Recording variations properly, and avoiding final account disputes

Almost every project changes. The problems start when changes are agreed in conversation, priced later, and remembered differently by each side at the final account.

What each variation entry should contain

• A reference number and the date the change was agreed
• What is changing, in plain language, and why
• The cost effect, whether an addition, an omission or no change
• The programme effect in days
• Who requested it and who accepted it

Acknowledge in writing, every time

A short message confirming the change and its cost, sent the same day and acknowledged by the client, resolves most disputes before they exist. It also produces a clear paper trail that later explains why the finished building differs from the original drawings.

Keep the variation register with the project record rather than in an email thread, so it is still readable when the job is closed and the site team has moved on.

Project Passport keeps these records together in one permanent digital record of your property, so the drawings, approvals, certificates, warranties and photographs of every project stay findable years after the work finishes. It is an independent record-keeping platform: it complements, and does not replace, Building Control, HM Land Registry, conveyancers or professional advice.