Variation Template

What is a Variation Template?

A construction variation template is a standardised form used to document any change to the original contract scope, design, or conditions on a project. It provides a consistent structure for recording variation requests, assessing cost impacts and time implications, and tracking approvals from all parties involved.

Using a consistent format ensures that construction variations are reviewed and approved consistently, improving accuracy, accountability, and alignment with contractual obligations. It also enhances communication between stakeholders by keeping every change transparent and traceable throughout the project.

What's Included in a Construction Variation Template

A project variation template contains several key sections that ensure complete documentation of project changes. The template typically includes variation identification details such as reference numbers, dates, and project information to establish clear tracking mechanisms.

A comprehensive variation template typically includes:

• Project details: Identify the project name, contract number, and site location to link the variation to the correct contract and works.
• Variation reference: Assign a unique sequential number to every variation order for clear tracking and audit control.
• Description of variation: Provide a concise summary of the proposed change and how it differs from the original scope of work.
• Reason for variation: Explain the cause of the variation, such as design development, client instruction, or unforeseen conditions.
• Cost breakdown: Outline the financial impact, including changes to the contract sum, provisional sums, or prime cost items.
• Time impact: Detail any effect on the construction program, including whether an extension of time (EOT) is required.
• Approval and certification: Record approvals from the superintendent, contract administrator, or principal, ensuring formal authorisation.
• Attachments: Include supporting evidence such as construction drawings, quotations, specifications, or site instructions for verification.

💡Pro Tip: Keep your variation template linked to a central register to monitor cumulative cost and time impacts throughout the project.

Why Use a Template for Construction Variations

Using a standardised contract variation template significantly reduces processing time and minimises errors in variation management. Templates ensure consistent information capture across all project variations, making it easier to compare, analyse, and approve changes systematically.

• Structured Recordkeeping: Creates a clear, standardised record for each variation order, reducing confusion and miscommunication.
• Contractual Alignment: Ensures variations comply with contract procedures under AS 4000, JCT, or NEC frameworks.
• Cost Control: Makes it easier to track financial adjustments to the contract sum and maintain accurate project budgets.
• Time Management: Highlights potential impacts on the programme and supports EOT assessments.
• Audit Readiness: Builds a transparent paper trail of variation requests, instructions, and approvals for future reference.
• Stakeholder Clarity: Improves coordination between the principal, contractor, and superintendent by keeping all variation details in one consistent format.

💡 Pro Tip: Adopt a template that aligns with your standard contract type and variation procedure to ensure your documentation is both practical and contractually sound.

How to Create Construction Variations in Mastt

Creating a variation in Mastt is quick and fully integrated with your project’s contracts, budgets, and approvals. Instead of manually drafting variation templates in Word or Excel, the Mastt Cost Module generates professional variation records automatically, linking every change to your live project data.

Build your variations in Mastt to:

📋 Create standardized variation forms with pre-filled contract details.

🔗 Connect each variation to its related contract for instant cost tracking.

🧾 Record scope, cost, and time impacts for clear assessment and reporting.

Creating and exporting a variation in Mastt takes just a few steps:

1. Open the Cost Module: Go to your project and select Cost, then click Variations to open your Variations Register.
2. Add a New Variation: Click + Add → Variation, enter a title, select the relevant contract, and include a clear description and reason for the change.
3. Record Cost and Time Impacts: Under the Contracts section, enter financial adjustments and time extensions if applicable. Attach supporting files such as drawings or quotations.
4. Review and Save: Confirm details in the Descriptions tab, edit the approval wording if needed, and click Add to save your record.
5. Download or Share: From the Variations Register, open the menu beside your record and select Variation Order Letter or Approval Letter to export a ready-to-issue PDF.

💡 Pro Tip: Use Mastt’s Variation Register to keep all variation orders, approvals, and correspondence in one place, ensuring every change remains visible, traceable, and contractually compliant.

Who Should Use a Project Variation Template?

A variation template for construction is essential for anyone involved in managing, approving, or tracking changes to a contract. It provides a common structure that keeps project teams aligned and ensures variations are handled transparently and in accordance with contract requirements.

Here’s who benefits most from using a structured template:

✅ Project Owners or Principals: Use the template to review proposed changes, approve variations, and monitor cost and time impacts on the overall project.

✅ Contractors and Subcontractors: Prepare and submit variation proposals or quotations with full details of scope, cost, and schedule implications.

✅ Superintendents or Contract Administrators: Assess the validity of variation requests, verify supporting documents, and issue formal approvals or rejections.

✅ Project Managers and Engineers: Track variation progress, evaluate impacts on the construction programme, and coordinate documentation across stakeholders.

✅ Quantity Surveyors or Cost Consultants: Review cost breakdowns, verify rates, and ensure variations are valued consistently with the contract terms.

✅ Architects or Designers: Record design-driven changes and provide supporting information for variation justification and approval.

Encourage every project participant to use the same template format. Doing so reduces processing time, avoids discrepancies, and ensures that variations are auditable from initiation to approval.

When to Use a Variation Template for Construction

Construction variation templates should be implemented whenever project scope, specifications, or conditions deviate from the original contract terms. Early implementation of template-based variation management helps establish clear processes before changes become complex or contentious.

• Design or specification changes: Updates to drawings or materials that modify the original scope of work.
• Unforeseen site conditions: Latent issues discovered on-site that require extra labour, materials, or revised methods.
• Client or superintendent instructions: Formal directions that add, omit, or alter portions of the contracted works.
• Regulatory or statutory changes: Adjustments required to comply with new standards, codes, or local authority requirements.
• Value engineering proposals: Approved substitutions or redesigns intended to improve efficiency or reduce costs.
• Delays or rework: Impacts to the schedule arising from access restrictions, supply issues, or revised sequencing.

Capture and log each variation as soon as it’s identified to maintain an up-to-date record for approvals and future payment claims.

Common Problems with Free Downloadable Variation Templates in Excel

Free variation templates found online can be a useful starting point. However, they often lack the structure, formulas, and contract-specific fields needed for professional use. Without proper configuration, these templates can lead to inconsistencies, missing data, or non-compliant documentation.

⚠️ Limited customisation: Generic templates rarely align with project-specific contract clauses, local standards, or company approval workflows.

⚠️ Manual data entry: Free variation templates in Word or PDF formats require repetitive typing, increasing the risk of errors.

⚠️ No automated calculations: Basic variation templates in spreadsheets or Excel don’t include built-in formulas to calculate totals or adjust the contract sum automatically.

⚠️ Poor version control: Separate files make it difficult to track revisions, leading to outdated or duplicated variation records.

⚠️ Missing approval sections: Many free downloadable variation templates exclude signature blocks or certification details, making them incomplete for contract administration.

⚠️ Inconsistent formatting: Templates copied between projects may lose formatting, creating confusion during reviews or audits.

⚠️ Lack of integration: Standalone files can’t link to payment claims, budgets, or project reports, limiting visibility across teams.

💡 Pro Tip: If you must use a free Excel template, review it against your contract and include fields for cost, time impact, and approvals before using it for official documentation.

Transform How You Manage Contract Variations with Mastt

Manual variation tracking can slow projects down and create confusion between stakeholders. Mastt streamlines the full variation process, from creation to approval, all within the Cost Module.

Each record links directly to the related contract, capturing scope changes, valuation, and time impacts for full cost visibility. Every entry in the Variations Register stays traceable and automatically reflected in budgets and forecasts.

👉 Start managing contract variations in Mastt today and bring speed, accuracy, and consistency to every project change.