How to Create and Send Variation Orders

Changes to a project happen — the scope gets bigger or smaller, materials change, decisions change. When this happens, Houzz Pro enables you to create variation orders (change orders) directly from your approved estimates and send them to your client for approval.

A variation order only charges the client for the difference between the planned cost and the updated cost. This allows you to send a payment request for the planned amount and still collect money separately in the variation order for the updated costs. 

Please Note: Variation orders are only available for Build packages, and are referred to as 'change orders' in the below video.

Create Variation Order

There are several ways you can create a variation order. You can create a variation order from scratch, from a template, or from an approved estimate.

Create Variation Order From Scratch

To create a variation order from scratch, click the Projects icon in the left navigation, then find the relevant project. Select Variation Orders in the left menu for that project, then click on the New Variation Order button at the top right of your screen. Select From Scratch in the dropdown menu.

Create Variation Order From Template

To create a variation order from an existing template, click the Projects icon in the left navigation, then find the relevant project. Select Variation Orders in the left menu for that project, then click on the New Variation Order button at the top right of your screen. Select From Template in the dropdown menu.

To learn more about creating a new template, read the Create a Variation Order Template section below.

Create Variation Order From Approved Estimate

To create a variation order from an approved estimate, start by opening the estimate. You can either create a variation order with all the estimate line items included, or you can individually select the checkboxes next to the specific line items you would like to adjust.

Then, you can either select Create Variation Order right above your line items, or select Create Variation Order from the Actions dropdown at the top of your estimate.

Edit Variation Order

Once you create a variation order, you can adjust quantities and cost, add notes for each line item, add new line items, and then send it to your client for approval.

Edit Line Items

If you are creating a variation order from scratch or from a template, you can directly edit line items, just like any other document.

If you are creating a variation order from an approved estimate, your variation order will have a row for planned and a row for updated quantities, material, labour, and profits.

The planned values come directly from your approved estimates and cannot be changed. The updated values can be changed as needed by simply clicking the value you'd like to edit. You can also edit the line item name and add notes. As you make changes, you will notice a yellow highlight indicating the changed values. This makes it easy for you to see your updates as you work. 

In the example above: The material cost for the tiling has increased from $13,636.36 to $14,636.36. This change is reflected in the total cost for that line item, as well as in the total cost at the bottom of the variation order.

Add New Items

In addition to editing existing items, you can also add new items to your variation order. To do this, click into the Add Item field in the document to manually add information. Here, you can either create a new item, or search for and select an existing item. You'll see items sourced from My Items, Project Items, and the Generic Items Library.

The menu on the right side of your document also gives you access to items from various sources:

• My Items: Items from your product and item library
• Brand Libraries: Items from the Generic Items Library
• Templates: Items from your existing document templates
• Recent Estimates: Items from other estimates across projects

Use the filters and the search bar to quickly find the items you want, then click the item(s) to add to the variation order. Once added, you can manually update the details, like descriptions, quantity or marking an item 'GST applicable'.

Create Assemblies from Line Items

Line items on your variation order can be grouped together to create one parent item. This is particularly helpful when creating custom pieces or billing for items composed of multiple components where you may not want to show your client every little detail. Check out How to Create Assemblies to learn more.

More Actions

Under the Actions dropdown menu, there are many other changes you can make to your variation order. This includes:

• Approve
• Save as Template
• Download as PDF
• Export as Excel
• Print
• Merge
• Archive
• Delete

Adjust Payment Details

Under Payments, you can adjust certain details, such as number of payments, payment name, payment terms and the due date. Once a variation order is approved, you will not be able to edit these details without re-opening the document for editing.

By default, the payment schedule will only include one payment. If you would like to add more payments, click the Schedule a Payment button.

The additional payment(s) will automatically appear in the Payments section — you can adjust the name, amount, payment terms and due date directly in the document by clicking the relevant line.

If you have multiple payments and would like to reorder them, just click and drag a payment until it's in the order you need.

For the payment amount, you can adjust the dropdown to either select a dollar amount or a percentage. Make your adjustments, and click the check mark to save.

Delete a Payment

If you need to make a change to a payment, you can easily adjust the payment details directly in the document by clicking the relevant line and making your changes.

If you need to delete a payment, hover over the payment and click on the three dots icon on the right. From there, select Delete Payment.

Log a Payment

Setting up online payments is the easiest way to ensure all your payments are logged, since they will be logged automatically. Click Set Up Online Payments in the Payments section to get started, or read this article to find out more about online payments: How to Set Up Online Payments

If you don't have online payments set up, you will need to manually log each payment you receive. Click on Log Payment in the Payments section, or read this article to learn more about logging payments: How to Log a Payment

Create a Variation Order Template

If you have a standard template for your business that you would like to use time and time again, you can also create your own custom variation order template.

Once you create your variation order with your preferred format, select the Actions dropdown, and find Save as Template.

From there, you can name your template and select all the sections you would like to keep for your variation order template. Click Save.

Once you create your template, you will be able to access it in the Template Centre whenever you need it — just look under the My Templates section.

Share With Your Client

Before you share the variation order with your client, be sure to select Preview to see the client view. A new screen will appear where you can review the document format and ensure all the information is correct. Here, you can also customise what information is shown to clients — to learn more, read How to Customise What Your Clients See.

Once you're ready to share with your client and get approval, select Send at the top of your variation order.

You will now be able to customise the email or text message your client will receive.

For an email, you can adjust the email subject line and email text. If you have an email template you would like to use, you can select this in the My Templates link at the bottom of the text box.

When your email is ready to go, click Send.

Your client will receive an email with the ability to approve the variation order. In order to approve it, they will need to open up the variation order, review and click on Approve and Sign.

They can add their electronic signature to the variation order and select Save. Once completed, the variation order will be approved, and you will be notified. The client can then pay online using online payments, if you have online payments set up.

If you or your client makes adjustments and you need to make edits to the variation order, you will need to Reopen for Editing. To do this, click on Actions, then select Reopen for Editing from the dropdown menu.

When you reopen a variation order, you will lose the client's e-signature and will need to request approval again.

You also always have the option to approve the variation order yourself instead of sending and requesting approval from the client. To do this, select Approve from the actions dropdown at the top of the variation order.

Comment on Variation Orders

Once you share your variation order with the client, you can communicate with them (and team members) directly on the document by using the comment feature at the top. This allows you to easily reference document details you might be discussing, and keeps conversations organised. To learn more, read How to Comment on Documents in Houzz Pro.