Create, send, and track variations with client approval built in — so you never eat the cost of unapproved work again.
The problem
Variations are where builders quietly lose money. A client asks for something extra on site, you say yes to keep the job moving, and the extra work never makes it onto an invoice. By the time the job finishes you have done thousands of dollars of unquoted work and the client has no idea it was outside scope.
Scope creep is rarely malicious. It happens because variations are hard to document on the fly, harder to cost accurately, and almost impossible to get formally approved while you are also trying to run a build. So they slip through. Paper variation forms get lost, text messages get forgotten, and a handshake on site turns into an argument at handover.
The result is builders carrying the cost of work the client never formally agreed to pay for. Every unapproved variation is money out of your pocket — and a dispute waiting to happen.
The solution
Create a variation from the project
Raise a variation directly against any active project. It inherits the client, site address, and original scope so you are not re-keying details.
Estimate the cost with labour and materials
Build the variation up with line items for labour and materials, quantities, unit rates, and your margin — exactly like an estimate, but scoped to the extra work only.
Send it to the client for approval via the client portal
The client gets a link to the variation inside your branded client portal. No PDF email attachments that get lost — everything lives in one place.
Client approves or rejects with comments
The client can approve with one click or reject and leave a comment. You are notified the moment they respond, so there is no chasing.
Approved variations update project cost
When a variation is approved, the amount is automatically added to the project budget and your profit margin recalculates. No manual re-entry, no double handling.
Full audit trail with variation numbers and dates
Every variation gets a unique number and date. You always have a complete record of what was agreed, when, and by whom — for disputes, progress claims, and final handover.
Digital vs paper
Paper variations fail because they are slow, easy to lose, and impossible to track. A digital variation workflow fixes all three:
Project costs
Approved variations should not be a separate spreadsheet you reconcile at the end of the job. In FMN, when a client approves a variation the approved amount flows straight into the project budget — materials, labour, and margin all included — and your profit margin on the job recalculates automatically.
That means your project cost tracking is always accurate to what was actually agreed, not what was in the original quote. You can see at a glance whether the job is still profitable after every variation, and your progress claims line up with the real scope of work.
Pricing
Variations are included in every FMN plan — Starter, Foundation Member, Pro, and the Company plans. There is no separate add-on to buy and no per-variation fee. If you are on FMN, you have the full variation workflow.
Raise, send, and track variations with client approval built in. No card required, full access to every feature.
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