ServiceM8 form
ServiceM8 variation template: get sign off before extra work
This ServiceM8 Form records a variation on site: what changed and why, the price change or how it will be calculated, any delay, when it is payable, and the customer's signature and date before work starts. In Queensland, the QBCC Act requires domestic building variations to be put in writing and agreed in writing before the work begins.
Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.
Free form
Variation form for building and construction trades
A signed and dated variation PDF in the job diary, one per variation, that backs up each extra line on the final invoice.
The form: 22 questions
| Section | Question | Type | Req. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variation | Variation number | Text | Yes | V1, V2 and so on for this job. Quote it on the invoice line. |
| Variation | Date of request | Date | Yes | Required on QLD domestic variations. |
| Variation | Requested by | Choice Customer / Our business, site condition found / Builder or principal contractor / Other | Yes | |
| Variation | Reason | Choice Customer changed scope / Hidden or unforeseen condition / Design or specification change / Access or site condition / Other | Yes | |
| Variation | Description of the variation | Text | Yes | Use Text (Multi-line). What will be done differently, in words the customer understands. |
| Variation | Photos of the condition | Photo | Before photos of what caused the variation. Strongly recommended for hidden conditions. | |
| Price | Pricing method | Choice Fixed price / Hourly rate plus materials / Credit to contract price | Yes | |
| Price | Estimated labour hours | Number | ||
| Price | Materials cost | Number | ||
| Price | Change to contract price, dollars | Number | Enter a negative number for a credit. Leave blank only if the method below is used. | |
| Price | Method for calculating the price | Text | For hourly work: the rate, what materials are charged at, and any cap agreed. | |
| Price | Price includes GST | Choice Yes / No, GST is added | Yes | |
| Price | When the increase is payable or the credit applied | Choice With the next progress claim / On completion of the variation / With the final invoice | Yes | In QLD you cannot require payment before the variation work starts. |
| Time | Effect on completion | Choice No delay / Delay expected | Yes | |
| Time | Estimated delay in days | Number | Your reasonable estimate. Required on QLD domestic variations when there is a delay. | |
| Approval | Urgent work started before written approval | Choice No / Yes, urgent and not practicable to write first | Yes | If yes, explain why in the comments and get the signature as soon as possible. |
| Approval | Customer name | Text | Yes | |
| Approval | Customer decision | Choice Agreed, proceed / Not agreed, do not proceed / Customer to reply in writing | Yes | |
| Approval | Date agreed | Date | ||
| Approval | Copy given to customer | Choice Emailed from job diary / Printed and handed over / Not yet | Yes | QLD domestic: before work starts, or within 5 business days of agreement if sooner. |
| Approval | Comments | Text | ||
| Approval | Technician signature | Signature | Yes | The tech signs as a question. The customer signs through the Customer Signature field in the template. |
Set it up in ServiceM8
- In ServiceM8 open Settings > Forms > Add Form, name it Variation, and give it the badge name Variation.
- Add the questions above in order. Choice means Multiple Choice. Use Text (Multi-line) for the description, method and comments. Tick Mandatory where required is true.
- Click Download Sample Template, lay it out as a one page variation document with your logo and ABN, and insert the image_customer_signature and customer_signature_date fields where the customer signs.
- Upload the template and save the form.
- On a job, add the Variation badge from the Dispatch Board. On the phone, the tech opens the job, goes to the To Do tab, taps the badge and fills in the form.
- Hand the phone to the customer to review the PDF and tap Sign Document. If they are not on site, send the PDF for remote signature and hold the work.
- Once signed, add the variation's labour and materials as billable items named with the variation number, so the invoice lists each variation separately.
Why the signature has to come first
The final invoice is where an unsigned variation comes back to bite. The customer remembers a quick chat about moving a power point, not the extra three hours and the cable run, and without a signed record you are arguing from memory. The QBCC calls failure to properly record and approve variations before they are carried out one of the most common causes of serious building disputes.
For domestic building work in Queensland the order is set by law. Before you start the variation work, you must give the variation to the home owner in writing and they must agree to it in writing. You then give them a copy before the variation work starts, or within 5 business days of both parties agreeing if that comes first. The only exception is urgent work where producing a written copy first is not reasonably practicable. You also cannot require payment for a variation before the variation work has started. Commercial and small jobs are not bound by the same rules, but the same record protects you there too.
What the variation record must say
The QBCC lists what the variation document must contain: it must be legible, describe the variation, state the date of the request, give your reasonable estimate of any delay to the work, and state the change to the contract price or the method for calculating it. If the price changes, it must say when the increase is to be paid or the decrease credited. Every one of those items is a question in the form below, and the mandatory ones cannot be skipped on the phone.
Two extra fields do the defending later: before photos showing the condition that caused the variation (the rotten bearer, the undersized cable, the asbestos label), and who asked for it. A customer's change of mind reads very differently on an invoice from a hidden defect you found.
Getting the customer's signature in ServiceM8
ServiceM8's own help centre describes a simple contract variation form: a multi line description, an estimated price, whether tax is included, and a signature. This version adds the fields the QBCC requires. For the customer's signature, use ServiceM8's Customer Signature field in the form template rather than a Signature question. The tech completes the form, the app builds the PDF, and the customer reviews it and taps Sign Document before it is saved to the job diary. That review then sign flow only works in the ServiceM8 mobile app, not the web dashboard.
If the customer is not on site, send the PDF for remote signature and stop work until it comes back signed. When it does, add the variation's labour and materials to the job's billable items so the invoice shows the base price and each signed variation as separate lines.
What this form will not do
- The review then sign flow only works in the ServiceM8 mobile app. On the web dashboard the customer cannot sign the completed form.
- Forms do not calculate, so the price change is entered by hand rather than worked out from hours and materials.
- A signed form does not add billable items to the job. The office still adds the variation lines before invoicing.
- The QBCC rules quoted here apply to Queensland domestic building contracts. Other states and commercial contracts have their own rules, and your contract may set stricter ones.
- The form records agreement. It does not replace a written contract or, for QBCC domestic work, the home warranty insurance steps that may apply when the contract value changes.
Sources
- Before a contractor starts variation work under a Queensland domestic building contract, the variation must be presented to the home owner in writing and the home owner must agree to it in writing. Queensland Building and Construction Commission, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- The variation document must be readily legible, describe the variation, state the date of the request, state any estimated delay, state the change to the contract price or the method for calculating it, and state when an increase is to be paid or a decrease credited. Queensland Building and Construction Commission, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- The contractor must give the home owner a copy of the variation before the earlier of the variation work starting or 5 business days after both parties agree, unless the work is urgent and a written copy first is not reasonably practicable; payment for a variation cannot be required before the variation work starts. Queensland Building and Construction Commission, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- QBCC describes failure to properly record and approve variations before they are implemented as one of the most common causes of serious building disputes. Queensland Building and Construction Commission, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- QBCC's Level 1 renovation, extension and repair contract covers contracts priced at $3,301 to $19,999, and its contract packs include a variation document form. Queensland Building and Construction Commission, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- ServiceM8's simple contract variation form uses a mandatory multi line variation description, an estimated price, a mandatory choice for whether tax is included, and a signature required to finish the form. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- To have a customer review a completed form before signing, the form template must use the Customer Signature field rather than a Signature question; the customer taps Sign Document, and this only works in the ServiceM8 mobile app. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.