Approved change orders not billed: reconcile the gap

Create a common cutoff and a stable change identity

Export the approved register and the relevant billing detail as of the same date. Capture approval effective date, change revision, currency and the destination schedule line. A late approval may legitimately miss a cutoff. Record that timing instead of calling it a missed bill.

Use a stable change identifier across the project register and accounting records. Where several changes share one billing line, maintain a bridge showing the allocated values and its source. Where one change spans several lines, retain the reverse relationship. A title match alone is unreliable because descriptions change between field capture, approval and billing.

Reconcile authorization, billing and remaining eligibility

For each change, start with the currently authorized net amount after approved revisions and cancellations. Subtract cumulative value actually included in the billing record under the agreed definition. Investigate the remainder against the work completed, milestones and other billing conditions.

Do not subtract cash from the approved change amount to calculate unbilled value. Cash may arrive later, be reduced by retainage or be applied across multiple applications. AIA's official G702 instructions provide the form-specific treatment for relevant applications; use the applicable licensed form and current contract instructions. This reconciliation is an original internal review aid.

Sources: AIA Contract Documents: official G702 application and certificate instructions

Worked example: $17,000 needs two different actions

The fictional table shows $17,000 unbilled across two changes. CO-21 still has $8,000 of unperformed work, so the balance is expected under the example's billing conditions. CO-22 is complete and eligible for this period but its $9,000 was omitted from the application. The office should propose the correction for CO-22 while leaving CO-21's future value visible.

If CO-22's approval arrived after the receiving party's cutoff, record a planned next-period action and confirm the treatment with the authorized team. Neither condition proves a collectible debt or a revenue-recognition conclusion. The reconciliation identifies the decision that keeps an approved item from disappearing between the project office and billing.

Resolve match failures before escalating dollars

A missing match can result from an old revision, a netted credit, a combined SOV line, a voided application or a genuine omission. Review those possibilities in a consistent order. Attach the exact source that explains each adjustment and retain a version history rather than overwriting the older amount.

Ask the controller or designated billing owner to approve the proposed destination and period. The project manager should verify scope completion within their role. If authority or entitlement remains disputed, keep the value in an unresolved category. A useful report distinguishes “not mapped,” “not eligible,” “eligible and omitted” and “already billed under another reference.”

Make the next billing cycle close the loop

Set a review before each application cutoff. For each eligible omitted change, assign an owner, proposed line, amount and required approval. After submission, retain the application reference and check that the amount appears in the accepted version. Follow corrections through resubmission so the same item does not reappear as an unexplained gap.

For a Buildalytic discussion, bring a redacted approved register and one application with an awkward mapping. Ask the team to scope how missing records and review decisions would be collected around your existing ledger. Do not assume an automated approved-versus-billed reconciliation is already a released capability. The acceptance test is a reviewer-confirmed map and correction history.

Sources: Buildalytic: current custom-workflow scope