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Job extras approval for trades

Send a final invoice they've already agreed to.

“While you're here, could you…?” Price the extra on your phone, send it on WhatsApp, and your customer approves it in seconds — no app, no account. Their yes is saved to the job before you pick up the tools.

  • No card to start
  • Works on your phone, on site
  • Nothing for your customer to install
  • Keep the tools you already use

“…extra €400 on one job.” John, carpenter

Not ready to trial? Grab the free approval template

The Variation Vault dashboard, with the extras that need attention, next to the approval page a customer sees on their phone.

Send it the way you already talk to customers

  • WhatsApp
  • Text message
  • Email
  • Any phone browser

Who it’s for

Built for trades who get asked for extras mid-job — and trades who spot them

  • A builder laying bricks for a garden wall behind a house extension

    Small builders

  • A bathroom fitter pressing a large wall tile into place above a bath

    Bathroom fitters

  • An electrician fitting a double socket in a newly plastered hallway

    Electricians

  • A plumber tightening a pipe fitting under a kitchen sink

    Plumbers

  • A kitchen fitter checking a new oak worktop with a spirit level

    Kitchen fitters

  • A landscaper trimming a hedge in a back garden

    Landscapers

  • A cleaner squeegeeing the outside of a window

    Cleaning companies

  • A mover wheeling boxes up a ramp into a removal van

    Moving companies

The problem

Agreed on site. Questioned on the invoice.

You know how it goes. You open up a wall and find a rotten joist, or the customer asks, “While you're here, could you…?” You give a rough price, they say go ahead, and you do the work. Weeks later the final invoice lands, and the number they remember isn't the number on it.

What’s on record

“About €680”

Without Variation Vault

While you’re here, can you just level the rear patio?10:22

No bother — about €680 plus VAT.10:23

Yeah, go ahead.10:24

Three weeks later

€771? You said €680.18:41

What’s on record

€771.80, approved

With Variation Vault
Approval eventsApproved

Level the rear patio

Rear extension — 22 sqm · Aoife Byrne

Materials€260.00
Labour€420.00
VAT 13.5%€91.80
Total including VAT€771.80
Approved by Aoife Byrne04-10-2026 19:12 UTC
Download proof pack

Then it's an awkward choice: knock it off to keep the peace, or have a money conversation with someone whose house you're still working in.

Variation Vault sorts it the minute the extra comes up. The exact price, the photos and their yes are saved before you start, so your final invoice only has what they've already agreed to.

One €400 extra covers 20 months of Variation Vault — or three years on the yearly plan.

How it works

Three steps, done before the kettle boils.

  1. Step 1

    Price it on the spot

    Pick the job, snap a photo, type the price. VAT and the total work themselves out, all on one screen on your phone.

  2. Step 2

    They approve it from their phone

    Send the link by WhatsApp, text or email. They see the work, the photos and the price in their browser, type their name and approve. No app, no account, no password — it feels like a confirmation, not a confrontation.

  3. Step 3

    Invoice it with confidence

    Their name, the date and the time are saved with the job. When the final invoice goes out, every extra on it is one they've already approved — and if anyone asks, the proof pack PDF shows exactly what was agreed.

Simplified from the real screens. For the real thing, watch the unedited tour or open the live sample.

Watch an extra go from photo to approved in under a minute

What you see is what you get: the real app, real clicks, no edits — recorded straight from the screens you'll use.

See what your customer sees

Recorded from the real app on demo data. Silent — nothing to listen to.

Features

Built for one job: getting extras agreed.

Small enough to use on a wet Tuesday, complete enough to invoice from. No scheduling, no CRM, no invoicing to learn — keep using whatever you already use for those.

  • 6

    Photos per extra

    Show exactly what you mean

    Up to six photos on every extra, taken while you’re standing in front of the work — not lost in a camera roll of 4,000.

  • € £ $

    Materials · labour · VAT

    No surprises on the price

    Materials, labour and VAT split out, so they see exactly what they’re paying for. Euro, sterling or dollars.

  • 3

    Ways to send

    Reach them where they already are

    Send the link by WhatsApp, text or email. It opens in any browser — nothing for them to install.

  • 19:12

    Name, date and time

    A yes you can point to

    Their name and the exact date and time, saved with the job. You’re told the moment they answer.

  • 1PDF

    Proof pack

    Everything agreed, in one PDF

    A proof pack PDF with your logo, the photos, the price and the approval — for your records, your accountant, or the customer if they ask.

  • 1link

    Live per extra

    No mix-ups over old prices

    Every resend makes a fresh link and switches the old one off, so your customer can only ever approve the latest version.

  • Scope

    Signed off first

    Start from an agreed quote

    Get the original quote signed off the same way, so the final invoice is the agreed quote plus the extras they've approved.

  • 1screen

    Every extra, every status

    Know where every extra stands

    Approved, waiting or declined — plus your approval rate — on one screen.

Your other tools

Why not just use what I already have?

Keep it. Variation Vault doesn't replace anything — it covers the one moment your other tools don't: getting the extra agreed before you do it.

  • Keep it

    WhatsApp

    Keep it for the chat, and send the link through it. A chat can't keep the extra, the exact price with VAT, the photos and their answer together on the job. This does, and turns them into one PDF when you need it.

  • Keep it

    My invoicing app

    Invoices come after the work. This is the step before: getting each extra and its price agreed while you're still standing in front of it, so the final invoice has no surprises.

  • Keep it

    My job-management software

    Those tools cover a much bigger job — scheduling, quoting, teams, invoicing. This deliberately doesn't. Keep them, and use this for the one moment extra work needs a written yes.

Customers

Real extras. Real money. Approved on the spot.

The easiest work you'll win is on the job you're already on.

  • An extra €400 on one job

    “I was in doing a fit-out when the owner asked for new wardrobes and presses on top. Raised the extra in Variation Vault, sent it over, got the yes. Easy.”

    JohnCarpenter, Dublin
  • €240 extra on a first residential job

    “Booked in for window cleaning, but on site I spotted the gutters were in bad shape. Raised the extra using Variation Vault — customer approved it in 5 minutes.”

    CatalinCleaning business, Dublin
  • Hedge trimming, upsold on site

    “Was already on site doing the usual. Spotted the bushes needed doing, sent the approval, got it signed off there and then.”

    AivarasLandscaper
Cozmin Fatul, founder of Variation Vault

A note from the founder

“I didn’t build another CRM. I built one tool for one moment: the extra, the price, the photos and the customer’s yes, together before the work gets done.”

Cozmin Fatul, founder.I still build the product myself — if something gets in your way, tell me directly. I read every message.

Read why I built Variation Vault

Pricing

Less than one small extra. A lot less.

After your 7-day trial, it's €19.99/month or €129/year. Checkout is handled securely by Stripe.

Monthly

7-day free trial

€19.99/month

For trades who want to stay flexible.

Start free trial

7-day free trial · No card to start · Add a card on day 7 to keep going · Cancel anytime

Everything in both plans:

  • Jobs and customer records
  • Capture extras with photos, price and VAT
  • Customer approval links
  • Approval and completion proof records
  • Proof PDFs
  • The price you see is the price you pay
  • Everything included — one plan
  • No setup fee
  • No charge per extra or per link

Your free trial starts as soon as you sign up — no card needed. Add a card on day 7 to keep going, and manage or cancel your subscription through Stripe. Variation Vault doesn't create invoices or take customer payments. It does the step before the invoice: getting each extra approved in writing.

Not ready for the trial?

Grab the free variation approval template — a one-page form you can use on your next job, no app needed.

Get the free template

FAQ

Questions trades actually ask

Straight answers. If yours isn't here, ask me directly.

What does Variation Vault actually do?

It gets your customer's written approval on every extra — price, photos, VAT — before you do the work. You send a link, they approve it, and their yes is saved on the job with the time. That's the whole product.

What's a variation (or change order)?

It's any change or extra after the original quote — an extra socket, an upgraded tap, moving a radiator, fixing what the last guy left behind. In the UK and Ireland tradespeople call this a variation; in other markets the exact same thing is known as a change order. Variation Vault is job variation software built around that one job: getting the extra approved in writing before you invoice it. If you've been searching for change order software, this is that — just focused on the approval step, not a whole CRM.

Won't asking for approval make it look like I don't trust them?

It does the opposite. A clear price with photos, sent before you start, reads as organised and professional — and the customer sees exactly what they're agreeing to. To them it's a confirmation, not a confrontation. Most people are glad not to get a surprise on the final invoice.

How long does it take on site?

A couple of minutes once the job is set up: pick the job, snap a photo, type the price, send the link. You don't need to be at a desk, and you don't need to finish the day's work first.

What exactly does my customer see?

Exactly what's on the sample approval page linked from this site: your business name, the extra, the photos, the price with VAT, and Approve or Decline buttons. They type their name to answer. What you see there is what they get — no app, no account, no password.

Are there any hidden costs?

No. The price you see is the price you pay: €19.99 a month or €129 a year for everything in the app. No setup fee, no add-ons, and no charge per extra or per approval link. The 7-day trial is free and needs no card.

Does the customer need an app or account?

No. They get a link by text, WhatsApp or email. It opens in their browser, and they type their name to approve or decline.

Can I send the link on WhatsApp?

Yes — WhatsApp, text or email, whatever you already use with that customer.

Do I need a card for the free trial?

No. Sign up and use everything for 7 days. You only add a card on day 7 if you want to keep going.

What happens after the 7 days?

If it's earning its keep, add a card and carry on — you're charged from that day. If not, walk away. There's nothing to cancel and nothing charged.

Is this invoicing software?

No. It doesn't create invoices or take payments. It does the step before: getting every extra agreed in writing.

Does this guarantee the customer pays?

No app can promise that. What it does is settle the thing extras usually get questioned over: what was actually agreed. A timestamped approval with photos and the exact price makes that clear. It isn't legal advice, and it can't guarantee payment.

Is it only for builders?

No — bathroom fitters, kitchen installers, sparks, plumbers, landscapers, renovation trades, movers, cleaners. If customers ask for extras mid-job, it's for you.

What if the customer doesn't reply?

You resend it. Resending makes a fresh link and sends it again, so they're never left holding a dead one — and you can copy that link straight into WhatsApp or a text if email isn't getting through. There's a short wait between sends so nobody gets pestered. Variation Vault doesn't chase for you; it just makes it quick to ask again.

Can I set up the full job first?

Yes — create the job with the customer, the site and what was quoted, get the quote signed off if you like, then log extras against it as they come up.

Do the favours you want to do. Price the rest.

The next “while you're here, could you…?” is already on its way. Get it agreed before you start, and send the final invoice without the knot in your stomach.

Start free trial

Start free — no card needed · Full 7-day access · Nothing to cancel if it’s not for you