Approve a variation to raise the budget
ConstructionPro.io · 19 August 20261 min read
An approved change lifts the category budget. Spend still arrives later as invoices.
A variation is a change to the agreed sum, not a bill. If you post it as spend, remaining collapses twice — once for the change, once for the invoice that follows.
What you need
Every variation needs a cost category. Without one, approval is blocked because there is nowhere to lift the budget.
What happens on approve
The category budget goes up by the variation amount. Remaining improves by that lift. Invoices for the extra work still post as spend later.
Rejecting (or moving the category) reverses the previous lift so the ledger does not keep a ghost increase.
Good to know
- Pick the line the extra work actually belongs to — not Contingency unless that is the agreement.
- Photos and comments stay on the variation, same as an invoice.
- Family viewers and clients cannot approve.