Variations, priced in a sentence
STOP DOING THE EXTRAS FOR FREE
The wall was out of level. Say so in one sentence, the same engine that priced the job prices the extra, and your customer agrees it before you pick the tools back up.
“You never said that would cost extra”
It is the sentence behind most late payment in this trade, and it happens for a boring reason: pricing a variation properly means stopping, working it out, and having an awkward conversation. So you do the work and swallow it, or you put it on the final bill and she disputes it. Both cost you. The fix is not discipline, it is making it take thirty seconds.
How it works
Exactly like writing a quote, because it is the same engine doing it.
Type it, or say it
“Wall behind the units is out of level so it needs battening and packing out before they go back on.” That is the whole input. Talk to it if your hands are dirty.
Priced off your day rate, not a guess
The same pricing engine that did the original quote, using your day rate, your region and the same material prices. Nobody else can do this: they were not there when the job was priced, so a variation for them is a man with a calculator at 9pm.
She agrees it before you start
Your customer gets a link, sees what the extra is and what it costs, and taps yes. Priced, agreed, then done. That order is what stops the argument, and it is the whole reason this exists.
Billed as its own item, never hidden
Approved extras go on the invoice as a separate line, in the words she agreed to. They are never folded into the final payment, because turning £1,555 into £1,855 without saying so is the surprise this feature exists to prevent.
Your original quote stays locked
The quote is your proof of what was agreed and it never changes underneath you. Extra work sits alongside it with its own price and its own yes.
Extra work: frequently asked questions
How is this different from just editing the quote?
A quote locks the moment you send it, and that lock is the point. It is your proof of what was agreed. Quietly raising the number afterwards would destroy the one document that settles a dispute six weeks later. Extra work gets its own price and its own approval instead.
How long does it take?
About as long as it takes to say what the extra is. You describe it in a sentence and it comes back priced, materials and labour, off the same rates as the original job.
What if my customer says no?
Then you have not done the work yet, which is the entire benefit. A declined variation costs you a sentence. Doing it first and asking later costs you the work.
Can I change the price it comes back with?
Yes. It is priced from your rates, and every line is yours to adjust before you send it, exactly like a quote.