Any change to a live project's scope, schedule, or budget needs to be sized, routed to the right approver, and recorded before it takes effect. Profit.co handles this through Rebaseline for scope and schedule changes and Budget Request for cost changes, both governed by the same approval engine.
Table of Contents
- What Is Change Control in Profit.co?
- What's the Right Way to Approach Change Control?
- Why Does Change Control Matter?
- How Do I Manage a Change Request?
- What Happens When You Use Change Control?
- What Are the Best Practices for Change Control?
- Related Articles
- What Are Some Frequently Asked Questions About Change Control?
What Is Change Control in Profit.co?
Change control is the governed process for altering an active project's scope, schedule, or budget after execution has already started. Profit.co doesn't route this through a single generic form; it runs through two purpose-built mechanisms: Rebaseline (Baseline tab) for scope and schedule changes, and Budget Request (Finance tab) for cost changes.
Both paths require approval before the change takes effect. This only applies once a project has a baseline set, since Rebaseline exists specifically to replace an existing baseline, not to create the first one.
What's the Right Way to Approach Change Control?
No scope, schedule, or budget change should happen informally. Every change needs to be captured, sized for its impact, routed to the right approver based on that impact, and only then applied to the project, so there is always a record of what changed and who signed off.
Why Does Change Control Matter?
Without a governed path, a scope or budget shift could be applied to a live project with no visibility and no accountability. Profit.co requires an approver to sign off before a rebaseline or budget request takes effect, so nothing changes the active plan silently.
Every submission, decision, and justification is written to the Change Log automatically, so when someone asks who approved a specific change and why, the answer is on record rather than in someone's inbox.
How Do I Manage a Change Request?
Method 1: Scope or Schedule Change (Rebaseline)
Step 1: Confirm the Change Is Real
- Open the project's Baseline tab.
- Compare the current baseline dates against what the new scope or schedule requires.
- Confirm the shift is a genuine plan change, not a temporary task delay.
Step 2: Submit the Rebaseline
- Click Rebaseline in the top right of the Baseline tab.
- Select approvers with project access from the available approver types (self-designated, Manager, Department Head, PPM Admin, or a Custom List).
- Add a justification comment and submit.
Method 2: Budget Change (Budget Request)
Step 1: Submit the Budget Request
- Go to Finance → Budget Request tab.
- Create a new request for the revised amount within the current Budget Authoring Window.
- Submit; it routes through the configured approval sequence.
Step 2: Track Either Request
- Watch for the orange Pending badge on the version dropdown (Rebaseline) or the request status (Budget Request).
- Check the Approvals Hub for sequence-level status: Pending, Approved, or Rejected.
- Once decided, confirm the outcome in the Change Log.
What Happens When You Use Change Control?
| Scenario | What Happens |
|---|---|
| You submit a Rebaseline request. | Profit.co locks the new baseline as Pending and keeps the current baseline active until the request is approved. |
| You submit a Budget Request. | Profit.co routes it through the configured approval sequence and notifies the assigned approvers. |
| You attempt to edit the baseline while a rebaseline is pending. | Profit.co blocks the edit and prevents a second rebaseline submission until the pending one is approved or rejected. |
| Your rebaseline request is approved. | Profit.co archives the previous baseline, activates the new one, and recalculates all variance figures against it. |
| You select an approver who lacks access to the project. | Profit.co displays a warning and blocks submission until you correct the approver selection. |
| You submit or approve a rebaseline or budget request. | Profit.co records the timestamp, approver names, decision, and justification in the Change Log for audit purposes. |
Note
A rejected request never touches the live project; the current baseline and budget stay exactly as they were before submission.
What Are the Best Practices for Change Control?
- Route every scope or budget change through Rebaseline or Budget Request rather than editing tasks directly, since Profit.co only keeps an approval trail for changes made through those two paths.
- Assign PPM Admin as an approver for higher-impact changes, since that role is designed as the final portfolio governance and prioritization check.
- Write a specific justification on every rebaseline submission, since it becomes part of the permanent Change Log entry that gets referenced later.
- Confirm every selected approver has project access before submitting, since Profit.co blocks the submission outright otherwise.
- Wait for a decision on a pending request before attempting another rebaseline, since Profit.co locks further submissions until the current one resolves.
Related Articles
What Are Some Frequently Asked Questions About Change Control?
No. Profit.co only applies the new baseline or budget once the request is approved; a rejected request leaves the current baseline and budget unchanged.
Profit.co blocks a second rebaseline submission while one is pending, so only one baseline change can be under review at a time.
Approvers are configured per context and can include a self-designated approver, the employee's manager, the department head, PPM Admin, or a custom list of employees.
Execute your strategy with confidence
Connect OKRs, tasks, and teams in one place with Profit.co
