Verbal instructions on site: how to stop doing extra work for free

"Can you just move that while you're there?"

Every subcontractor has heard it. The supervisor's under pressure, it's a small job, your crew is right there, and saying "I'll need that in writing" feels like being difficult. So the work gets done. Then a few weeks later, when the claim goes in, nobody remembers the conversation the same way, or the notice period has passed, or the office never heard about it.

Here's why that happens, and a routine to stop it.

Why verbal variations go unpaid

1. The office never hears about it

This is the biggest one. The crew does the work and moves on. Unless someone tells the office, there's no variation to claim. The crew isn't being careless: they're busy, they were told to do it, and paperwork isn't their job.

2. There's no record of who asked

Weeks later, the builder's PM asks "who approved this?" and the answer is "one of the supervisors, I think." Without a name and a time, it's your word against theirs.

3. The notice deadline passes

Many subcontracts require written notice within a few business days of the instruction. A verbal request on Tuesday that the office hears about at month end has often missed it. Some contracts say you then lose the right to claim. Even where that isn't enforced strictly, it hands the builder an easy reason to say no.

4. Small ones aren't worth the paperwork

A $300 variation takes about as long to write up as a $3,000 one. When the office is flat out, the small ones get dropped. But small ones are most of them, and they add up.

5. Nobody wants to be "that sub"

There's a fear that putting everything in writing will damage the relationship. In practice, builders generally prefer clear, prompt, well-documented variations to a pile of surprises at the end of the job. Being organised isn't being difficult.

Is a verbal instruction even a valid variation?

It depends on your contract. Many subcontracts say variations must be directed in writing by a specific person. Others allow verbal directions to be confirmed in writing afterwards. Courts have sometimes found that a builder who directed work verbally and knew it was being done can't then refuse to pay because the paperwork was wrong, but relying on that means a dispute.

The safe approach works under almost any contract: when you get a verbal instruction, confirm it in writing to the builder as soon as possible, and give any notice the contract requires within the deadline. Read our guide to what counts as a variation for more on contracts and notice.

The ten-minute routine

This works with any system, even just text messages and email. The goal is for the crew to do one quick thing on site, and the office to do the rest the same day.

On site (the crew, under a minute)

• Take a photo of the area before starting the change.
• Send the office a voice note or text: what was asked, who asked (name and role), and roughly what's involved.
• If it's big, or you're not sure it's extra, ask the supervisor to hold off until the office confirms.

In the office (same day)

• Check the scope: is it actually extra? Find the clause or exclusion.
• Check the notice clause and diary the deadline.
• Send a written confirmation or notice to the builder: what was instructed, by whom, when, and a price or estimate.
• Log it in your variation register with a number.
• Chase approval before the work gets covered up if possible.

A message the crew can send the supervisor on the spot

For crews who are comfortable doing it, a quick text to the supervisor straight after the conversation creates a written record immediately, and it doesn't sound like a lawyer's letter:

It's friendly, it's timestamped, and it names who asked. That one text can be the difference between getting paid and not.

Make the first step effortless

Every system for variations fails at the same point: the first record on site. If it needs an app, a form or a login, it won't happen at 7am with a supervisor waiting. If it's a photo and a voice note to a number they already message, it will.

That's the idea behind Variation Capture. The crew sends a photo and voice note the way they'd text the office. It's checked against the contract, priced from your rate card, and drafted with the notice deadline worked out. The office approves it and the builder signs off from a link. See it in the demo, or work out what's slipping through in your business.