Check the agreed scope first
Not every difficulty automatically counts as additional chargeable work. Review the accepted quote and subsequent agreements before labelling a change. Describe the difference factually: an additional storage room needs clearing, for example, rather than there is much more work. If the position is unclear, have the designated decision-maker assess how it should be handled under the existing agreement. Do not ask the crew to improvise commercial policy.
Discuss the effect before proceeding
Explain the additional task and its possible effect on time, equipment and the remaining schedule. Agree the price or charging method with the customer and record confirmation before starting the extra work. Make clear who is authorised to decide. Staff need a practical escalation route when the planner is unavailable, including what to do if they cannot obtain confirmation. Keep the conversation specific to the change being proposed.
- Reason for the change and additional tasks
- Agreed price or charging method
- Confirming contact and time of confirmation
Keep confirmation with the relevant version
Attach the change to the original job and retain the relevant confirmation. An accepted checkbox says little if nobody can see what was accepted. Later corrections should not silently overwrite the earlier agreement. Send the customer an understandable summary through the agreed contact channel. That gives both sides a reference and avoids asking the office and customer to reconstruct the conversation separately after the move.
Reconcile completed work before invoicing
Ask the crew to report which additional tasks were actually completed and the associated time or materials. Keep proposed, agreed and completed work separate: an option discussed with the customer may never have been carried out. Administration should review the record before adding an invoice line. Discuss recurring differences with the surveyor too. If the same detail keeps being missed, the underlying improvement may belong in the survey process.
In brief
Record more than extra hours. Capture the difference, its implications, the agreement and the completed work so the eventual invoice can be checked against a clear record.