Variation Order Template UK — Free Download
4 min read · Published by Lintel
If you're looking for a variation order template, you've come to the right place. Below is a free VO template you can use immediately — followed by an honest explanation of why a template alone isn't enough to protect your margin on site.
Free variation order template
A properly structured variation order should include the following fields. Copy this structure into your preferred format — Word, Excel, or PDF.
Variation order
VO Number
VO-001
Project
Project name
Date raised
DD/MM/YYYY
Raised by
Your name
Client
Client name
Description of variation
Describe the variation in full — what was requested, by whom, and when.
Cause of variation
Pricing breakdown
Labour
£___
Materials
£___
Plant & equipment
£___
Prelims
£___
Total (ex. VAT)
£___
Client approval
Approved by (name)
Date
Signature:
You can download this template as a PDF or Word document — or keep reading to understand why a static template creates as many problems as it solves.
Want a ready-made variation order system instead of a template? Lintel handles the entire process — raising, pricing, approving, and storing variation orders — on your phone on site.
The problem with variation order templates
A template is a starting point, not a system. The contractors who consistently lose money on variations aren't doing so because they don't have a template — they're losing because of what happens around the template.
Templates don't get filled in on site. A Word document on your laptop isn't accessible when you're standing on Level 3 of a live fit-out at 9am and the client just asked for something extra. By the time you get back to the office to fill it in, the detail has faded, the moment has passed, and the VO gets raised as a vague summary rather than a precise record.
Templates don't price automatically. Every time you use a template, someone has to look up the rates, calculate the labour, add the markup, and check the total. Under site pressure, this gets done quickly and inaccurately. Rates get pulled from memory. Markup gets forgotten. The total gets rounded down to keep the client happy.
Templates don't get the client to sign. A PDF emailed to a client requires them to print it, sign it, scan it, and email it back. Or reply to the email with approval. Neither happens reliably. Most template-based VO approvals exist as “I think they said yes” rather than a timestamped record.
Templates don't chase. If the client doesn't respond, someone has to remember to follow up. On a busy site with 20 live VOs, things fall through the cracks.
A better approach
The contractors who protect their margin on variations have a system, not just a template. The system:
Raises the VO on a phone on site, the moment the instruction is given. Takes a photo. Logs the cause. Auto-prices from a rate card. Sends the client a one-tap approval request. Chases automatically if they don't respond. Stores everything with a timestamp.
That's what Lintel does. It's not a template — it's the process a template was always trying to be.
For a full guide to the variation order process, see how to manage variation orders on fit-out projects.
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