A ready to use Excel register for tracking every instruction and variation from issue to valuation, built for NEC4 Project Manager instructions and equally usable on JCT contracts. Built by quantity surveyors.
A variation tracker is the register a contractor keeps of every instruction that changes the scope, quality or quantity of the works, from the moment it is issued through to its value being agreed and included in a valuation. On an NEC4 contract those instructions typically change the Scope under clause 14.3 and become compensation events under clause 60.1(1). On a JCT contract they are variations issued by instruction of the Architect or Contract Administrator.
Under NEC4, a Project Manager instruction changing the Scope is a compensation event unless it falls within one of the exceptions in clause 60.1(1). Under JCT, a variation only takes effect once instructed in writing (or confirmed in writing) by the Architect or Contract Administrator.Most variation trackers fail because instructions arrive by email, verbally on site, or scribbled on a drawing, and only some of them make it into the register. The ones that get missed are rarely disputed at the time. They surface eight months later at final account, when nobody remembers who said what and the evidence has gone cold. This template gives every instruction one place to live from day one.
NEC4 does not use the term variation. An instruction changing the Scope is a compensation event under clause 60.1(1), so NEC4 users should treat this register as the instruction log that feeds the compensation event process. Once an instruction is logged here, notify it and track its time bar and quotation status on the compensation event log template, the right tool for the NEC4 clause 61 to 66 process.
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Instruction reference and source | Distinguishes a formal written instruction from a verbal one still awaiting confirmation |
| Date issued and date received | The dates that start the valuation and, on NEC4, the compensation event clock |
| Description and drawing reference | Ties the change to the specific scope or drawing revision affected |
| Contract clause (60.1(1) or JCT variation clause) | Confirms the contractual ground the change is valued under |
| Estimated and agreed value | Tracks the gap between what was priced and what was actually agreed |
| Valuation status | Shows whether the value has been included in the current valuation or is still outstanding |
Each row carries a status flag that turns amber when a verbal instruction has not been confirmed in writing within the period stated in the contract, and red once it is overdue.
The Excel file with the instruction register, NEC4 clause 60.1(1) and JCT variation clause dropdowns, and an estimated-vs-agreed value comparison tab.
Download the template (.xlsx) Free download. No email needed. Yours to use and share with your team.On an NEC4 contract, a Project Manager instruction changing the Scope is issued under clause 14.3 and, unless it falls within one of the clause 60.1(1) exceptions (accepting a Defect, resolving an ambiguity, or a change made necessary by the contractor's own late information), it is a compensation event. That means it must be notified within the eight week time bar in clause 61.3 and valued through the clause 62 quotation process, not simply carried in a variation account.
On a JCT contract there is no compensation event mechanism or time bar in the same sense. A variation only takes effect once instructed, or confirmed, in writing by the Architect or Contract Administrator, and its value is agreed under the valuation rules in the contract (typically by reference to the priced document or a fair valuation). The tracker's clause column lets you record either framework in the same register, so a contractor running both NEC4 and JCT work does not need two separate systems.
A variation tracker is only complete if every instruction actually reaches it. Verbal instructions on site are the most common way an entitlement goes missing, because nobody writes them down until the valuation is already being prepared.
Gather's AI QS reviews your records against the NEC4 clauses and surfaces the events your team has not notified yet, before the eight week clock bars them.
See how the AI QS catches missed CEs A 30 minute call. No commitment. Bring one of your live contracts.FAQ
No. NEC4 does not use the term variation. A change that JCT would call a variation is, under NEC4, an instruction changing the Scope, which is a compensation event under clause 60.1(1) and is priced through the quotation process in clauses 61 to 66.
A variation is the change itself, an instruction changing the scope, quality or quantity of the works. A compensation event is NEC4's specific contractual mechanism for valuing and timing the consequences of that change, including the eight week notification time bar under clause 61.3. JCT does not use the term compensation event; variations there are valued under the contract's own valuation rules.
Most contracts require instructions to be given, or confirmed, in writing to take contractual effect. A verbal instruction on site should be logged immediately and followed up with written confirmation within the period the contract allows, rather than left until the valuation is prepared.
Yes. The clause column lets you record either the NEC4 clause 60.1(1) trigger or the JCT variation clause, so a contractor running both forms of contract can use one register instead of two.
Under clause 61.3, the contractor loses the right to a change in the Prices or Completion Date for that event, unless it arises from the Project Manager or Supervisor's own instruction, notification, certificate or decision change.
Gather reads your site records as they come in and flags the instructions and events before the deadline does.
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