Terms of Service

1. Agreement, authority and incorporated documents

These terms apply to business use of the VariationDesk website, application, mobile app and related services unless a separate written agreement signed by VariationDesk Ltd and the customer says otherwise.

A person creating or accepting a VariationDesk workspace confirms that they are authorised to act for the named business customer. Where the account-creation flow asks for acceptance, selecting the acceptance control and creating the account forms the customer's agreement to these Terms and the Data Processing Addendum, and acknowledges the Privacy Notice.

The VariationDesk Data Processing Addendum forms part of these Terms whenever VariationDesk processes personal data on behalf of the customer. The Privacy Notice explains VariationDesk's separate controller processing. If a separately signed agreement conflicts with these Terms, that signed agreement prevails to the extent of the conflict.

2. Business customers only

VariationDesk is intended for business use by construction subcontractors, main contractors and related commercial teams. It is not intended for personal, consumer or domestic use.

3. The service

VariationDesk provides software for managing project records, rate cards, team roles, site variation records, signatures, quotation records, PDF evidence, invoice preparation and controlled Contractor Hub collaboration between separate organisations.

The service supports commercial record keeping. It does not guarantee payment, acceptance of variations, dispute success, contract compliance, tax treatment or accounting treatment.

4. No legal, QS, tax or accounting advice

VariationDesk does not provide legal advice, quantity surveying advice, contract administration advice, tax advice or accounting advice. Customers must obtain professional advice for JCT, NEC, bespoke subcontract, VAT, notice, payment, limitation, dispute and evidential requirements.

A VariationDesk evidence sheet, quotation or approval record may support a commercial record, but it is not a substitute for any formal notice, compensation-event notification, payment application, quotation, instruction, valuation procedure or contractual process required by the underlying contract.

5. Customer responsibilities

Customers are responsible for accurate workspace configuration, project references, rate-card rows, quantities, descriptions, inclusions, exclusions, VAT treatment, signatory details and uploaded evidence. Customers decide what is shared with another organisation through Contractor Hub.

Customers must ensure their users have authority to capture site information, photographs, location evidence, voice notes and signatures, and must comply with their own contracts, employment obligations, site rules, privacy obligations, health and safety requirements and confidentiality duties.

6. User accounts and security

Each user should have their own login. Customers are responsible for inviting, managing, suspending and removing users, keeping roles and permissions appropriate, and protecting their credentials and devices.

Customers must not share passwords, impersonate other users, bypass seat limits or security controls, access another customer's workspace, interfere with the service, probe for unauthorised access or use VariationDesk for unlawful or harmful purposes. Customers should notify VariationDesk promptly if they suspect account compromise or unauthorised access.

7. Customer content and evidence

Customers retain ownership of their uploaded content and evidence. Customers grant VariationDesk the rights needed to host, process, display, generate, secure, back up and transmit that content solely to provide, protect and support the service and any customer-enabled integration.

Customers are responsible for the content they upload and for whether that content can lawfully be used in a commercial, contractual, payment or dispute process.

8. Subscription, pilots and billing

Subscription fees, seat limits and plan features may be shown on the website or agreed separately. Trials, pilots, discounts and early access may be changed, withdrawn or converted to paid access with reasonable notice unless a separate written agreement says otherwise.

Unless otherwise agreed, fees are exclusive of VAT and other applicable taxes. Customers must keep billing information accurate. A Contractor Hub organisation does not automatically purchase or receive a full VariationDesk subscription; Contractor Hub or enterprise arrangements may be invoiced under separate commercial terms.

9. Contractor Hub

Contractor Hub is a controlled collaboration surface between separate organisations. It does not give a main contractor general access to a subcontractor workspace. Project relationships and variation releases must be expressly authorised through the service.

For supply-chain onboarding, matching is deliberately narrow. An exact business email may identify an existing workspace, and a supplier reference may be used only to consolidate entries inside that contractor's own supply-chain directory; similar company names alone do not authorise a connection.

Contractor-sponsored Connected Supplier access is restricted to authorised contractor-linked projects. A supplier can upgrade the same workspace to paid access without creating a duplicate organisation. If eligible paid access later ends, the workspace may return to restricted Connected Supplier mode so contractor collaboration can continue without exposing unrelated paid-workspace functions.

Accept, request-information and decline actions form part of the commercial audit trail but do not by themselves amend the parties' underlying contract, determine legal entitlement, certify payment or replace formal contractual procedures.

Revoking or ending a relationship stops future collaboration through that relationship but does not rewrite retained immutable submissions, decisions or commercial records that must remain available for audit, contractual, security or legal purposes.

10. Integrations and third-party services

VariationDesk may integrate with third-party hosting, authentication, storage, email, payment, accounting, communications, AI or security providers. Third-party services are operated by their providers and may have separate terms, availability and technical limitations.

Customers are responsible for checking draft invoices, attachments, rates, tax treatment and customer-facing output before issuing or approving anything in an external accounting or business system.

11. AI Assist and voice features

Optional AI-assisted drafting and voice-intake features produce suggestions only. AI output may be incomplete or inaccurate and must be reviewed by the user before it becomes a submitted commercial record.

AI Assist is not designed to make approval, entitlement, legal, tax, accounting or contractual decisions. Customers must only submit material they are authorised to process and must not use the service to bypass intellectual-property, confidentiality or contractual restrictions.

12. Availability, security and service changes

VariationDesk aims to provide a reliable and appropriately secured service but does not promise uninterrupted or error-free availability. Maintenance, supplier outages, security work, attacks and product changes may affect access.

VariationDesk may change features, interface, integrations, plans and technical arrangements as the product develops. Material changes that adversely affect an agreed enterprise commitment will be handled under the applicable written agreement.

13. Intellectual property

VariationDesk, the software, designs, templates, brand and documentation belong to VariationDesk Ltd or its licensors. Customers must not copy, reverse engineer, resell, scrape, misuse or attempt to recreate the service except to the extent the law prevents that restriction.

Customers remain responsible for ensuring material they upload, transform, quote, distribute or use through VariationDesk does not infringe third-party intellectual-property or confidentiality rights.

14. Data protection

Where VariationDesk processes customer-controlled personal data as processor, the binding Data Processing Addendum applies. The customer remains responsible for its controller obligations, lawful instructions, workforce/site notices, retention decisions and authority to collect information placed into the service.

VariationDesk may retain separate controller records where necessary for security, billing, support, legal compliance, fraud prevention, contract enforcement and legitimate business administration.

15. Suspension and termination

VariationDesk may suspend or terminate access where a customer does not pay, misuses the service, creates security or legal risk, breaches these Terms or applicable law, or where continued access would materially endanger VariationDesk, its suppliers, customers or users.

Customers should export records they need before termination. Return, deletion and lawful retention of customer personal data are handled under the Data Processing Addendum and applicable law.

16. Liability limits

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where it would be unlawful to do so, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

Subject to that, VariationDesk is not liable for lost profit, lost revenue, lost savings, lost opportunity, rejected payment applications, project delay, contract disputes, loss of goodwill, indirect loss or consequential loss. Unless separately agreed in writing, VariationDesk's total aggregate liability arising from the service is limited to the fees paid by the customer for the service in the three months before the event giving rise to the claim.

17. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction unless a signed written agreement says otherwise.

18. Contact

Questions about these Terms can be sent to info@variationdesk.co.uk. Data-protection complaints can be made using the published Data Protection Complaints process.