Can you just move that bed while you are here?
Halfway through the job the customer comes out with a mug of tea and asks whether the step down to the lawn could be two steps instead of one, and while you are at it, could the bed by the shed be a metre wider. The crew leader says no problem. It adds a day of work, more blocks, more topsoil and another skip.
When the final invoice goes out it is the quoted price. The crew leader mentioned the changes to the owner on the phone, the owner meant to add them, and the paperwork never caught up. If it is added later, the customer is surprised and pushes back.
Why extras disappear
Garden builds change on site more than most trades. The customer sees the space opening up and has new ideas. The crew want to keep the customer happy and are right to. The trouble is that there is no quick, normal way to record and agree a change on the spot, so it is agreed verbally and relies on memory.
- Changes are agreed by the crew, who do not handle pricing.
- There is no form or app for recording a change on site.
- Customers are never asked to confirm the extra cost in writing before the work is done.
- The final invoice is written from the quote, not from what was built.
- Extra materials are ordered, but the order is not linked back to a variation.
What unbilled extras cost
Every unrecorded change is labour, materials and skip space given away. On a busy season of garden builds it adds up to a lot of free work. Adding extras after the fact causes a different cost: customers feel ambushed, disputes delay the final payment, and reviews suffer. Both problems come from the same gap: no agreed record at the moment of the change.
The variation log we build
- The crew leader opens the job on their phone and records the change in a few taps: what is being added or changed, with photos and rough measurements.
- The system prices it using your rates for that kind of work, or flags it to the owner to price if it falls outside them.
- The customer receives a text or email describing the change and its cost, and confirms with a tap. Nothing extra starts until it is confirmed, unless the owner overrides.
- Confirmed variations update the job's materials list, so any extra blocks, turf or skip are ordered.
- Each variation is added to the next stage invoice or the final one, itemised so the customer recognises it.
- Changes that reduce the scope are recorded the same way, so credits are handled properly too.
| Change | Recorded as |
|---|---|
| Extra step to lawn | Variation with photos, blocks and coping added |
| Wider planting bed | Variation, topsoil and plants added |
| Extra skip | Variation, charged at your rate |
| Customer drops the pergola | Reduction, credited on next invoice |
| Owner goodwill | Recorded at zero, so you know it was given |
Recording goodwill work at zero is useful in its own right. It shows how much you give away on purpose, which is a different thing from what gets lost.
After a few jobs with it
Crews can say yes to customers with confidence because the process is simple and the customer sees the price before the work. Final invoices match what was built and what the customer agreed. Materials for extras arrive in time. And you can look back across the season and see which jobs grew the most, which is useful when you write the next quote.
Signs extras are leaking
- Final invoices usually match the original quote exactly, even on jobs that changed.
- Customers have questioned extras added at the end.
- Crews agree changes that the owner hears about later.
- Extra materials were bought for jobs without any extra charge.
- You have no written record of what customers agreed to on site.