What is a Variation Order in Construction?

8 min read · Published by Lintel

A variation order — sometimes called a VO, variation instruction, or change order — is a formal document that authorises work outside the original contract scope. In fit-out and construction, variation orders are how contractors get paid for doing more than they were originally contracted to do.

Without a properly raised and approved variation order, that additional work is essentially free. The contractor carries the cost, the client gets the benefit, and there's no paperwork to prove the instruction was ever given.

What counts as a variation?

A variation is any change to the original contract — in scope, specification, or programme. In fit-out, common variations include:

Scope changes — the client adds rooms, changes the layout, or requests additional areas to be included in the works.

Specification upgrades — the client upgrades from a standard specification to a premium one. Carpet tiles to LVT. Standard partitioning to glazed screens. Basic lighting to feature lighting.

Unforeseen conditions — the contractor opens a wall and finds something that wasn't in the survey. Asbestos. A structural element that needs to be worked around. Service runs that conflict with the design.

Design changes — the architect or designer issues a revised drawing that changes the scope of work already priced.

Delay and prolongation — the contractor is on site and ready to work, but can't because of late information, access issues, or main contractor delays. The standing time and extended prelims are a legitimate variation.

Provisional sum adjustments — items priced as provisional sums in the original contract that have now been defined and need to be formally instructed.

What should a variation order include?

A properly raised variation order should contain:

A unique reference number — VO-001, VO-002 etc. Every VO on a project should be numbered sequentially so nothing gets lost and disputes are easy to reference.

A clear description of the work — specific enough that anyone reading it later understands exactly what was requested. “Extra partition wall” is not enough. “Extra stud partition wall, approximately 4m x 2.4m, Level 2 south wing, as verbally instructed by client PM on 14 June 2025” is.

The cause of the variation — client instruction, design change, unforeseen condition etc. This matters for your records and for any future dispute.

Photo evidence — particularly important for unforeseen conditions. Photograph the existing condition before any work starts. If the client later disputes the need for the variation, the photo is your evidence.

A price breakdown — labour, materials, plant, prelims. Each line item with a quantity and a rate. Don't just give a lump sum — a detailed breakdown is much harder to dispute.

The total value — the agreed price the client is approving.

Client sign-off — a signature, an email approval, or a timestamped digital approval. Without this, the variation has not been formally instructed.

When should you raise a variation order?

The moment the instruction is given. Not at the end of the week. Not when you're back in the office. Not after the work is done.

The single most common reason contractors lose money on variations is timing. The work gets done, the project moves on, and by the time the VO is raised, the client has mentally moved on too. They don't remember asking for it, they don't remember agreeing to a price, and they're not inclined to pay for something they can't clearly recall authorising.

Raise the VO before the work starts. If that's not possible, raise it the same day. The closer to the instruction, the stronger your position.

How do you get a variation order approved?

The fastest way to get client approval is to make it as easy as possible for the client to say yes.

A lengthy PDF attached to an email requires the client to open the attachment, read it, reply with approval, and hope the email thread is findable six months later. Most clients don't do this promptly. Many don't do it at all.

A one-page summary with a clear description, a total price, and a single button to approve takes 30 seconds. Clients do this immediately.

For a detailed walkthrough of the full process, see our guide on how to manage variation orders on fit-out projects.

Whatever mechanism you use, the approval needs to be:

Timestamped — you need to know when it was approved, not just that it was.

Attributable — it needs to be clear who approved it. A name and an email address at minimum.

Stored — somewhere you can find it 12 months later when the final account is being disputed.

What happens if a variation isn't approved?

If work is carried out without formal client approval, the contractor is in a weak position at final account. The client can dispute the instruction was ever given, dispute the price was ever agreed, or simply refuse to pay on the grounds that they never authorised the work.

In adjudication, an unapproved variation is very difficult to recover. You might win on the merits — particularly if you have contemporaneous records — but it's expensive, time-consuming, and uncertain.

The simplest way to protect yourself is to never start variation work without written approval. If the client is pushing you to start before approving the price, at minimum get a written instruction to proceed — even an email saying “go ahead, we'll agree the price later” gives you something to work with.

Variation orders vs day works

Day works are a related but distinct mechanism. A day work is where the contractor carries out work on a time-and-materials basis — recording hours, plant, and materials used, rather than agreeing a fixed price upfront.

Day works are appropriate when the scope of the variation is genuinely unknown — for example, opening up a wall where you don't know what you'll find. They're less appropriate as a general approach to variations, because they're harder to get approved upfront and harder to manage at final account.

For most fit-out variations, a fixed-price VO is preferable to a day work. It gives the client certainty on cost, gives the contractor certainty on value, and creates a cleaner paper trail.

How Lintel handles variation orders

Lintel is built specifically for fit-out contractors who want to raise, price, and approve variation orders without the paperwork getting in the way.

On site, a contractor raises a VO in under 60 seconds — description, cause, photo evidence, linked to the project. Lintel auto-prices it from the contractor's rate card. The client receives a VOSign approval email with one button to approve and one to reject — no login required, no portal to navigate.

Every approved VO is timestamped, signed, and exportable as a PDF variation schedule — ready for the final account.

If the client doesn't respond within 48 hours, Lintel chases them automatically.