---
title: "Modify a line item"
description: "Modifiers are surcharges (and one discount) that adjust a line item's price for real-world conditions — After Hours, Heavy Cleaning, Category 3, No Bagging. Apply from the kebab or through chat."
group: "estimates"
lane: "how-to"
status: "published"
publishedAt: 2026-05-15
sidebarOrder: 95
tags: ["line-items", "modifiers", "how-to"]
relatedSlugs:
  - "estimates/edit-line-item-manually"
  - "estimates/edit-line-item-via-chat"
  - "estimates/add-note-to-line-item"
  - "reference/categories"
  - "concepts/defensive-bidding"
sidebarLabel: "Modify a line item"
---

Modifiers are how Wave handles real-world conditions that change a line item's price — work performed after business hours, contaminated water requiring higher-class handling, demo where the crew isn't bagging debris. Every modifier is a single toggle.

## Open the Modify submenu

In the right pane, on any line item:

1. Click the **kebab** (three dots at the right edge of the row).
2. The menu shows three actions: **Add Notes**, **Modify ▸**, and **Delete Item** (in red).
3. Hover or click **Modify ▸** to open the modifier submenu.

## The modifier set

Every line item shows the full set of five modifiers. Wave greys out the ones that don't apply to that specific line type rather than hiding them — so the list is consistent across every kebab.

- **After Hours** — service performed outside standard business hours
- **Heavy Cleaning** — cleanup scope materially worse than the standard rate covers
- **Category 3** — water (or contamination) class warrants the higher-class rate
- **After Hours + Category 3** — the compound surcharge as a single toggle (cleaner than asking you to apply both and rely on additive math)
- **No Bagging** — demo line items only; reduces the price because the crew is skipping debris bagging (common in storm cleanup where debris goes straight to the front yard)

## The three states

Each modifier in the submenu displays in one of three states:

- **Available** — clickable with no extra label. Clicking applies the modifier.
- **Applied** — name shown in **green** with the suffix *"(Applied - Click to remove)"*. Clicking removes it.
- **Not Available** — name shown in **grey** with the suffix *"(Not Available)"*. The modifier doesn't apply to this line-item type.

## Why modifiers vary by line item

Modifiers represent real-world surcharges that only make sense for certain scope. Wave knows which line item supports which modifier:

- **After Hours** applies to **labor and service calls** (technician time worked outside business hours). It does **not** apply to **equipment** — air movers, dehumidifiers, scrubbers run 24/7 by design, so there's no after-hours surcharge to bill.
- **No Bagging** applies to **demo line items**. The default demo rate assumes the crew bags debris on site; subtract that work and the price comes down.
- **Heavy Cleaning** applies to items where the cleanup scope is materially worse than standard.
- **Category 3** applies to items where the water/contamination class warrants the higher-class rate.
- **After Hours + Category 3** is the combined toggle for labor lines that legitimately stack both.

If a modifier doesn't show in green or as Available, Wave's reasoning is: this surcharge wouldn't be billable for this line item. Trust the grey.

## Worked example

Take the canonical Jordan Park estimate. There's a **Service Call** (mobilization) line at **$244.39**.

1. Open the kebab → **Modify ▸**.
2. Only **After Hours** is available. Heavy Cleaning, Category 3, After Hours + Category 3, and No Bagging are all greyed out — none of them apply to mobilization.
3. Click **After Hours**. The line gets an "After Hours" badge next to the description, the price jumps to **$354.37** (about a 45% surcharge), the section subtotal recalculates, and the estimate total recalculates.
4. Open the kebab again. After Hours now shows in green: *"After Hours (Applied - Click to remove)"*. Click it. The line returns to exactly **$244.39**.

Modifiers are fully reversible — applying and removing leaves no residual cost.

## Applying modifiers via chat

Modifiers also work through chat. Useful when you're already typing or applying multiple modifiers across multiple lines:

- *"Apply After Hours to the service call line"*
- *"Add Category 3 to the antimicrobial application in the hall bathroom"*
- *"Remove the No Bagging modifier from the demo line in the hallway"*
- *"Apply After Hours and Category 3 to the labor line in the hall bathroom"* — uses the combined toggle when both apply

Room-scoped lines need the room name in the command, same as any other [chat-driven line-item edit](/docs/estimates/edit-line-item-via-chat). If you try to apply a modifier that's greyed out for that line type, Wave will tell you the modifier doesn't apply.

## Stacking

Modifiers stack only where Wave exposes a combined toggle (currently After Hours + Category 3). For everything else, the modifier is exclusive — applying one doesn't change the availability of the others.

## Related

- [Edit a line item via chat](/docs/estimates/edit-line-item-via-chat) — the natural-language equivalent for any line-item edit
- [Edit a line item manually](/docs/estimates/edit-line-item-manually) — direct manipulation in the right pane
- [Add a note to a line item](/docs/estimates/add-note-to-line-item) — the third kebab action
- [Categories](/docs/reference/categories) — what Cat 1/2/3 mean and why they drive a modifier
- [How Wave thinks about scope](/docs/concepts/defensive-bidding) — why Wave defaults to the standard rate and you opt up via modifier