A variation is a change to a contract's value after it has been created — extra works that add to the contract sum, or omissions that reduce it. In Retention Track each variation is recorded as its own line against the contract, so you keep a clear history of how the contract value has changed over time and never have to adjust the contract value by hand.
Base value, variations, and effective value
When you create a contract you enter its base contract value. Variations are then added to (additions) or subtracted from (omissions) that base to give the contract's effective value:
Base contract value + variations = effective contract value
The effective value is what Retention Track uses for invoicing progress and, depending on your retention method, for working out the maximum retention allowed. A brand-new contract has no variations, so its base value and effective value start out the same.
Adding a variation
Open the contract from the Contracts menu in the left sidebar.
Select the Variations tab.
Click Add Variation.
Fill in the variation details (see the table below) and save.
Field | Description |
Name | A short name for the variation (e.g. "Additional electrical works"). |
Description | Optional. More detail about what the variation covers. |
Value (excl) | The amount the variation adds to the contract, entered exclusive of sales tax (GST/VAT). Enter a negative amount for an omission that reduces the contract value. |
Include in retention | Whether this variation's value counts towards the maximum retention allowed. Turn this off for a variation that should not attract retention. |
Note: a contract's effective value must always be greater than zero. If a set of omissions would reduce the effective value to zero or below, Retention Track will not let you save the change.
How variations affect retention
Whether a variation changes the maximum retention allowed depends on the contract's Variation Retention setting, chosen on the contract:
Combined — included variations are added to the base value and the contract's retention method is applied to the whole amount.
Separate — included variations use their own retention method, calculated separately from the base value.
None — variations do not affect the maximum retention allowed.
Only variations marked Include in retention are counted. For how each retention method calculates the maximum, see Retention Methods.
Editing or removing a variation
From the Variations tab you can edit a variation's details or remove it. The contract's effective value and retention totals update straight away, and every add, edit, and removal is recorded in the contract's history.