Scope of works template and variation approval form, so a change gets priced before it gets built.
A signed scope of works and a one-page variation form. Together they answer the complaint that turns up most often in NZ trade reviews: the number on the invoice was not the number that was agreed.
What is a variation order, and why does every job need a form for it?
A variation is any change to the agreed scope, whether the client asks for it or the site forces it. A variation order records what changed, why, what it costs and whether the finish date moves, and it is signed before the work starts. Without one, the change gets done on a verbal okay and priced from memory at invoice time. In our trades corpus, overcharging is the single most common complaint theme in negative reviews (about 7% of both plumbers’ and electricians’ negative reviews), and in construction, quote accuracy is praised in only 12.9 to 13.9% of positive reviews. A written scope and a signed variation are the two documents that close that gap.
The job this document is doing.
- —A scope that lists trades (“framing, roofing”) instead of finished outcomes a client can tick off
- —An extra agreed on site on Tuesday, remembered differently by Friday
- —A variation priced after the work is done, so the client has no choice but to argue
- —Credits for removed work never written down, so the final invoice looks wrong even when it is right
Open it and use it today.
- 01Scope of works: site and conditions assumed, included work by stage with a “finished when” column, specific exclusions, standards and finish, and how changes are handled
- 02Two blank variation approval forms (print as many as the job needs)
- 03Each form: description, reason checklist, cost breakdown with margin and credits, time impact, client and contractor approval
Free to use and adapt for your own business. Not legal advice: check contract terms against your own terms of trade and, where it matters, with a lawyer.
Why this document, and not another one.
| Corpus | Figure | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| NZ plumbers | About 7% of negative reviews | Overcharging, the top complaint theme |
| NZ electricians | About 7% of negative reviews | Overcharging, the top complaint theme |
| NZ builders | 13.9% of positive reviews | Quote accuracy praised |
| NZ outdoor and civil construction | 12.9% of positive reviews | Quote accuracy praised |
| NZ builders | 1.4 points | Quality scores above value, on average |
Trades figures from 20,286 publicly posted reviews of 369 NZ electricians, plumbers and painters; construction figures from 13,567 reviews of 328 builders and outdoor and civil contractors. Negative reviews score under 50 on any dimension; the trades negative samples are small (56 to 167 reviews) and are reported as rank order, not precision. Full corpus, method and thresholds: the construction methodology page. Full findings: the construction research study. Trades figures: trades methodology and study.
Use it alongside
Construction quote template
A two-page NZ construction quote with the sections that stop disputes: scope by stage, allowances, written exclusions, a variations clause, payment stages and acceptance.
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