millbase.ca/#projects) to keep a cabinet job and its sub-projects together, then compare estimates with recorded labour and material costs. [Insights and reports](https://millbase.ca/#insights) help the team inspect the people and workstations behind a total and export supported results for the next review.

Ask the [Millbase AI agent](https://millbase.ca/#how-it-works) a question grounded in your workspace records. For example: *“Compare this project’s estimated and actual labour, then break the logged hours down by workstation.”* You can select a project or worker, ask follow-up questions, and request [supported reports and CSV exports](https://millbase.ca/#insights).

Check the date range, job scope, and recorded inputs before changing a quote. Keep the accounting treatment of overhead, tax, and revenue in the appropriate financial process; a shop-floor cost breakdown is only as complete as the inputs recorded.

## Explore the wider topic

For the broader workflow and decisions behind this guide, read [Cabinet Shop Job Costing: Separate Margin From Markup](https://millbase.ca/blog/cabinet-shop-job-costing-separate-margin-from-markup).

## Frequently asked questions

### Can work begin before a change is approved?

Follow the project's authorization process. Starting early can create commercial and operational ambiguity, so obtain the required decision first.

### Should the original estimate be overwritten?

Preserve the baseline and add the approved change. That makes the final comparison explainable.