Potential change orders (PCOs)

PCOs can result from owner directives, bulletins, clarifications, or changes to the original plans. Any of these changes might require a change to your contract with the owner and possibly the contracts with your subcontractors. PCOs are sometimes referred to as cost control numbers (CCN), change estimates, anticipated cost numbers, proposed change orders, and change proposal requests.

A PCO is the starting point for the change order process. You can use PCO items to track possible and actual changes, as well as their impact on the budget and cost. As a PCO moves from being a possible cost to being part of a change order, you can update the PCO to track the impact of the changes.

The PCO includes a banner for information from the PCO grid, which includes the following budget and cost information:

  • Estimate: The estimated amount, typically entered by the project manager, project engineer, or appropriate general contractor.
  • Proposed: The proposed amount provided by the trade contractor.
  • Approved: The approved amount that is agreed upon.
  • Applied: The amount that is applied to the budget or resulting subcontract change order (SCO). This amount is set automatically to the same value as the nearest right-hand column and can be manually changed as needed.
  • To view and modify the PCO items for companies other than your own, you need the Can Access PCO Items for All Companies permission.
  • The Potential Change Orders module displays the estimated amounts for unlocked records and the approved amounts are for locked records.
  • The Links panel displays the change order requests (CORs) and prime contract change orders (PCCOs) that the PCO is linked to.
  • In the project menu, click Financials > Potential Change Orders.
  1. In the Potential Change Orders module, click the PCO.
  2. On the Potential Change Order tab, click chevron_right (Open) on the PCO item row to view its details.

    3. To navigate to the previous or next item from the open item, you can click Previous item icon (Previous) or Next item icon (Next).

You can create PCOs to track possible and actual changes.

  • Field permissions aren't enforced in the Create dialog but are enforced in the full record.
  • Required fields are marked with an asterisk.
  1. On the navigation toolbar, click add_circle (Create).
  2. If autonumbering is off, enter the record number.
  3. In the Create Date field, enter or select a date.
  4. Enter a description for the PCO.
  5. Click Create.
  6. In the Information panel, enter the record details.
    • To change the workflow status, select an option from the list.
      • Workflow field
    • In the Requested Days field, enter the number of days needed to complete the work.
    • To add an assignment, click Add in the Assigned To section, select the name, and then set a due date.
    • To add a courtesy copy, click Add in the Courtesy Copies section, and then select the name.
  7. On the Potential Change Order tab, add the PCO items and default markups.
  8. On the Comments tab, enter a comment, click link (Links) to link items, and then click Send icon (Send).
  9. To set who has access to the PCO, click group , and then select an option.

    10. Regardless of the sharing setting, all PCOs and PCO items are available for linking to CORs, PCCOs, and SCOs. Linked PCOs and items are visible to all users in those records.

  10. To link an item to the PCO, click link (Links), click Plus icon (Add), and then select the item type.
  11. To save the changes and keep the PCO open, click save (Save).

    12. —Or—

    To save the changes and close the PCO, click arrow_back Done.

  1. In the tile or list view, on the record, click more_horiz (More) > Copy.

    2. —Or—

    Open the record, and then click content_copy (Copy) on the navigation toolbar.

  2. If autonumbering is off, enter the record number.
  3. In the Create Date field, enter or select a date.
  4. Edit the description.
  5. Click Copy.

    6. The new PCO includes the details and PCO items, but not the comments and links, from the original PCO.

A budget and cost allocation must be selected for each PCO item. As the PCO moves through the change order process, you can update the allocations and the proposed and approved amounts for each item. The amounts are applied to the budget if the PCO is approved.

  • Only committing contracts can be selected in the Contract Number column of the Potential Change Order Items grid.
  • A PCO item can be linked to one SCO at a time. Then the (Cost impacts) Applied and (Cost impacts) Allocation cells are locked, and the Locked checkbox is selected in the grid.
  • When a PCO item is part of an approved SCO, the cost allocation is set automatically to Approved Commitment.
  • If a PCO is linked to a BCM record such as a change order, the PCO is visible in the record to all users regardless of the company that's associated with the PCO items.
  • The Applied column is updated if its value is 0 and then a value is entered in the Proposed column or if a value, including 0, is entered in the Approved column.
  • The (Budget) Applied column isn't updated if:
    • The PCO is associated with a PCCO, and there are locked AFPs in the period associated with the PCCO’s date.
    • The PCO is associated with a PCCO, and that PCCO has been locked by a subsequent PCCO.

Each PCO item row contains icons that indicate if there are assignments (person) and comments or attached files that are quick uploads or selected from the File Library or Trimble Connect (chat_bubble).

If you don't have permission for the attached files, the comments icon (chat_bubble) is still blue, but the attached files aren't available when you open the PCO item.

  1. In the PCO, click the Potential Change Order tab.

    2. If a PCO item has an assignment or comment, the associated icon in the row is a different color.

    Checklist icons in grid
  2. To view additional details for an item, click chevron_right (Open) on the row.
  3. To navigate to the previous or next PCO item in the PCO, click Previous item icon (Previous) or Next item icon (Next).
  1. On the Potential Change Order tab, click Add.
  2. Enter a description.

    3. If this field is empty, the description for the selected budget code is added automatically.

    To edit the item description, you can also click Search button in the grid.

  3. In the Information panel, enter additional details.
    • To add a contact, click the contact field, and then select or invite a contact.

      • If you don't have the Can Access PCO Items for All Companies permission, your company is displayed in this field.

      In the Contract Number cell, the contract list displays the contracts that are linked to the selected company.

      Company field

      When you create an SCO, the Search dialog includes the PCO items that are linked to the contract's company.

      PCO search in SCO
    • To add an assignment, click Add in the Assigned To section, select the name, and then set a due date.
    • To add a courtesy copy, click Add in the Courtesy Copies section, and then select the name.
  4. Enter the budget and cost amounts.
    1. In the (Budget impacts) Estimate cell, enter the rough estimate or order of magnitude that you'll need (from the owner) to pay for the item.
    2. In the (Cost impacts) Estimate cell, enter the estimated amount for the subcontractor to complete the change.
    3. Edit the (Budget impacts) Applied and (Cost impacts) Applied cells.

      4. The applied amounts affect the budget and cost columns in the budget, as well as any resulting SCOs.

    4. Edit the (Budget impacts) Applied Hours and (Cost impacts) Applied Hours cells.
      5. You can also enter unit prices for the item.
  5. In the (Budget impacts) Allocation and (Cost impacts) Allocation cells, select the allocations.
  6. In the Budget Code cell, click Search button, and then select the budget code that the cost will be applied to.
  7. In the Contract Number cell, click Search button, and then select a contract.

    8. If you don't have the Can Access PCO Items for All Companies permission, the list only displays the contracts in which the To Company matches your company.

    In the selected contract, the PCO item amount is added to the banner. When you create an SCO, the Search dialog includes PCO items that are linked to the contract. If the contract is deleted, it's also removed from the PCO item.

  8. In the comments field, enter a comment, and click link (Links) to link items.
  9. To set who has access to the PCO item, click group , and then select an option.
  10. Click arrow_back Done.

    11. You can update the PCO item later with the proposed and approved amounts.

  1. In the budget or cost cell, click edit (Edit).
  2. In the Unit Price field, enter the unit price with 2 to 4 decimal places.
  3. In the UOM field, enter the unit of measurement.
  4. In the Quantity field, enter the quantity with 2 to 7 decimal places.
  5. In the Amount field, enter the amount, which is rounded to 2 decimal places.
  6. To copy the Quantity field value to the other budget columns for this PCO item, turn on the Roll Qty to Budget Columns toggle.
  7. To copy the Quantity field value to the other cost columns for this PCO item, turn on the Roll Qty to Cost Columns toggle.
  8. Click Save.
    • In the Unit Price, Quantity, and Amount fields, you can enter positive or negative numbers.
    • If you change the Unit Price field, the Amount field is updated by multiplying the quantity by the new unit price.
    • If you change the Quantity field, the Amount field is updated by multiplying the unit price by the quantity.
    • If you change the Amount, the Unit Price field is updated by dividing the amount by the quantity.
  1. Enter the amount in the appropriate budget or cost column.

    2. To copy all the budget or cost amounts from the Estimate column to the Proposed column or from the Proposed column to the Approved column, click the arrow in the column heading and then click Push to Proposed or Push to Approved. The amounts, quantities, and unit prices are copied to the appropriate column for each unlocked PCO item.

    Push amounts to the next column

    Copying amounts from the Estimate column to the Proposed column

  2. Edit the (Budget impacts) Applied and (Cost impacts) Applied cells.

    3. The applied amounts affect the budget and cost columns in the budget, as well as any resulting SCOs.

  3. Edit the (Budget impacts) Applied Hours and (Cost impacts) Applied Hours cells.
  4. In the (Budget impacts) Allocation and (Cost impacts) Allocation cells, select a different allocation.
  • In the (Budget impacts) Allocation and (Cost impacts) Allocation cells, select Cancelled.

    • The applied amounts are removed from the budget and from the banner of the associated contract.

  1. If the PCO item is locked, remove the item from the SCO.
  2. Open the PCO.
  3. Select the checkbox for the PCO item.
  4. Click Remove.

Default markups are percentages that you can apply to PCO items to cover costs such as overhead or to calculate your profit for a PCO.

In the record settings, the default markups are listed in this order:

  1. Overhead: 10%
  2. Profit: 5%
  3. Insurance: 1%
  4. Bond: 1%

In the PCO, the total applied cost is 10,000, so the markups are:

  1. Overhead: 0.10 x 10,000 = 1000
  2. Profit: 0.05 x (10,000 + 1000) = 550
  3. Insurance: 0.01 x (10,000 + 1000 + 550) = 115.50
  4. Bond: 0.01 x (10,000 + 1000 + 550 + 115.50) = 116.66

The markups aren't recalculated automatically if the PCO items total changes.

  1. On the Potential Change Order tab, click Default Markups, which is available if there are markups in the record settings.

    2. The markups are calculated based on the current totals in the PCO.

  2. Edit the budget and cost amounts.
  3. If the markups don't have budget codes, click Search button, and then select a budget code for each one.
  4. If the markups don't have allocations, select a budget and cost allocation for each one.
  1. On the Potential Change Order Items tab, select the checkbox for the markup.
  2. Click Remove.
  • On the Potential Change Order tab, click Default Markups.

    • Markups that were removed from the PCO are restored. The rows for markups that were deleted in the settings are empty except for the description.

The requested days in the PCO are displayed in the PCCOs and CORs that it's linked to. For CORs, the requested days in the Information panel are entered separately and aren't based on its linked PCOs.

The approved days in the PCO affect the PCCOs and CORs that it's linked to. For SCOs, the approved days are entered separately.

  • In the Information panel, enter the number in the Requested Days field.
  • In the Information panel, enter the number in the Approved Days field.

You can approve a PCO so the budget and cost amounts are applied to the budget.

If the PCO is approved, the cost amount for a PCO item is:
  • Applied if the item is not part of an SCO.
  • Applied if the item is part of an approved SCO.
  • Not applied if the item is part of an unapproved SCO.

The affected columns depend on the selected budget and cost allocations for each PCO item.

  • In the Information panel, turn on the Approved for Budget toggle.

You can export PCOs to an Excel file where you can edit them and create new ones. Then you can import the file, which can only be used once, back into ProjectSight. If there are any errors, you can review and fix them in a new Excel file.

When you import the Excel file back into ProjectSight:

  • Blank rows and fields are ignored.
  • If new values were entered after this spreadsheet was exported, your edits are flagged.
  • If a new PCO is missing a required field and the error is flagged, the record may not be created.
  1. In the Potential Change Orders module, filter the records that will be exported to Excel.
    • In the Search panel, set the filters.
    • To export specific PCOs, select their checkboxes. If none are selected, all the PCOs are exported.
  2. In the list view, add and rearrange the columns, and then save the custom view.

    3. The Excel file will display the columns for the fields in the list view followed by the remaining fields.

  3. On the navigation toolbar, click Project export toolbar button (Import/Export) > Export to Excel.

    4. The Excel file contains the required fields and the fields that you have permission to view.

  4. Open the Excel file.
  5. On the Potential Change Orders tab, enter the PCO details in a new row.
    • If autonumbering is on, a temporary number is assigned to the new record.
    • If autonumbering is off, fix any duplicate numbers on the Potential Change Orders tab before you add items to the new record.
  6. Edit any existing PCOs.

    7. You can copy and paste unlocked cells.

  7. On the Potential Change Order Items tab, select a record in the Potential Change Order column, and then enter the PCO item details in the row.
  8. Save the Excel file.
  9. In ProjectSight, open the Potential Change Orders module.
  10. On the navigation toolbar, click Project export toolbar button (Import/Export) > Update from Excel.
  11. Select the Excel file to import.
  1. In the import error message, click Review Errors.

    2. The PCOs with errors are exported to a new Excel file.

  2. Review the Feedback column and fix the associated errors.
  3. Save the Excel file.
  4. In ProjectSight, open the Potential Change Orders module.
  5. On the navigation toolbar, click Project export toolbar button (Import/Export) > Update from Excel.
  6. Select the Excel file to import.

You can create a PCO in ProjectSight and then send it to Estimation MEP, where you can create an estimate for the cost of the change order. Then you can manually enter the cost in the PCO in ProjectSight.

This feature is available if the portfolio is part of a Project MEP account and if you have the Create or Modify permission for PCOs.

  1. Make sure the ProjectSight project is linked to Trimble Connect.
  2. Create and save the PCO.
  3. In the Information panel, click Estimation MEP.
    4. Estimation MEP link in PCOs
  4. In the Create Estimate dialog, enter the estimate information and then click Create.
    • The PCO description is entered automatically in the Name field, and the PCO number is automatically entered in the Estimate ID field.
    • After the estimate is created, you can click Estimation MEP to open it again.