Change orders can sometimes get a bad rap because they're seen as costly delays or signs of poor planning.
But what if change orders didn't have to be such a pain?
On this episode of Digital Builder, I sit down with Cameron Page, founder and CEO of Clearstory, to talk about current change order management processes and how they can be improved.
From real-world challenges in the field to the workflows that matter most, Cameron shares how builders can reduce friction, improve cash flow, and get paid faster.
We discuss:
Cameron didn't set out to build software—he set out to build buildings. "I always wanted to build things," he says. "And I didn't even know that construction management was a major. But when I found out there was a major where you could study how to build buildings, I was like, well, that seems exactly what I should go do."
That hands-on passion led Cameron from apprentice carpenter to commercial GC, where he began noticing a critical gap: cost visibility. "As a project manager, my biggest challenge was cost uncertainty. I wanted to know my cost exposure at any moment in time."
Even with financial software in place, the process was messy — spread across inboxes, paper Time and material (T&M) tickets, and disconnected spreadsheets. "There was this messy middle that was ready for some automation and to get stakeholders aligned."
That led him to create Clearstory, the leading change order communication tool. "We wanted to build a product that didn't just add value to one stakeholder. We wanted it to add value to everyone."
He continues, "What we wound up building was the industry's first collaborative change order log, where people could get on the same page in real time, regardless of what financial software you're using internally.
Change orders are inevitable in construction, but that doesn't mean they have to be chaotic. Unfortunately, they often are. Between shifting scope, unforeseen conditions, and fast-moving design changes, even the most experienced teams can struggle to stay aligned. And when the paperwork piles up, so do the costs.
"There's a misconception around change orders that they're always a negative thing," says Cameron. "In reality, we plan for change in every single project because change is going to happen. Plus, a lot of times, these are changes we actually want."
Turning those necessary changes into actionable, accountable updates can be challenging.
General contractors spend countless hours chasing down documentation, reconciling PDFs, and updating change order logs. Specialty contractors often submit change requests via email, attach scanned T&M tickets, or track approvals in outdated spreadsheets.
As Cameron points out, “What a lot of people don't realize behind the scenes is that the general contractor is doing an incredible amount of paperwork to manage all that change."
And when things slip through the cracks, issues like delays, strained relationships, and serious cash flow issues arise.
That's why Clearstory was built around the real workflows that construction teams live every day.
The three core workflows for every change order request
Cameron breaks it down like this: "We built our software to address three core workflows that the specialty contractors, GCs, and owners go through for every change order request."
Those core workflows include:
Forward price changes - "There's a change we know about—whether it's a design change or maybe you need to direct your subcontractors to work overtime on Saturday because it rained on Tuesday. That's what we call a forward price change," he explains.
Clearstory helps automate this process: request the cost, review, and approve, without the back-and-forth chaos.
Time and material (T&M) work - If a pipe bursts or a wall gets damaged, the work often starts before a price is agreed upon. Here, teams would do the job, then document the amount of labor and materials. GCs would then verify that information afterwards.
It sounds simple enough—until you realize 97% of subs still track T&M on paper. Clearstory digitizes T&M tracking and pricing to cut down on delays and disputes.
Unsolicited changes - "This is a claim or a dispute," says Cameron, "or you send a submittal response back to your subcontractor and they identify the cost."
Rather than relying on email chains, Clearstory gives trade partners a shared platform to log and track these changes in real time. That way, everyone is kept in the loop.
Change orders aren't new, but lately, it feels like there are more of them. A lot more.
And it's not just anecdotal. "We ran this big industry survey," explains Cameron. "One of the questions we asked was, 'Do you feel like there's more change on projects than there were five years ago?' And 86% of the respondents said yes."
So, what's behind this shift? As with most things in construction, the answer is… it's complicated.
Faster design = more frequent changes
At the core of it, "our ability to iterate on design changes and make these projects more fluid and more collaborative has just skyrocketed the last 20 years," Cameron explains. "Largely led by Revit and the tools that Autodesk has… the speed at which we can design has dramatically changed."
While that's a major win for creativity and efficiency, it creates a ripple effect downstream. "The amount of paperwork for a general contractor or specialty contractor to keep up with that change has increased with it."
Cost management hasn't caught up
Despite rapid advances in design and modeling, many construction teams are still stuck using outdated tools for cost tracking. "We have not had the same innovation on the cost management side in terms of change order collaboration and those workflows," says Cameron. That gap leads to delayed decisions, missed costs, and friction at the finish line.
Design changes happening on the front end
Cameron also points to a shift in how architects and owners engage in the construction process. "Architects… are even more involved in construction administration than they used to be. So, all the changes are happening on the front end."
But if decisions about cost can't keep pace, "it just has a continuous ripple effect across the rest of the project."
Not having the right solutions to manage the above factors could lead to a hectic scramble at closeout, with crews working overtime and change orders piling up.
The good news? With better communication and tools built to handle the volume, that pressure doesn't have to be inevitable.
"The better you can communicate and align and make decisions upfront—even with a higher volume of change—the easier the tail end of the project is going to be," remarks Cameron.
These days, preconstruction has never been more critical. But too often, preconstruction is treated like a checkbox instead of a strategic advantage.
"There's so much to figure out in preconstruction," says Cameron. "I've been on projects where we've had over a year of preconstruction… and even then, you don't work at the pace you need and you wind up rushing at the end of preconstruction just like you rush at the end of the project."
Preconstruction timelines are often arbitrary
According to Cameron, teams often set the duration of preconstruction "roughly based on the size of the project or the amount of dollars spent." But that's not always the best approach. "You almost give yourself too much time… we've got all the time in the world to make decisions—and even then, you don't."
The result? Missed opportunities, last-minute scrambles, and—yes—more change orders down the line.
Bring in the trades early to reduce change orders
The earlier your trade partners are in the room, the better. "Ultimately, without them in the room, you're making decisions on their behalf," Cameron explains. "Then you're going to get competitive bids, and then you want to bring them in to collaborate—and then you're back to the change order process."
Many Clearstory customers are now on board the platform "as soon as they've awarded a contract or sometimes even before," Cameron says. "They're using us to align and decide on costs and use our review tools and things like that."
In construction, relationships are everything. And few are as critical as the one between GCs and specialty contractors. When change orders enter the equation, that dynamic can either strengthen collaboration or strain it.
"The risk is pushed downhill," says Cameron. "And it's hard for a lot of contractors who don't have the documentation or the tech savviness at times to put together a package that successfully advocates for the work that they're doing."
That lack of visibility and alignment can lead to delays, disputes, and tension, especially during closeout. But it doesn't have to be that way.
Change orders are often a point of friction
According to Cameron, "Some of the biggest disputes I got in my career were all around change orders or T&M tickets." And when communication breaks down, trust often follows.
But when you streamline the process and bring transparency to the table, the dynamic shifts. "We just did a QBR with Turner Construction… and they said, 'We don't have disputes anymore with our subcontractors. All that back and forth of closeout and finger-pointing…we just don't have it anymore.'"
Clearer documentation leads to better outcomes for everyone
Giving GCs and subs access to real-time, collaborative logs benefits everyone. "Subcontractors feel like they look more professional," says Cameron. "They're able to de-risk their GC and keep them up to date."
It's not just about efficiency—it's about fairness. Clear documentation ensures trade partners are paid for the work they've done and prevents "backlog surprises" that derail closeout.
And in rare cases where disputes do arise, teams are better prepared. "All the photos are timestamped, there's nothing handwritten," says Cameron. "So, if it ever does come to that, we help them be more equipped to handle those situations."
Digital Builder is hosted by me, Eric Thomas. Remember, new episodes of Digital Builder go live every week. Listen to the Digital Builder Podcast on:
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