Variation Register Template

What is a Variation Register Template?

A Variation Register Template is a ready-to-go format used to track and manage all contract variations (or change order) across the lifecycle of a design or construction project. It gives projects a consistent way to log changes, ensuring every change or notification is documented and approved properly.

For teams managing multiple contracts or frequent project changes, Mastt offers a variation management tool that tracks, links, and reports on every variation in real time. Each variation is connected to your contract, progress claims, and then budget. This makes it easier to manage approvals, monitor financial impact, and stay audit-ready—without relying on spreadsheets.

Want to learn more about variation in construction? Explore how to track changes, manage approvals, and avoid disputes with our guide.

How to Use This Template

The Variation Register in Mastt is part of an integrated variation management tool built for capital project teams. Variations are created or uploaded directly within the platform and automatically linked to the correct contracts and budgets, ensuring your committed amount data stays aligned.

Once submitted, variations flow through an approval workflow and update across your register, reports, and financial dashboards in real time. This streamlines compliance, payment processing, and overall project visibility.

Here’s how to get the most out of your template in Mastt:

1. Log Each Variation as it Happens

Start by entering or uploading the variation details into an easy-to-use form: type, description, associated contract, and value. Log variations such as Notice of Variation, Variation Request, Variation Order, etc.

Each variation in Mastt includes a unique variation ID, submission and approval dates, and attachments for any additional information, such as drawings or scope documents.

Since there are different types of variations, you can also log variation categories such as design change, scope change, extension of time (EOT), and more.

2. Connect Variations to the Correct Contract

Each variation can be linked to the relevant contract and cost line item in Mastt’s software, so there’s no double entry or missing context. This ensures variations flow through to cost forecasts and reporting, keeping your team on top of their financials and project performance.

3. Track Status and Approvals

Mastt keeps a record of each variation’s progress, from initial submission to final approval. So, you know exactly where things stand. Status fields help you monitor which changes are pending, approved, rejected, or in progress and by whom. This makes it easier to follow timelines, enforce accountability, and reduce back-and-forth emails.

4. Generate Variation Notices, Variation Order, Variation Recommendations, and Reports

Mastt allows you to instantly generate variation notice, recommendation or approval certificates in PDF format with our variation template—automated and compliant, no formatting required. As updates are made, dashboards and reports reflect the latest data, eliminating the need for manual updates.

5. Centralise Your Variation Data

Mastt keeps all variation data in one place with a digital variation register. Supporting files, comments, and approval histories are stored alongside each record. This reduces admin, ensures compliance, and makes it easier to respond to frequently asked questions from clients, funders, or auditors.

6. Visualise Changes Across the Project

Dashboards and built-in charts show how variations impact your completion dates, cost, and contract amounts. This gives you a clearer picture of where things stand.

With Mastt, your variation management process moves faster, stays more accurate, and keeps your whole team aligned

Who Should Use a Variation Register Template

A Variation Register Template is essential for anyone managing changes to contracts during a capital project or construction project. It’s a must-have tool for staying in control of project changes—before they add up and derail budgets or timelines.

You should use a variation register if you’re a:

✅ Project manager who needs clear oversight of changes, approvals, and impacts on cost or schedule. The template gives you a way to track changes across different teams and maintain control over evolving project scope.

✅ Contract administrator managing the formal process for variation requests and documentation

✅ Quantity surveyor tracking and valuing variations against contract terms

✅ Contractor or consultant needing visibility on approved and pending variations to avoid rework or delays

✅ Client or project owner who need transparency and reporting across a wide range of contracts, suppliers, and delivery partners.

Whether you’re working on a single contract or coordinating across a large construction portfolio, a variation register template helps keep everyone aligned and every change accounted for.

Importance of a Template for Variation Registers

Variations are a normal part of project delivery. But without a clear process, they can quickly become a source of confusion, rework, and dispute. That’s where a Variation Register Template becomes essential.

By using a standardised format, teams can consistently track every change to a contract or agreement, whether it’s extra work, design updates, or modifications to the original contract.

Here’s why the right template matters:

☑️ Brings structure to the variation process: Instead of managing each modification ad hoc, a template ensures all variations follow the same structure. Regardless of the type of change, nothing gets missed.

☑️ Keeps project changes transparent and auditable: Templates offer visibility into how the project is evolving. You can see the full history of changes, approvals, and financial impacts. These are all traceable back to the relevant contract.

☑️ Supports contract administration and compliance: Templates align your team with the agreed contract term and approval process. That means fewer emails, less back-and-forth, and stronger documentation when variations need to be reviewed.

☑️ Reduces risk of costly disputes: When changes are properly logged—with the right supporting documentation—there’s less room for miscommunication. A well-maintained variation register can prevent disagreements before they escalate.

☑️ Saves time across teams: With a shared, ready-to-use format, project teams, contractors, and subcontractors can collaborate more efficiently—without reinventing the process for every project change.

When to Start a Variation Register On Your Project

The best time to set up your variation register is as soon as the original contract is in place and the project moves into delivery. We also recommend you setup a contract register at the same time, as the two are linked.

That’s because changes can begin almost immediately, whether it's a site condition requiring a design alteration, a delay in material supply, or a request for additional scope. If you wait until issues pile up, you risk missing early submissions, losing track of details, or delaying formal approvals.

Here’s when you should actively start logging variations:

• After contract execution, when the project moves into delivery
• As soon as a change is proposed by a contractor or supplier
• When there are impacts to budget, timeline, or scope
• During procurement or design changes
• Before each progress claim cycle, to ensure variation submission is up to date

Starting early helps your team stay organised, reduce admin, and avoid disputes as the project evolves.

Variation Register Software

Managing variations in spreadsheets may seem manageable at first, but duplicating effort across spreadsheets, Word documents, and PDFs is time-consuming. As a project grows, so does the risk of losing control of your variations. Manually tracking contract variations, approvals, and change orders across multiple documents quickly becomes error-prone and time-consuming.

A typical variation register template in Excel or Word can do the basics. But struggles to keep up with evolving scope, shifting contractual terms, and the fast pace of project changes.

That’s where dedicated variation register software like Mastt offers a smarter alternative. It gives you everything your spreadsheet does—but simpler, faster, and automated.

Here’s how teams benefit from software vs template:

Variation Register Templates in Excel or Word [Free Download]

If you're managing a small project or just getting started, a free template in Excel or Word can be a quick way to set up your variation register. These formats are easy to customise and are familiar to most teams.

To help you get started, we’ve created a free Variation Register Template you can use right away.

Keep in mind: while Excel and Word templates are useful to get started, they have limitations. As your project grows and the number of variations increases, it becomes harder to track updates, manage versions, and keep data consistent across teams.

When you're ready for a smarter, scalable solution, Mastt offers a connected variation register that updates in real time and simplifies reporting across your portfolio.

Common Problems with Spreadsheet Variation Register Templates

A spreadsheet template can be helpful at first, but it often introduces risks and inefficiencies as your variation volume grows.

Here are the most common limitations:

⚠️ Lack of approval tracking: Free forms rarely include built-in workflows or status history, making it hard to trace who approved what—and when.

⚠️ No integration with cost tracking: Free templates don’t update your budget or contract values automatically when a variation is approved. This leaves teams to manage changes manually across multiple spreadsheets.

⚠️ Disconnected content: Key files like drawings, emails, or approval letters often sit outside the register, leading to confusion and version control issues.

⚠️ Inconsistent formatting: Without standard fields or validation, key details in the variation process can be missed or misrecorded.

⚠️ No link to contractual terms: Most basic templates don’t reference specific contractual terms, increasing the risk of misalignment or incorrect interpretation.

A free template may be a good starting point. But, its limitations often slow teams down and increase the risk of disputes over missed steps or incomplete records.

Take the Next Step

Tried the spreadsheet variation register template and ready to level up? Start using Mastt to manage variations across all your projects—without the manual effort.

Ditch the static spreadsheets. With Mastt, you get real-time variation tracking, live dashboards, and seamless links to contracts, budgets, and performance data.

🎯 Start for free and experience a smarter way to manage variations across your projects.

Related Templates

Looking to streamline your variation management process even further? These free templates are designed to work alongside your variation register—helping you stay organised, compliant, and in control of every change.

• Contract Register
• Variation Approval Letter

Explore More Helpful Resources

Enhance your expertise in managing construction project variations with Mastt's insightful articles:

• How to Track Contract Variations Like a Pro (with Examples)
• Notice of Variation: Why It Matters
• Top Causes of Variation in Construction Projects

These articles are packed with insights to help project managers and owners strengthen variation processes, avoid disputes, and deliver projects with fewer surprises.