Potential Change Orders

The PCO (Potential Change Order) tab in Cost Management contains all potential cost and budget changes. It's the starting point of any change order. From a PCO, you can generate other change orders. If the PCO originated from an RFI, you can go to the RFI in Project Management and add a reference to the PCO or create it from there. For more information, see Submit RFIs to Reviewers.

In this article:

• Potential Change Order Tab Overview
• Create a Potential Change Order
  • Create a Potential Change Order (PCO) from Project Management Workflows
  • Create a PCO through the Change Order Transfer
  • Create a PCO as a Collaborative Access User
• Generate Change Orders from a PCO
  • How Data Flows When Generating Change Orders from PCO
  • Change Scope on Cost Item Level in Change Orders
• Populate Pending Change Orders without an Open Subcontractor Change Order
• Create an Internal Budget Transfer from PCO
• Generate a Contract from a PCO
• Apply a Financial Markup to a PCO
• Export a PCO Report
  • Reports for Collaborative Access Users
• Related Articles

Potential Change Order Tab Overview

1. Select Add to create a PCO.

2. Select In Scope, Budget Only, Out of Scope, or Contingency to change the order's scope. When a change is budget-side only, simply do not add any values to the Estimated, Proposed, or Committed columns.

3. Type is an optional field if you’d like to number, track, or group change orders by their type.

4. Source Type and Source Ref are also optional, and you can use them to track or group based on the origin of the change.

5. Export allows you to export a PDF or CSV PCO report.

6. Column settings allow you to select the columns you wish to include in your view.

7. The view selector allows you to store and recall your preferred grouping or column visibility. See the Filter and Group article to learn more.

8. Select the PCO name to open the flyout panel. The allows you to edit the name.

9. Select the More menu to add cost items, duplicate, change status, and more.

   Tip: You can create up to 100 cost items at once by choosing Batch create Cost Item.

Create a Potential Change Order

A PCO is the starting point for any change order. You can create it manually in the Change Order tool or create a PCO from an RFI, Issue, or Submittal Item.

To create a PCO:

1. Select the Change Order tab.

2. Select the PCO tab.

3. Click Add.

4. Enter a name for the PCO.

5. Set the scope to In Scope, Budget Only, Out of Scope, or Contingency. The scope determines where the PCO appears in the budget and contract overview. You can also change the scope on the cost item level. Choose the scope from the available options:

   • In Scope: Represents a cost-side change only, without affecting the budget.

   • Budget Only: Indicates a budget-side change only, with no cost-side impact.

   • Out of Scope: Refers to a budget-side change for items not included in the original scope. The owner will allocate extra budget through a PCO to cover the cost.

   • Contingency: Denotes a change that is out of scope funded by transferring amounts from an existing contingency budget.

     Tip: To learn more about scopes and how change orders populate in the budget and contract tables, see the Budget and Contract Tables article.

6. Choose a PCO Source Type. Available source types are:

   • ASI: Architect's Supplemental Instruction

   • CCD: Construction Change Directive

   • INT: Internal

   • ISSUE: Issue

   • RFI: Request for Information

   • RFP: Request for Proposal

   • T&M: Time and Materials

     Tip: You can deactivate the default types or add your own. See the PCO Source Types section in the Change Order Settings to learn more.

7. Select or enter a Source Ref #. If the PCO is generated from an issue, you can select the issue. If the PCO is entered manually, you can enter any reference number.

After the PCO is created, you can add more or modify details:

1. Click the PCO name to open the details panel.

2. Add information to the applicable fields in the Details, Recipients, Scope of Work, and other sections, including:

   • Name
   • Description
   • Cost Status
   • Schedule Change (impact of the PCO, as measured in the number of days the project schedule is changed)

3. Modify any previously defined fields if necessary.

To add a location to a PCO, use the Location field within the table. By doing this, you can filter and group to see a location-based view of changes. Project administrators configure locations within Build’s settings.

Now you can add more details to a PCO or generate a change order. Leaving a PCO as a draft will mean that any costs are not shown or used in calculations in the budget or contract overview. Setting the status to Open triggers those calculations, and the impact will be shown in the overview.

Create a Potential Change Order (PCO) from Project Management Workflows

It’s common for a Submittal item or RFI to incur a potential cost change. In such cases, Autodesk Construction Cloud members can generate a Potential Change Order directly from the item. This streamlines the process and creates a connection between the workflows, reducing the risk of data loss and capturing the origin of the change order.

To work with this workflow, members need Full Control permission level for Cost Item and PCO in Cost Management.

You can create a PCO from either a new or existing RFI or Submittal item record. To do so:

1. Go to Project Management.

2. In the RFI tab choose the RFI by clicking it.

3. Scroll to Linked references and select Add reference.

   

4. In Add link to PCOs, select a PCO from the list or create one, which will be linked to the selected RFI.

5. Click Add.

This information will populate the new PCO record within Cost Management, where it can be altered later.

Create a PCO through the Change Order Transfer

Collaborative PCO users with Collaborate permission can generate change order transfers, which are net-zero PCOs that move budget from one item to another without changing the total budget.

To create a change order transfer:

1. Go to the Change Order tab in Cost Management and select the PCO tab.

2. Click Change order transfer.

   

3. In Add change order transfer from Contract:

   • If your company has only one associated supplier contract, the contract field will autopopulate.
   • Use the Schedule of Values picker to select the SOV items for the transfer (only budget-associated SOV items are listed).
   • Select From and To budgets to create the transfer.

4. Review the PCO preview showing the combination of positive and negative cost items:

   • If budgets in From and To are linked to the same contract, positive and negative cost items are combined in the same PCO.
   • If not, positive and negative cost items are placed in separate PCOs.

5. Click Add PCO.

   

6. Submit the change order transfer PCO through the normal PCO workflow. See Create a PCO as a Collaborative Access User for further instructions.

Create a PCO as a Collaborative Access User

If you are a supplier with collaborative permissions and have been enabled by an administrator to create PCOs, you can submit a PCO.

To create a PCO as a Collaborative Access User, follow these steps:

1. Go to Change Order tab in the menu. Click Add.

   

2. Select the appropriate contract, and choose your budget. Confirm with Add.

   

3. Fill in the necessary fields and click Submit.

   

   Your PCO is now proposed.

   

   Note: If you click Save and Close instead of Submit, the PCO will be saved as a draft (with the status Pricing). You can edit the fields later by clicking the More menu and choosing Submit.

   

Generate Change Orders from a PCO

You can generate CORs, OCOs, SCOs, and RFQs from a PCO. To do so, make sure that:

• The PCO's status is set to Open
• There is at least one cost item added

Then:

1. Click the More menu next to the PCO.

2. If the scope of the PCO is:

   • In Scope - click Cost Change and choose Generate RFQ or Generate SCO.
   • Budget Only - click Budget Change to generate COR or OCO.
   • Out of Scope or Contingency - click Budget Change to generate COR or OCO and Cost Change to generate RFQ or SCO.
   Tip: To learn more about scopes and how change orders populate in the budget and contract tables, see the Budget and Contract Tables article.

The new change order generates and you’ll be moved to the suitable tab to continue the workflow.

How Data Flows When Generating Change Orders from PCO

When generating change orders from a PCO, data flows through specific fields at two levels:

1. Change Order Level: Used for general descriptions and the overall scope of work, which applies to the entire change order and all associated trades.
2. Cost Items Level: Used for detailed descriptions and scope of work specific to individual budget codes or trades.

Example scenarios:

1. Single PCO to OCO. If you generate one OCO from a single PCO:

   • The PCO description is copied to the OCO.
   • The scope is aggregated from the PCO and its cost items.

   

2. Multiple PCOs to OCO. If you generate one OCO from multiple PCOs:

   • Descriptions from all PCOs are aggregated and copied to the OCO.
   • Scopes from all PCOs and their cost items are aggregated and copied to the OCO.

   

This workflow reduces manual data entry and helps carry relevant details forward accurately to the appropriate levels. By following this process, you can maintain consistency and streamline the generation of change orders from PCOs.

Change Scope on Cost Item Level in Change Orders

You can edit the scope for individual change order subitems when specific cost items are budget-only transactions, such as transfers from noncontingency, allowance, or fee budgets. Scope options include:

• In Scope: Cost Side Change Only
• Budget Only: Budget Side Change Only
• Out of Scope: Budget and Cost Side and will be funded by extra budget
• Contingency: Budget and Cost Side and will be funded by transfer from an existing budget

Specific cost items can be excluded from the budget overview, even if the overall change order retains its original scope setting.

Populate Pending Change Orders without an Open Subcontractor Change Order

When a general contractor already knows the proposed price, they can populate pending change orders without creating an RFQ. To do so, enter a proposed value in the Proposed column on a cost item level when creating a PCO. The value is shown in the Pending Change Orders column in the Budget table.

Create an Internal Budget Transfer from PCO

Project administrators and members with both Budget and SCO full control permissions can create internal budget transfers directly from PCOs. This is useful when you need to move money from one budget item to another to pay for change orders without requiring extra approvals.

To create a budget transfer from a PCO:

1. Go to the Change Order tab and select the PCO tab.

2. You can create a budget transfer in several ways:

   • From a PCO: Click the More menu next to the PCO, click Budget change, and select Transfer budget.

   • From multiple items: Select multiple PCOs or cost items, then click Transfer budget in the batch actions.

     

3. Then, in Internal budget transfer:

   • Each selected cost item with a nonzero Committed value creates one transfer line.
   • For positive Committed values (money allocated), the system automatically uses the cost item's linked budget in the To field.
   • For negative Committed values (money being removed), the system automatically uses the cost item's linked budget in the From field.
   • The Amount is automatically set to the absolute value of the Committed amount.
   • A note is automatically added referencing the source cost item.

4. Click to add more transfers, even those that are not linked to the cost items. Those transfers are separated in the table.

5. Click to delete a transfer from the list.

6. You can use Copy to all "From" or Copy to all "To" buttons to quickly populate all transfer lines with the same budget.

   

7. Click Save to create one or more internal budget transfers.

You'll receive confirmation that the budget transfer was completed.

Generate a Contract from a PCO

Before generating a contract, make sure that:

• The PCO's status is set to Open
• There is at least one cost item added

Then:

1. Click the More menu next to the PCO.

2. Choose Cost Change.

3. Click Generate Contract.

4. Enter Contract Code and Contract Name. If the foreign currency setting is enabled in your project, you'll see the Currency and Exchange Rate fields as well.

   • Choose the currency for your new contract.
   • Edit the exchange rate if needed. The default exchange rate is fetched from the settings.

5. Enter the committed value or copy it from the cost item. If the foreign currency setting is on, the icon shows the converted value.

6. Click Generate.

Apply a Financial Markup to a PCO

You can create financial markup formulas to be added to change orders. An example of a financial markup is an add-on such as a bond, contingency, or fee. Before you can apply a financial markup, a project administrator must create the financial markup formula in the Change Order settings tab.

After the financial markup formula is created, you can apply it to PCOs. To do so:

1. Switch to the Change Order tab in the Cost module.
2. Click the More menu of the PCO that you want to add a markup formula to.
3. Go to Add Markup and select the financial markup formula to use.

Expand the PCO to see that the financial markup is added to the PCO.

Export a PCO Report

You can export a PCO report that will contain all details or a minimum number of them. To do so:

1. Select the Change Order tab.

2. Switch to the PCO tab.

3. Click Export .

4. Add the report title.

5. Choose one of the following:

   • PDF Report – to export a report in a noneditable PDF format.
   • Excel Report – to export a report in an editable Excel format.

6. Choose the report template:

   • Current View - you can export a report from the current view, for example, with applied filters.
   • System Default Report – you can export a report with all default columns.

7. Choose whether you want to include the cost item information in the report. By deselecting this option, you can export a report only with the minimum details.

8. Add an optional message.

9. Click Run report.

You’ll receive the report by email.

Reports for Collaborative Access Users

Members with collaborative access are able to export reports from change order tables (PCO/RFQ/COR/OCO/SCO).

Cost items and their amounts are displayed in change order reports, such as proposed amounts in RFQ reports. However, budget codes and names are not included in these reports.

Related Articles

• RFI Workflow
• Collaborative Potential Change Order Workflow
• Change Order Statuses
• Budget and Contract Tables
• Cost Items