How to Get Approval Before You Do Extra Work

Why this matters

Doing extra work first and asking about it later is how a good job turns into an unpaid balance and a dispute. Once the work is done, the customer has no decision left to make, only a bill to resent. The fix is a habit: the moment the job grows past what was authorized, you stop and get a recorded yes from someone who can actually give it. This article is the mechanics of that approval loop, not the price talk. For how to frame the number itself, see the mid-job change-order article.

Step 1: Stop and make the area safe before you go get a yes

The instant you realize the scope has grown, quit adding to it. If the extra work involves a live hazard you already uncovered (open gas, exposed conductors, standing water near power, a pressurized line), make that spot safe before you walk away to make the call: cap it, de-energize and verify dead, isolate the valve, or relieve pressure. A safe pause is what lets you leave the work to have the conversation without leaving a danger behind you.

Step 2: Identify who can actually authorize it

Approval only counts if it comes from the person with authority over the property and the money. Guessing wrong here means you did unapproved work no matter who said yes.

• Homeowner present: confirm they are an owner, not a guest or an adult child. On shared decisions, both owners may need to agree.
• Tenant vs landlord: a renter usually cannot authorize repairs to the building. For anything structural or beyond a cosmetic fix, the approval has to come from the owner or property manager.
• Property or facility manager: on rentals and commercial sites, they hold the purse. Get their name and how to reach them before you touch anything extra.
• Home warranty or insurance work: the covered scope is set by the plan, and extra work often needs pre-authorization from the warranty company or adjuster before you start, or it is not covered.
• Your own dispatch: for warranty callbacks or work under an existing contract, your office may be the approver, not the customer.

Step 3: Document what you found so the approver can decide

The decision-maker often is not standing next to the failure. Bring the failure to them.

• Photograph the condition clearly, wide and close, before you change anything.
• Describe it in plain terms: what it is, why it matters to the outcome they want, and that it was not part of the original scope.
• Say what happens if it is skipped. Sometimes nothing today; sometimes the main job will not hold. Be honest about which, because that honesty is what makes the yes stick.

Step 4: Reach the decision-maker and get an explicit yes

A vague nod is not approval. Get a clear, deliberate agreement to the specific added work.

• In person: show the photo or the actual condition, state the added work, and confirm they understand it is additional.
• By phone or text when the approver is offsite: send the photo, state the added work and that it changes the cost and possibly the timeline, and ask them to reply with a clear go-ahead.
• Never proceed on "yeah, whatever you think." Ask for a yes to the specific item so there is no daylight later between what they pictured and what you did.

Step 5: Capture the approval in a form that holds up

Memory drifts and the final invoice becomes a fight. Turn the yes into a record.

• Write the change: the added work, the added cost, any timeline change.
• Get it captured as a signature, an in-app approval, or a texted confirmation you save. A screenshot of a "yes go ahead" text is a real record.
• Attach it to the original job so the paper trail is one clean thread, not two loose ends.

Step 6: When you cannot reach anyone, hold the line

If no one with authority answers, your default is to not do the extra work. Do only what is necessary to leave the job safe and stable.

• Finish or secure the authorized scope, stabilize the new problem so it does no harm, and note it.
• Tell the customer or office what is waiting on approval and how to reach you.
• The one exception is an immediate safety hazard: make it safe first (that is always authorized), then document what you did and get the approval recorded as soon as you can reach someone.

The habit to bank

The conversation happens before the extra work, with someone who can truly authorize it, captured in writing. Extra work done without that is a gift you gave away, and a customer who feels ambushed rarely calls you back.

References

• SBA (Small Business Administration), contracts and change-order management for small businesses
• Trade-standard practice on written authorization and scope documentation
• See related: The Mid-Job Change-Order Price Conversation
• See related: Writing a Clear Customer-Facing Service Note