A Client change order is work that falls outside the original scope agreed in the contract between the client and the main contractor.

Base cost plus markup gives the revenue claim to the client, while Cost goes to the project’s final forecast

Unlike a Subcontractor change order — where the change normally increases costs for the main contractor — a Client change order is normally revenue-generating. It is the main contractor who raises a claim against the client for additional work, extra deliveries or the consequences of circumstances the client is responsible for.

There are also cases with a negative sign: the client reduces the scope, and the main contractor receives lower remuneration.

The two amounts

As with Subcontractor change orders, AIMZ distinguishes between what has been notified and what you assume:

Income requirement — the amount you are claiming from the client.
Income — the amount you assume, which affects the revenue forecast.

Revenue is the most important parameter, because it drives the revenue forecast — the expected revenue for the project when it is complete.

Incomer requirement = Cost + Surcharge

The income requirement sent to the client is calculated as base cost plus a surcharge percentage.

Per revenue line, AIMZ works with two separate cost parameters:

Parameter	Function
Cost	The actual cost that affects the final forecast of the project
Base cost	The cost basis shown to the client, which together with the surcharge percentage defines the income requirement

Default: Base cost is automatically set equal to Cost. They follow each other unless you actively change it.

When Cost and Base cost part ways

Sometimes you want to show the client a base cost — and thereby get a income requirement with surcharge — without the cost actually being charged to the final forecast. Two typical cases:

1. The cost is already covered in the subcontract. The subcontract often contains more than the contract between the main contractor and the client. Extra work ordered by the client may therefore already be included in the subcontractor’s contract. In that case you have no real additional cost and do not want to add it to the final forecast again — but you still want to show the client a base cost as the basis for the income requirement.

2. The cost is marginal or not real. Towards the end of the project, the client orders an extra kitchen on the top floor, which has to be lifted up by crane. The crane is already on site for other reasons, so you incur no real extra cost. It is still common industry practice to invoice the client for the crane use — or at least have part of it covered. Here Base cost is set > 0, while Cost = 0 or lower.

The cost basis for a revenue line

When you add a revenue line, the cost can be linked in two ways:

A. Link to an existing cost — for example a Subcontractor change order you have already created.

B. Create a new cost directly from the Client change order. The following types can be added:

Expected addition
Subcontractor change order
Purchasing

For the first two, the cost is created at the same time as the revenue line, directly in the dialog.

Carry-over to Setup and Operation works differently: instead of creating an isolated cost line, the Setup and Operation budget is increased with a revised budget corresponding to the cost. From the same dialog, this budget adjustment can be spread across months, so the final forecast is adjusted over the project’s remaining duration.