How to keep a landscaping scope change from becoming a missed handoff

Start with the existing job and proposal, not a new disconnected message. Describe exactly what would change and retain the customer's original request. The person reviewing it needs enough context to compare the proposed work with the current approved scope.

• Job and property reference; current approved proposal version.
• Request date, requester, and original email or conversation reference.
• Original item, quantity, location, or work; proposed replacement or addition.
• Reason for the change and the person responsible for preparing it.

Ask the estimator to review price and the operations team to check timing. Purchasing should confirm availability before an extra plant becomes a promise. If an answer is still pending, keep it pending and name the person who will resolve it.

• Pricing review and revised estimate reference.
• Plant availability, supplier quantity, receiving, and pickup implications.
• Crew time, equipment, access, and installation window.
• Open questions, owner, and next review time.

An email asking for more work is a request. Preserve the decision made through your agreed authorization process, including who approved it and the supporting reference. Keep proposed, approved, and rejected states distinguishable. The worksheet organizes your operational record; formal pricing documents and signatures follow your selected process.

• Decision state and date.
• Authorized reviewer and customer approval reference where required.
• Approved revision and any conditions still outstanding.
• Original scope retained for comparison.

Do not forward the whole discussion and assume the next person has understood it. Purchasing needs the approved quantity and supplier action. The crew needs the revised planting instruction and timing. Record the acknowledgment or check the handoff with the person responsible.

• Purchasing: update or confirm the approved material requirement.
• Operations: review the schedule and equipment impact.
• Crew lead: confirm access to the revised job instructions.
• Account owner: record the customer update and remaining follow-up.

Illustrative job JOB-1042 originally specifies 12 azaleas. The homeowner requests 14. The estimator prepares the difference; purchasing checks two additional plants; operations reviews crew timing. Until the approval reference is recorded, the requirement remains proposed. After approval, purchasing owns the order review and the crew lead acknowledges the new quantity. The original twelve-plant scope stays in the history.

• Difference: +2 azaleas; pricing review belongs to the estimator.
• Before approval: proposed, purchasing availability check assigned.
• After approval: decision reference saved, revised quantity attached to the job.
• Completion check: purchasing and crew handoffs confirmed.