Guide · 5 min read
How to avoid unpaid extras on a building job.
Most unpaid extras are not disputed. They were never written down, priced or put on an invoice. Here is how to stop that happening.
Where unpaid extras come from
- A verbal instruction that nobody confirmed in writing.
- Work done before anyone agreed a price.
- Extras forgotten at the final account.
- Programme changes that nobody priced.
- Subcontractor work that never reached the client's invoice.
Five habits that stop most of them
- Keep a daily site log. Date, who was on site, what was done and what was asked for.
- Photograph before, during and after any hidden or changed work.
- Price it the same day the request comes in, or agree a day-work rate.
- Confirm every instruction in writing. A text or email after a phone call is enough, as long as you ask the client to confirm it.
- Bill extras in the next application, not at the end of the job.
Track them in one place
Keep one list per job, with a status for each extra: requested, priced, signed, built, billed, paid. Anything marked signed but not billed is money you have earned and not yet collected.
Check before every payment application
Before you submit an application or invoice, compare the site log with the variation list. Missing items are the first place to look.
Measure the leak
Take three finished jobs and compare what was done with what was billed. The gap is your unpaid work. This is the basis of a variation audit.
Related guides
- Variation guideHow to stop extra work going unpriced, unsigned and unbilled. A practical guide for UK builders and remodellers.
- Pricing a variationHow to price extra work for a UK building job: rate cards, the programme effect, overheads and a worked example.
- What is a variationWhat counts as a variation in a UK building contract, the common types, what usually isn't one, and why the paperwork matters.
- Extra work on siteA six-step checklist for UK builders when a client asks for extra work on site: pause, price, get it signed, then start.
- Variation or change orderVariation or change order: what the terms mean in UK building contracts, what matters more than the name, and how to record every change.