What is a variation in construction? A plain-English guide for subcontractors
What counts as a variation, who can direct one, why written notice matters, and the records that get it paid.
For trade subcontractors
Every site change, priced and approved before the work is done.
Your crew sends a photo from site. It's checked against the contract, priced from your rate card and waiting for you to approve.
- Prices from your rate card
- No app for the builder
- Nothing sent without you
On site · Jono, 7:42 am
0:23
"Builder's asked us to move the switchboard from the garage to the laundry. Extra 8 metres of conduit…"
Drafted for your approval
VO-019 · Lot 7
Relocate main switchboard to laundry
Ex GST$1,358.86
- Outside scope. Sched. 2 §2.8 excludes relocation.
- Instructed by Dan K., Site Supervisor (verbal)
- Written notice due in 2 business days
Approved by the builderHarbour Street Constructions · 11:05 am
Extra work is easy to do and hard to get paid for.
Agreed on site, never written down
"Just move it while you're there." No record when the claim goes in.
Priced weeks later, from memory
Small jobs get dropped because they aren't worth the paperwork.
Notice deadlines slip past
Miss the written-notice window and the builder can knock it back.
How it works
From a photo on site to a signed variation.
-
1
Your crew sends it from site
A photo and a voice note, the moment the builder asks. No forms, no new app.
On site -
2
It's checked and priced
Checked against your contract scope, priced from your own rates and margins.
Automatic -
3
You approve, the builder signs
Edit anything, then send. The builder approves from an email link, no login.
Office → Builder
What it's worth
Work out what's slipping through.
Move the sliders to match your business.
An estimate, not a guarantee. Assumes drafting drops to about 10 minutes a variation.
From the blog
Get paid for the extra work you already do.
How to write a variation the builder will approve (with a checklist)
What builders approve without arguing, what gets queried, and a checklist and example layout.
Verbal instructions on site: how to stop doing extra work for free
Why verbal variations go unpaid, and a simple routine your crew can follow so they don't.
Questions
Does the AI decide the price?
No. It reads the message and picks the matching items and quantities from your rate card. The rates, your margin and GST always come from your rate card, and you review every line before anything is sent.
What about written-notice deadlines?
Each variation goes out as written notice the day you approve it, addressed to the contract's notice person. Every draft shows the date notice is due, and a morning email lists anything due today, tomorrow or overdue.
What's setup like?
About four business days and around 90 minutes of your time. We load your rate card and contracts, test them against your own past site messages, and walk you through it on a 45-minute call.
Is there a guarantee?
Yes. If builder-approved variations in your first 60 days don't add up to more than you've paid, you get your money back. There's no lock-in.
Get paid for every site change.
See a variation go from site to signed in about two minutes.
60-day money-back guarantee. No lock-in.