Within the JACK platform, a variation relates to a change in cost related to a customer request. This amount will be passed on to the client. For a change in cost related to materials, contractors, or any other reason (that will not be passed on to the client), you should use the builder gain/loss feature. For help with a builder gain/loss, refer to our separate article on creating a Builder gain/loss.
There are two ways to create a variation:
1. Creating a variation from the Job Budget
Navigate to Jobs > select the relevant Job > Budget > click on the relevant cost category to expand it > click the tickbox on the left-hand side of a cost item and then click Variation in the bottom right of the screen.
Jump to Step 2 below.
2. Creating a variation using Add Variations
To create a variation within JACK, complete the following steps:
Navigate on the main left menu to Jobs > select the relevant Job > Job Financials > Variations in the top right of the screen, and click + Variation.
You will be required to add a name for the variation, which may be related to the cost category, the specific item, or the supplier of the requested variation item.
Next, select the Cost Category this variation relates to; this will organise your variations into categories so that you can easily find them. It will also update the expected costs on your job budget for that specific cost category.
You also have the option to add further Description, but please keep in mind that this description will appear on any variation documents provided to the client and will also be displayed in the client portal.
Once you have added all the relevant details, click on Create Variation in the bottom right.
You will be taken to the further detail section for this variation, and a variation number will be allocated based on the Job Number. Here you can link the variation to a specific selection set and choose whether to show costing items to the client.
If this variation relates to an allowance within the job budget, you can use the Allowance Allocation drop-down to select the relevant allowance. This will show the remaining balance of the allowance and the previously allocated amount, if relevant.
Under the Cost section, select the cost category this variation relates to from the drop-down and click on + Costing Group.
You will then be asked to add a specific cost item under the cost category, you can type in a new item or select an existing item from your catalogues. You will then add the item type, quantity, UOM, and price as you do when creating the job budget.
Multiple items can be added under a cost category and multiple cost categories can be included within one variation if you wish.
If the variation does not use up all of the allowance, you can choose to credit this back to the customer using an allowance credit. This allowance credit will show as a negative amount that can offset a future invoice to be sent to the client.
Below the cost section, you will see the variation total, the allowance allocation, any allowance credits you want to credit back to the customer, and the total variation price to be added to the job budget.
You can add attachments, like images or further information, for the customer to view using the drag-and-drop feature in the greyed-out box or by clicking browse to view your file locations.
Once all the details are complete, you can download the variation as a PDF or send it to the customer or another contact using Save and Release at the bottom right. Save and Release will send the variation to the client for approval, and upon their approval, the variation will be reflected in the Job Budget. Alternatively, if the variation is already approved by the client via email, you can select Save and Approve, and you will be asked to approve the variation manually.
