Variations & instructions
A change arrives on site before its price or paperwork is settled. YPA keeps the instruction, cost, approval and payment evidence together, so you can see what needs confirming and what to do next.
How this helps a contractor
For a contractor, this keeps the instruction, supporting record, price request and response status connected before changed work disappears into the job. An appointed quantity surveyor, principal agent or project manager may review the relevant evidence as an invited collaborator, but YPA does not assess, approve or instruct the change for them.
Start with the contractor’s project question and the records already available. Each participant’s private questions and drafts remain separate from shared project records. At setup, we agree the invited collaborators, information and recipients that help the contractor move the work. How personal support and collaboration work. See the contractor questions YPA helps answer.
What YPA does
- Captures the change you share — Forward the instruction, email, minutes, photo or voice note. YPA records what changed, who said it, the date and the source, then files it in your project folder.
- Keeps the stages separate — An instruction, a quotation, an agreed value, a certified amount and a payment are different facts. YPA updates each from the relevant evidence and flags uncertain matches for review.
- Makes the missing money visible — Ask for unpriced changes, quotations awaiting approval or approved work awaiting certification or payment. Known amounts are shown separately from changes still to be priced.
- Connects the site detail to the record — A photo and voice note can become a site-instruction entry for your review, linked to the existing variation. Your site note does not become a consultant’s authorised instruction merely because it has been filed.
- Prepares the next step — Ask for a pricing query, confirmation or follow-up to the responsible project participant. YPA prepares the draft and supporting detail for you to review and send.
- Keeps you informed — Your weekly email includes material changes and outstanding decisions. Important dates can prompt a timely alert, and you can ask for the register or source document in WhatsApp or email at any time.
Start with what you have. Share the accepted scope or contract, the relevant plans, instructions, quotations and approvals. Certificates and payment evidence let YPA follow the change through to cash. Existing registers help if you have them; YPA can create its own from your records.
YPA creates and maintains the sheet from your records. Its entries are marked system-generated, yours to verify. Review and edit at any time. Drafts come to you; you check and send them yourself.
How it actually runs
- A change is recorded against the original scope and relevant drawing revision.
- The authorised instruction, proposed value and agreement are linked as they arrive. Your contract determines the required process.
- The valuation or payment certificate shows what has been certified. Payment evidence shows what has actually been received.
- Unclear authority, missing prices or conflicting records remain visible for your review.
Where it usually goes wrong
- A verbal change has no clear record of who instructed it or when.
- A price is quoted but never agreed, or an agreed change is missing from certification.
- A certificate is treated as proof of payment before the receipt is checked.
- An unpriced item is hidden inside a total as though its cost were zero.
What a YPA sheet looks like
One row per change keeps the description, instruction, price and review status together. The example uses the same Project A records as the explainer. All columns remain available by scrolling the sheet horizontally.
| Variation Number | Date | Description | Instruction Reference | Originator | Cost Code | Reason | Work Status | Quoted Amount | QS Valuation | Approved Amount | Time Impact (days) | Status | Verified By | Source Tag |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VO-04 | 2026-07-10 | Additional foundation depth | SI-004 | Agent | FND | Ground condition | Complete | R 38 400,00 | R 38 400,00 | R 38 400,00 | 2 | Paid | Contractor | system-generated |
| VO-05 | 2026-08-14 | Revised window sill height | SI-005 | Agent | WIN | Design revision | Not started | R 26 500,00 | R 26 500,00 | R 26 500,00 | To confirm | Agreed | Contractor | system-generated |
| VO-06 | 2026-08-20 | Roof flashings — Block C | SI-006 | Agent | RFG | Revised detail | Not started | R 18 500,00 | Not received | Not approved | To confirm | Priced | Not yet verified | system-generated |
| VO-07 | 2026-09-03 | Cladding finish — elevation A | Variation Instruction 07 | Agent | CLD | Agent instruction | Not started | To be priced | Not received | Not approved | To confirm | Instructed | Not yet verified | system-generated |
| VO-08 | 2026-09-04 | Additional stone return — elevation A | SI-008 · review required | Contractor — for review | CLD | Site photo and voice note | Not started | To be priced | Not received | Not approved | To confirm | For review | Not yet verified | system-generated |
| VO-09 | 2026-09-04 | Door ironmongery adjustment | SI-009 | Agent | DRS | Design coordination | Not started | To be priced | Not received | Not approved | To confirm | Instructed | Not yet verified | system-generated |
What you can do today
- Share the change and its context while the detail is fresh.
- Confirm authority and pricing with the responsible person before treating them as agreed.
- Keep the certificate and the payment evidence with the variation trail.
Want the full picture?
Your personal project assistant in WhatsApp and email. Start with one question, on your own or with collaborators whose access is agreed individually. Each participant has a private conversation with YPA. YPA is available through application, with the project scope, service and price agreed before you start.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. What counts as a valid instruction, and how variations are priced and approved, comes from your signed contract — always check the contract before acting. YPA helps you record, track and draft; it doesn't give legal opinions.