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Solutions/Variations

Recover the margin in every variation.

After the contracts are signed, variations are where the biggest risk to margin lives, where a job makes or loses money, and where the record most often falls apart. ClaimStack runs the whole variation workflow on one centralised register, up and down the contract chain, so nothing is missed, every claim is assessed on its merits, and approvals happen while there is still margin to protect.

The commercial OS for variations

Variations are managed, not just recorded.

A variation logged in an email is a variation waiting to be forgotten. ClaimStack gives every change one home, a live register shared by both sides of the contract, and carries it through submission, assessment and approval to an agreed number, then out to the claim, the forecast and the cost report. The whole team works the same record, so the position is never in doubt and the margin is never quietly given away.

The margin leaks between the site and the claim.

01 Variations raised on site never make it into a claim, so the work is done and never paid for.
02 Approvals sit for weeks; by the time they clear, the margin they were meant to protect is already spent.
03 Two trackers, head contractor and subcontractor, that never agree, so every month starts with a reconciliation.
04 When a variation is disputed, the trail is scattered across inboxes and no one can prove what was agreed.

From first change to agreed number, on one workflow.

01 · Centralise

One register for every variation, up and down the chain.

The moment a change is identified, on site, off an RFI, or from a direction, it is logged against the contract with its scope, breakdown and evidence attached. Head contract variations and subcontract variations sit on the same centralised register, so your full exposure is in one place instead of scattered across inboxes and spreadsheets you piece together at month-end. Nothing is re-keyed, and nothing quietly disappears between the site and the claim.

VO-014 · Latent condition
Additional piling to grid H
Submitted
Submitted
Approved
Additional bored piers to grid H$48,000
Extended piling rig standby$16,500
Additional reinforcement and concrete$14,200
Survey, set-out and supervision$5,800
Subtotal (ex GST)$84,500
GST 10%$8,450
Total (inc GST)$92,950
Evidence attached
Geotechnical report.pdfSite diary 18–24 Jun.pdfRig standby records.xlsxBore log photos ×6
02 · Live everywhere

The numbers are live everywhere, all the time.

A variation does not wait for approval to count. From the moment it is submitted, its numbers are live across every view, the register, the contract position and both sides of the chain. Once assessed, the assessed amount shows in the cost report, reconciled to the cent, and you decide whether to carry it into your forecast position, without re-keying anything or waiting for the ERP to catch up.

VO-014 · Assessed
Reflected in the cost report
Reconciled
Assessed variation (ex GST)+$79,600
Original contract sum$18,420,000
Approved variations to date+$308,650
This variation+$79,600
Current contract sum$18,808,250
Cost reportShown in the cost report, yours to use in the position
+$79,600
03 · Assess

A position you can defend, line by line.

Every variation is worked line by line, submitted amount against assessed amount, each adjustment carrying a reason. Instead of a blind approve or reject that hides the detail, you issue a considered commercial position and the reasoning is kept with it. Nothing is given away by default, and if the number is ever questioned, the answer is already on the record rather than reconstructed months later.

VO-014 · Latent condition
Additional piling to grid H
Under assessment
SubmittedAssessed
Additional bored piers to grid H$48,000$48,000
Extended piling rig standby$16,500$12,800
Standby capped to six days from site records.
Additional reinforcement and concrete$14,200$14,200
Survey, set-out and supervision$5,800$4,600
Supervision aligned to the certified scope.
Assessed total (ex GST)$84,500$79,600
Trimmed on assessment −$4,900A reason on every line
04 · Approve properly

Approved against the contract, and tracked the right way.

Every variation carries the basis it is claimed under, the contract clause or direction that gives rise to it, so entitlement is clear before a number is agreed. It then runs through a proper approval workflow, with thresholds and a defined chain, so a change is authorised the right way rather than waved through in an email, and while the work is still ahead of you. Every revision is kept as an immutable record, who submitted, who assessed, who approved and when, so an agreed variation stays agreed and a disputed one stays defensible.

VO-014 · Version history
Additional piling to grid H
Immutable
Rev 1Submitted
Subcontractor · 24 Jun 2026
Initial submission with breakdown and evidence
$92,400
Rev 2Revised and resubmitted
Subcontractor · 28 Jun 2026
Reissued after site records were provided
$84,500
Rev 3Assessed
Head contractor · 02 Jul 2026
Two lines trimmed, a reason on each
$79,600
Rev 4Approved
Project director · 03 Jul 2026
Cleared the approval threshold and chain
$79,600
Nothing overwritten. Every revision retained against the contract.
What the business gets

Better outcomes, on every job.

No variation raised and never claimed
Faster approvals, before margin is spent
One register both sides of the contract trust
Every adjustment reasoned and recorded
Exposure visible while you can still act on it
Disputes met with a complete, dated record
1
Register for every variation
0
Variations lost in email
Live
Numbers, from submission
100%
Revision history tracked
Time back

Close the month without rebuilding the position.

No register is updated by hand after the fact. Every variation was captured, assessed and approved as it happened, so month-end is a view of the record, not a reconstruction, and the time saved goes back into managing variations and getting them agreed, not assembling the number.

RegisterNo merging two trackers into one truth each month.
ApprovalsNo chasing sign-off after the work is already built.
ReconciliationNo arguing over which variation number is current.

Frequently asked

How does a centralised register stop variations being missed?

Every change is logged against the contract the moment it is identified, with its scope, breakdown and evidence, and it stays on the one register from that point on, with the cost report kept in step. Because there is one register rather than a folder of emails and a spreadsheet per project, a variation cannot be raised on site and then quietly fall out of the next claim. The work you do is the work you get paid for.

When does a variation show up in the numbers?

Straight away. From the moment a variation is submitted, its numbers are live across every view, rather than waiting on approval. Once it is assessed, the assessed amount shows in the cost report, reconciled to the cent against the contract sum, and you decide whether to carry it into your forecast position, with no re-keying and no waiting for the ERP to catch up.

How does ClaimStack make sure a variation is approved properly?

Every variation records the basis it is claimed under, the contract clause or direction behind it, and is assessed on its merits before it goes anywhere. It then moves through an approval workflow with thresholds and a defined chain, so authorisation follows the contract rather than a hallway conversation, and every submission, assessment and approval is kept as an immutable record you can point to later.

How much time does this actually save at month-end?

Because every variation was captured, assessed and approved as it happened, the month-end position is a view of the record, not a reconstruction. There is no merging of two trackers, no chasing of overdue approvals, and no argument about which number is current. The project team spends the time managing the number instead of assembling it, and the claim goes out on time with the detail already in place.

What happens if a variation is disputed?

Nothing is ever overwritten. Every submission, assessment and approval is kept as an immutable revision, with who did what and when, and every adjustment carries the reason it was made. If a variation is ever queried or adjudicated, the full trail is already there, so your position is protected without digging back through inboxes to prove what was agreed.

The margin is in the variations.
Protect it.