Why Extras Are Where Residential Jobs Lose Money
The homeowner wants a nicer faucet. The tile they picked is backordered. The wall is not where the drawing said. That is normal. What is not normal is doing the upgrade on a text thread and hoping it shows up on the final bill.
An extra that is not signed is work you may never collect. On a kitchen or a roof, a handful of unsigned extras is the difference between a good job and a break-even one.
The Extra Lifecycle
- Someone asks — the client, the designer, or the crew on site
- You price it — labor, material, markup, days added
- You send it — a one-page extra the client can approve on their phone
- They sign — name, timestamp, and a PDF you keep
- You bill it — it appears on the next draw, not in a forgotten spreadsheet
The usual failure is skipping the signature. “They said yes in the kitchen” is not a contract amendment.
What to Track
- Number and short title (“Quartz upgrade — island”)
- Job and client
- Status: draft, sent, signed, void
- Dollar amount and days added
- Whether it has been invoiced
Send It the Way Clients Actually Respond
Email a link. Let them read the extra, see the price, and sign without printing anything. Store the signed PDF with the job. If they decline, you still have a record that the upgrade was offered and rejected.
A photo of the existing condition next to the extra helps. Homeowners approve what they can see.
The Bottom Line
Do not buy the vanity until the extra is signed. Do not finish the extra until it is on the next invoice. That loop is how residential contractors stay profitable when the scope moves — and it always moves.