I'm doing changed work on a say-so
Changes keep arriving by phone call and site conversation, and almost none of it is in writing.
What's happening?
It happens on friendly jobs most of all. The contracts manager asks for the wall moved, the engineer waves a mark-up, your team just does it, and stopping to demand paperwork feels obstructive. Every one of those moments is real work, with real cost, resting entirely on someone's memory.
The contract sees it differently. Most forms only oblige payment for changes instructed in the manner the contract prescribes, usually in writing, sometimes by a named person. When the account is settled months later, the friendly voices have moved on and what is left is a schedule of changes you can describe but not prove. A change without paperwork is a gift, however real the work.
The fix is a recording habit that takes minutes, applied from today, plus a sweep of what has already been done on a say-so while the memories are warm.
The solution
Fix the habit going forward, and capture what has already happened.