See exactly what changed between quote revisions.
A revised quote rarely comes with a clean list of changes. QuantDoc compares the original and the revision line by line, separates the price movement that individual items prove from the part nothing explains, and turns every unexplained change into a question you can send.
Q-100 → Q-100 Rev B
Not reconciled- Price change
- $7,400.00
- Proven by lines
- $6,200.00
- Unexplained
- $1,200.00
- RateBulk excavation+$1,200.00
- QuantityRock breaking+$2,500.00
- AddedTraffic management+$2,500.00
- New exclusionSpoil disposal excluded
Why revisions are harder to check than first quotes
When a supplier or subcontractor re-issues a quote, the new document is usually formatted like the old one but not identical to it. Lines move, descriptions get reworded, a provisional sum quietly disappears and a new item appears near the bottom. The total changes, and the covering email says something like “updated per drawings Rev C”. Checking it properly means reading both documents side by side and reconciling every movement, which is exactly the job that gets skipped when the programme is tight.
The risk is not usually a dramatic error. It is the small, plausible change that nobody reconciled: a cart-away rate that crept up by a few dollars a cubic metre, an exclusion added to the notes, or an increase in the total that is larger than the sum of the changed lines. Each one may be perfectly legitimate, but you can only judge that once you can see it.
What QuantDoc compares
- Added items: lines in the revision that had no counterpart in the original.
- Removed items: lines that were priced before and are gone now, including provisional sums and allowances.
- Quantity changes: the same item at a different quantity, valued at the original rate so you can see the pure quantity effect.
- Rate changes: the same item at a different unit rate, valued at the revised quantity.
- Changed terms: new or removed exclusions, qualifications, validity and payment terms.
- Proven difference vs unexplained balance: the total of all itemised movements compared with the change in the quoted total.
Matching between versions uses the same rules as any QuantDoc comparison. Two lines are treated as the same item only when the evidence supports it, such as a matching code, a matching specification or an equivalent description with a compatible unit. A reworded line that might be the same item is shown as a conditional match for you to confirm, not silently paired.
Worked example: excavation quote, Rev A to Rev B
Suppose an excavation contractor’s original quote (Rev A) and revised quote (Rev B) look like this. All figures are ex GST. The revision engine is being finalised, so this example is worked by hand using the same method.
Rev A (original) Bulk excavation 120 m³ × $45.00 = $5,400.00 Cart away 120 m³ × $38.00 = $4,560.00 Rock breaking (PS) = $3,000.00 Total = $12,960.00 Rev B (revised) Bulk excavation 150 m³ × $45.00 = $6,750.00 Cart away 150 m³ × $42.00 = $6,300.00 Traffic control 3 days × $650 = $1,950.00 Total (as stated) = $15,400.00
Bulk excavation, quantity: (150 − 120) × $45.00 = +$1,350.00 Cart away, quantity: (150 − 120) × $38.00 = +$1,140.00 Cart away, rate: ($42.00 − $38.00) × 150 = +$600.00 Rock breaking PS removed = −$3,000.00 Traffic control added 3 × $650.00 = +$1,950.00 Proven line changes = +$2,040.00 Change in total: $15,400.00 − $12,960.00 = +$2,440.00 Unexplained balance: $2,440.00 − $2,040.00 = +$400.00
Three things stand out that a quick look at the two totals would miss. The cart-away rate rose from $38 to $42 per m³, which is a rate change, not just a consequence of the extra volume. The rock-breaking provisional sum has been removed, so any rock encountered may now be a separate variation, which is worth confirming in writing. And the revised lines add up to $15,000.00, while the stated total is $15,400.00, which leaves $400.00 that no line item explains.
None of this means the revision is wrong. It means there are three specific questions to ask: why the cart-away rate changed, how rock will be priced now that the provisional sum is gone, and what the extra $400.00 covers. QuantDoc drafts those questions for you; it never sends them automatically.
Built for review, not for verdicts
Every movement is sourced
Each added, removed or changed figure links to the page and line, or sheet and row, in both versions.Issues for professional review
Changed exclusions and qualifications are listed for your judgement. QuantDoc does not interpret contracts or assess entitlement.Decimal arithmetic
Quantity and rate effects are calculated with exact decimal arithmetic, and the unexplained balance is never rounded away.GST on one basis
If one version is inc GST and the other ex GST, both are put on the same basis, but only where the document states the treatment or its totals prove it.Unknowns stay unknown
A line changed to “TBA” is an unknown cost, not a saving. It is flagged and excluded from any proven-difference total.Included in Professional
Quote revision and variation analysis is part of the Professional plan and above. See pricing for current plan details.
Frequently asked questions
What does a quote revision comparison show?
It lines up the original and the revised quote item by item and lists what was added, what was removed, which quantities and rates changed, and which inclusions or exclusions changed. It then compares the sum of those proven line changes with the change in the total, so any difference that no line explains is shown as an unexplained balance.
What is an unexplained balance?
It is the part of a price change that the line items don’t account for. If the total went up by $2,440 but the itemised changes add up to $2,040, the remaining $400 is unexplained. That might be a margin change, a rounding difference or an item that isn’t shown, so it becomes a question for the supplier rather than an assumption.
Does QuantDoc decide whether a revised price is contractually valid?
No. Changed exclusions, new qualifications and rate departures are listed as issues for professional review. QuantDoc does not give legal advice and makes no judgement about contractual entitlement.
Can I compare more than two revisions?
Revision analysis compares an earlier version of a quote with a later one. To follow a price through several revisions, compare each pair in turn (Rev A to Rev B, then Rev B to Rev C) so you keep a clear record of how it evolved.
Which file types work?
PDF quotes with a text layer, Excel (.xlsx) and CSV. Scanned PDFs have limited support: they are read by OCR on QuantDoc’s own servers, every figure read that way is flagged for checking against the original, and photographed or handwritten quotes are often only partly read.
Related
Reconcile your next revision line by line.
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