ERP Project Change Request Form Template (Scope, Cost, Schedule Impact)
Uncontrolled change is one of the most common reasons ERP projects overrun. This form forces every request to state its reason, effort, cost and schedule impact before anyone says yes.
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ERP Project Change Request Form Template
Change Request CR-014
Project: Plant 1 ERP Replacement Requested by: Finance manager Date raised: 2026-10-20 Type: Report or form Priority: Should have
Description of change
Add a landed cost variance report by purchase order receipt for month end close.
Business reason
Finance currently builds this in a spreadsheet and the close takes one extra day.
Impact assessment
| Area | Impact |
|---|---|
| Effort (days) | 6 |
| Cost | 4,800 |
| Schedule | None if approved before design freeze |
| Scope and design documents affected | |
| Testing and training affected | |
| Data migration affected |
Risk if not approved
Manual workaround continues after go-live.
Decision
| Decision | Date | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Approved / Rejected / Deferred |
Approvals
Starting point only. Align the approval thresholds with your contract's change control clause; this is not legal advice.
Review your change control process
Share your thresholds and get practical feedback from a delivery practitioner.
Optional. The tool and every export work without this. No spam.
How to use the form
The requestor completes the description, reason and priority. The project manager and the vendor or integrator then fill in the effort, cost and schedule impact. The sponsor decides. Keep one form per change and number it so it can be tracked in a change log. Export to PDF for the contract file or to Word if the integrator needs to edit estimates. Record rejected and deferred requests too; they become your post go-live backlog.
- One request per form
- Estimate before approval
- Log every decision
- Keep deferred items as backlog
What good impact assessment covers
Cost is the obvious one, but the hidden costs are test scripts, training material, data migration mapping and documentation that all change when a requirement changes. Ask whether the change touches a decision already signed off in the design phase. Ask who must retest. A report that looks like a day of work often becomes a week once testing and security roles are included. Assess the cost of doing nothing too, which this form captures as risk if not approved.
- Design documents
- Test scripts
- Training
- Roles and security
- Interfaces
Setting thresholds
Not every change needs the sponsor. A common pattern is that the project manager approves anything under a few days effort with no schedule impact, the steering committee approves anything larger, and anything touching the contract value goes to the contract owners. Write the thresholds into the project governance document at kickoff so people do not argue about them mid project. Freeze dates also help: after design freeze, only must-have items are admitted.
Common mistakes
Teams accept verbal requests in workshops, then are surprised by the bill. Others estimate only build effort. A third mistake is approving changes without moving anything else; if the date and budget stay fixed, something else must give. Make that trade explicit in the decision conditions. Finally, do not let the form become a bureaucratic wall: keep it to one page and answer requests within a week.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a change request in an ERP project?
A formal request to alter agreed scope, schedule, cost or design after baseline. It is assessed for impact and approved or rejected through change control, so the project stays on a known baseline.
Who approves ERP change requests?
Usually the project manager for small items, the steering committee for larger ones, and the executive sponsor when budget or go-live date moves. Set the thresholds in your governance plan.
Should we charge for every change?
That depends on your contract. Fixed price work usually prices changes outside baseline scope; time and materials contracts consume budget. Check the change control clause with your legal advisor.
How do I keep changes from delaying go-live?
Use a design freeze date, classify requests as must have, should have or post go-live, and defer most should-have items to a phase two backlog.
If many change requests are really reporting asks, ask us whether natural language queries over your ERP could cover them without custom development.
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