Applying a variation to the BOQ

Until a variation is applied, the estimate does not know about it. The WBS carries the approved variation total as a separate figure, but the items themselves - their quantities, products and whether they are included - still describe the original contract. Apply to BOQ is the step that pushes the agreed change into the items, so the budget, the orders and the schedule all carry it.

It needs the Apply Variations to BOQ and Orders permission and an approved variation. When the person recording an approval holds both permissions, the tracker’s Approve & apply to BOQ button does both in one go. An approval that comes in from the client portal is only recorded - someone applies it deliberately afterwards, from the tracker, so the estimator sees the change land.

What each line type does

Line type	Effect on the BOQ item
Add Item	The item is included with the variation’s quantity. If it was already included, its quantity goes up by the variation’s quantity (as a manual quantity, so a formula does not undo it)
Remove Item	The item is marked not included
Change Product	The item’s selected product becomes the new product. Its quantity only changes if the variation says a different quantity
Change Item	The old item is marked not included; the new item is included at the variation’s quantity and product
Note	Nothing - it is text

Lines excluded from the total are left alone, and a line whose item has since been deleted from the costing is skipped and noted in the log rather than applied. Every item that is changed has its previous state stored on the variation line, which is what makes Revert exact.

What happens to purchase orders

• Draft orders (not sent) are amended automatically: the line’s quantity is re-derived as the item’s new BOQ quantity less whatever other orders already carry, a removed item’s line is deleted, and a product swap is carried across when the new product is from the order’s supplier. Each change is written to the variation’s activity log with the order number.
• Sent orders are never changed. Each affected line is listed in the log - order number, supplier, what was sent, what changed - and the Purchase orders stage is set to in progress with a count, so someone raises a variation order with the supplier. The Orders tab in the tracker shows the same split before you press the button.
• Items that are on no order at all get a note on the Purchase orders stage: raise new orders from the BOQ.

Revert and unlock

Revert BOQ takes the changes back out: every touched item returns to the quantity, product and inclusion it had, the BOQ updated stage clears, and the log says so. Draft order lines amended at apply time are not restored - the log carries what was changed so they can be put back by hand if that is wanted.

Unlock removes the approval and, if the variation had been applied, reverts it first, so the estimate and the approval never disagree. A variation that sits on an approved (frozen) progress claim cannot be unlocked until that claim is unlocked - the claim is a signed document.

After applying

Open the BOQ or the WBS and the change is there. The WBS’s Variations column still shows the approved variation totals separately, so a WBS node reads: the original budget, the items as they now stand, and the variation value that explains the difference.