# Variation Order in Construction

> A variation order is a signed change to the scope, price or time of a construction contract. See a hospital wing example and how SuperWise handles amendments.

Canonical: https://superwise.site/glossary/variation-order/
Last updated: 2026-11-01

A written agreement that changes the scope, price or time of a signed construction contract, signed before the extra work starts.

## What is Variation Order (Change Order)?

A Variation Order, often used interchangeably with a [Change Order](https://superwise.site/glossary/change-order/), is a written agreement that changes the [BOQ](https://superwise.site/glossary/bill-of-quantities/), the specifications or the timeline of a signed contract. Variations are common in civil work, from unexpected hard rock that needs blasting to a client who upgrades the lobby tiles at the last minute. Each one is priced and signed before the contractor executes it, so that the contractor is paid.

## Practical example

While a hospital is being built, the client decides to add a surgical wing on the 3rd floor that was not in the original drawings, and the contractor halts. The contractor drafts a Variation Order stating that the addition needs 50 extra tonnes of steel and 200 cu.m of concrete and delays the project by one month. Both parties sign it, which adds ₹50,00,000 to the contract value.

## In SuperWise

In SuperWise a variation is made as an amendment to the [work order](https://superwise.site/glossary/work-order/). An amendment for a scope addition or a rate revision raises the work order's revision number and saves a snapshot of the earlier version with the reason for the change. [RA bills](https://superwise.site/glossary/running-account-bill/) are checked against the work order quantity, so the cumulative billed quantity of a line cannot pass what the amended work order allows.

[For contracts and purchase](https://superwise.site/professions/construction-contracts-and-purchase/)

## Related terms

- [Change Order (Variation)](https://superwise.site/glossary/change-order/)
- [Work Order (WO)](https://superwise.site/glossary/work-order/)
- [Bill of Quantities (BOQ)](https://superwise.site/glossary/bill-of-quantities/)

## Related
- [Change Order (Variation)](https://superwise.site/glossary/change-order/)
- [Work Order (WO)](https://superwise.site/glossary/work-order/)
- [Bill of Quantities (BOQ)](https://superwise.site/glossary/bill-of-quantities/)
- [For contracts and purchase](https://superwise.site/professions/construction-contracts-and-purchase/)