Variations, retention back and bank guarantees
Price extra or changed work as a variation and send it to the client with its PDF. The client agrees on the portal, by signature or in writing. Then its items become contract items to bill. Ask for the client's retention back in one step, and keep every bank guarantee with a reminder before it expires.
PLANSFrom Growth
The problem it solves
- Extra work is done on a verbal yes and the client disputes it at the final bill.
- Retention held by the client is forgotten after handover.
- A performance guarantee lapses, or margin money stays blocked at the bank long after the guarantee is released.
How it works
- Open Construction > Projects > Finance > Client Billing > Variations > New. Give the change, the reason, the items with rates, the extra days and a description.
- Press Send to the Client. The variation PDF is emailed to the project's client, with a link to agree on the portal.
- The client agrees or refuses on the portal or signs through SmartMy Sign. Or a manager records Client Agreed with the client's reference.
- Agreed items become contract items at once, ready for the next progress bill.
- At the end of the defects period, press Ask for Retention Back on the project: a client bill for all the retention the client holds.
- Record each bank guarantee under Bank Guarantees. A to-do reaches the project manager before it expires; mark it Extended, Released or Invoked as it happens.
Everything it does
Variations
- Number, change, project, client, date, reason (Client Asked, Design Change, Site Conditions, Law or Approvals, Other)
- Items: item number, description, unit, quantity, rate, amount, place
- Value, extra days, the client's approval reference, decided on, description
- Draft, Sent to the Client, Agreed, Refused; a sent variation is no longer changed
- Printed as a Variation PDF
- With SmartMy Sign: Send for Signing to the client and your side. Once all have signed it is agreed by itself, with the signature request as the reference
Retention back
- Retention Held by the Client shown on the project
- Ask for Retention Back makes a client bill for the full amount, once no bill is open
- It goes through the Client Progress Bill chain and into a customer invoice
Bank guarantees
- Given by Us or Received from Others
- Kind: Performance, Advance, Retention, Bid / Earnest Money, Other
- Project, in favour of or from, issuing bank, number, amount, margin money held
- Issued on, valid until, claims until, the scanned document, notes
- Remind Before: 30 days to start with
- Active, Extended, Released, Invoked, Expired
- Extend asks for the new valid-until and claims-until dates
- Checked every day: a to-do to the project manager once inside the reminder days; past the claim date (or expiry) it becomes Expired
Who uses it
Construction ManagerPrices variations, sends them, records the client's decision, asks for retention back and keeps the guarantees.
ClientReads the variation and agrees or refuses on the portal, or signs it.
Project managerGets the to-do before a guarantee expires.
Finance headFollows guarantees and the margin money held at each bank.
Where you use it
- Web: Construction > Projects > Finance > Client Billing > Variations, and Finance > Bank Guarantees (Construction Managers)
- Client portal: variations sent to them with Agree and Refuse; who decided is recorded
- Email: the variation PDF to the client
- With SmartMy Sign: signing on the phone or computer from the signer's own link
What you control
Settings
- Remind Before (days) per guarantee: 30 to start with
- Client retention % on the project
- The client's email address, needed to send the variation
Approvals
- Variations are decided by the client, not by an internal chain
- Ask for Retention Back goes through the Client Progress Bill chain
Notifications
- Variation to the Client: to the project's client, by email with the PDF, at once
- Guarantee expiry: a to-do for the project manager, not a notification
Works with
SmartMy SignVariations signed by the client and your side; signed means agreed, and the items become contract items.
Questions
What happens when the client agrees a variation?
Its items are added to the project's contract items with the variation named, and can be billed on the next progress bill. The date and the client's reference are kept.Does an agreed variation change our budget?
Not by itself. Raise a budget revision for the extra cost so the building budget follows.Can the client sign the variation?
Yes, with SmartMy Sign. Send for Signing sends it to the client and your side; once everyone has signed it is agreed by itself.Are we reminded before a bank guarantee expires?
Yes. The project manager gets a to-do 30 days before expiry, or the days you set. A guarantee past its claim date is marked Expired.Can we claim extension of time?
A variation records the extra days it adds. A separate register of claims and extensions of time is not built.Related features
MONEYClient progress billsBill the client on the contract items. Each bill shows this bill, previous and up to date per item, the retention the client keeps and the advance taken back. It is approved inside first, prints as a progress bill, payment application or interim payment certificate, and becomes the customer invoice.MONEYBuilding budget with 80 and 100 % alertsOne budget per project, by cost code and place, approved once and changed only by approved revisions. Costs from site flow into it every hour. The project manager is told when a line passes 80 % and 100 % used.PORTAL AND APPPortal for clients, subcontractors, buyers and borrowersPeople outside your company sign in at /my/construction and see only their own part. Clients see their projects, site updates, variations to agree and approved bills. Subcontractors see their work orders, certified measurements and retention. Buyers and borrowers get their own pages when you sell homes or lend.MONEYMeasurement book, retention and advancesSite staff measure each item's work by place, as Nos. x length x breadth x depth with photos; a manager certifies it, and only certified quantities reach the running bill. Retention is kept from every bill and released in one step, and the mobilisation advance is recovered bill by bill.ACCOUNTINGFull accounting with GST returnsKeep the books in the same system as your sites. Approved client progress bills, subcontractor bills, wage runs and hire bills reach accounts as drafts, with retention, advances and TDS on their own accounts. Scale adds the full accounting screens and reports, from ledgers to cash flow, and GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B for Indian entities.
See your next site report on it.
Tell us what you build, how many sites you run and how your client hears about progress today. We will set up a project with you and send your first daily update.