It’s not unusual for a client to come back with a variation to the original quote after work is underway. There are a few methods for tracking variations and their budgets.
You could simply overrun the original task estimate, but it will show up as large scope creep in your actual vs budget reports.
To clearly view and analyse any task variation, we recommend one of the methods below.
Manage variations by adding new tasks to the job
Add a new independent task (or tasks) for the current job. Your fixed fee for the job could remain the same by keying the original amount into Job Billing details directly, but the fee estimates total for all tasks will increase with the new addition.
You can also save a Purchase Order for a Task in the Job Tasks page. The Task-PO Number can be enabled from User Control Settings for Tasks. See more in User Control Settings: Grid Pages.
The Task PO can then be manually added on to the invoice when billing the client for that task.
Manage variations by using task groups to separate out additions from the original estimate
Add a ‘Task Group’ Column. From Administration >> Settings >> User Control Settings, click ‘Task’ on the dropdown box. Enable ‘Task Group’ column by entering a value for the width. Then click on ‘Task Groups’ button indicated in the below screen to enter the task group name.
Manage variations by using the additional values column to add amounts to an existing task
Another option is to enable the Additional Values estimate columns in the Task screen from Administration >> Settings >> User Control Settings. Click the edit button on the left, add a value to the width and save to enable each of the fields.
These allow you to add a second column of budgets to your original tasks. These are detailed in the Actual vs Budget by Job, Task and Additional Values reports.
Abtrac KB# 2185