Start with one agreed baseline
Keep the accepted contract, estimate, specifications and drawings together with a date or version. A change needs something definite to change. If the original scope is only “renovate the floor”, it becomes difficult to distinguish an added operation from something that should already have been included.
Record a separate current agreed value and payment history for each agreement. An approved change affects the scope value; a bank transfer affects the amount paid. A deposit does not create extra work, and a completed stage is not automatically paid. The CHBA contract guidance calls for written change orders identifying price and schedule effects and attached to the agreement.
Establish the reason before calling a charge an extra
| Circumstance | Clarify before pricing or approval |
|---|---|
| Owner requests a different result | What is added, replaced or removed from the original scope? |
| Opening work reveals an unexpected condition | What was found, which assumptions applied and who assesses the response? |
| Selected product exceeds an allowance | What allowance is already included, and what is the net difference? |
| Original work is defective | What correction is owed under the contract or applicable rights? |
| An urgent event needs action | What immediate measures are necessary and how are decisions and costs documented? |
Do not label all five situations “additional labour”. Record the facts, relevant contract item, proposed response and responsibility. Routine optional changes should be approved before execution through the agreed process. An urgent safety situation can require a different response, but it still needs a clear record; this article does not decide liability for that event.
Write a change someone else can understand
- Give it a unique reference, location and date.
- Describe the existing agreed result and the proposed difference.
- Itemise added work and materials, subtracting agreed deletions or allowances already included.
- Show applicable tax, the final change amount and any associated fees.
- Record effects on dates, access, other trades and product orders.
- Identify who approved it and preserve the agreed method of confirmation.
- Track execution and acceptance separately from payment.
“As discussed on site” is not enough to reconstruct the decision later. Link a marked-up drawing or dated photographs where they define the boundary. If a new version replaces an old item, link the versions so they do not remain two complete future purchases in your forecast.
A change priced once, including the tax
The CRA guidance supports the Ontario rate used here; it is not a rate for every Canadian project. If a contractor gives you a tax-included change, do not add tax again when entering it in your register. If a supplier credit cancels an original amount, record its corresponding tax treatment as confirmed by the supplier.
A worked register from original scope to remaining funding
| Measure | Amount | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Original agreed scope | 67,800 | The accepted baseline |
| Approved addition CO-03 | 6,780 | Added once |
| Agreed deletion/credit | −2,260 | Removed once from the scope |
| Current agreed cost | 72,320 | 67,800 + 6,780 − 2,260 |
| Already transferred | 39,550 | 22,600 deposit + 16,950 progress payment |
| Arithmetic unpaid balance | 32,770 | 72,320 − 39,550; not necessarily due now |
| Unused owner contingency | 7,680 | Unallocated part of the funding plan, not a contractor debt |
| Original total funding limit | 80,000 | Current agreed cost + unused contingency |
Originally, $67,800 of scope plus $12,200 of contingency made the $80,000 limit. The net scope increase is $4,520, so using that provision leaves $7,680. The overall limit has not increased. Adding another $4,520 on top of $80,000 would count the same change twice.
The example assumes the deletion has been agreed; it does not create an automatic cash refund. Preserve actual payment entries. If money is returned, add the refund with its date and purpose. Pending credits and expected refunds need their own statuses until confirmed and, for cash, actually received.
Keep contingency, estimate protection and holdback distinct
A contingency is the owner’s provision for remaining uncertainty. Ontario’s consumer estimate rules concern an estimate included in a contract and agreed changes; they do not make an arbitrary contingency payable to the contractor. A contractual allowance for an unselected fixture is another concept again.
Ontario also has legal holdback requirements. Section 22 of the Construction Act addresses a 10% holdback under contracts where a lien may arise. That money is distinct from contingency and from a deposit. The applicable payment and release process, including any transitional rules, needs to be established for the actual contract; a simple budget balance does not decide it.
The $32,770 in the example is an accounting difference. It can include work not yet performed, amounts not yet invoiced or money subject to applicable holdback arrangements. It is not an instruction to pay that amount immediately. Confirm what is due under the agreement and law before authorising the next transfer.
Check the next invoice against the decision trail
- Does it identify the agreement or approved change and the relevant stage?
- Does it reflect additions, deletions and prior allowances correctly?
- Are applicable taxes and previous deposits treated once?
- Has the relevant work or delivery reached the agreed payment condition?
- Have applicable retention or holdback arrangements been considered?
- Does the payee match the contracting business and agreed payment details?
The Office of Consumer Affairs guide is a useful contract-record prompt. If a figure is disputed, keep the evidence and obtain advice rather than rewriting the historic payment trail. A photograph saying “done” is not a replacement for the agreed checks, and an invoice is not proof that a transfer has happened.
Close changes without erasing their history
After acceptance, retain the original decision, execution evidence, any defects and the resulting payment record. Reconcile the final scope value, actual payments, confirmed credits, refunds and agreed outstanding obligations. Do not delete an unused advance simply because the job is over; establish whether it was credited, spent as authorised or returned.
Use Reno Pro’s available stages, notes, attachments and payment records to keep the information organised, with original documents in a backed-up archive. The teaching register above does not promise that an app calculates statutory holdbacks or decides contract disputes. Its purpose is to make the figures and the decisions traceable.
Sources and scope
- Canadian Home Builders’ Association — Contracts: Get it in Writing
- Government of Ontario — Your rights when starting home renovations or repairs
- Government of Ontario — Construction Act
- Canada Revenue Agency — Charge and collect the GST/HST: which rate to charge
- Office of Consumer Affairs — Home renovations
Sources reviewed on 18 October 2026. All amounts are Canadian dollars (CAD). Worked figures and contingency percentages are editorial teaching examples, not market averages, quotations or prescribed allowances. Ontario and Toronto rules are identified where used; check the rules and requirements for your property and jurisdiction.