Departures and clarifications

Departures and clarifications (D&Cs) record the conditions, exclusions, and qualifications that define your tender position. All D&Cs on an estimate are held in a single list and organised under free-text groups such as “Concrete” or “Trenching”. Items with no group appear under General, which is always shown last. Each row shows the D&C wording first. Under it are badges for Included or Excluded, the type, and the linked-item count. Rows from the library also show a Library badge, and rows with a suggested type show a Suggested badge.

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Types

Each D&C has a type that describes its commercial role:

• Clarification: the default. A D&C with no other type is a clarification.
• Risk
• Assumption
• Exclusion
• Qualification
• Departure

When you add or edit a D&C, choose the type in the Type field beside Group. Leave it as Clarification unless the D&C is one of the other types. The type is shown on screen to help you sort and review D&Cs. It is not printed in the tender download.

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Suggested types

A D&C created from a document suggestion can arrive with a type that Stralos suggested. The row shows a Suggested badge and a Confirm button. Select Confirm to keep the suggested type as your own choice. To use a different type, select Edit, pick the type, and select Save D&C. Editing only the wording does not confirm a suggestion. When an admin types a D&C in your company’s library, open estimates pick up that type on any copy nobody has typed yet. A copy someone has already typed or confirmed keeps its type.

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Groups

Groups are free-text labels. The group picker combines your company’s standard group names, shared across all estimates, with groups already used on this estimate. To create a group, open the picker and select + New group…, then type the name. You can also type straight into the picker: when no group matches, select + Create new group “name” at the bottom of the list. Pressing Enter picks the top matching group, not the create option. When you type a name that matches an existing group (ignoring case), Stralos files the D&C under the existing group. A group you create stays on this estimate only. It is available for other D&Cs on the same estimate but is not added to the company’s list. Leaving the group field empty files the D&C under General.

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Frozen estimates

When an estimate has been submitted, accepted, rejected, or archived, D&Cs are read-only. Add, Edit, and Delete are not available, and the included/excluded checkbox shows the current state but cannot be changed. The Departures and clarifications… action is also hidden on work-item rows and in the work-item detail pane. Browsing D&Cs and following the linked-item count to the estimate schedule still work.

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Included and excluded state

Use included/excluded state deliberately. Included D&Cs form part of the tender position; excluded D&Cs stay visible for traceability but are not treated as accepted submission content. Ticking or unticking the included checkbox takes effect immediately in the panel. If the save fails, the checkbox returns to its previous state and a notice explains what went wrong. You can toggle the same clause again before the previous save completes. Stralos always applies the most recent choice.

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Adding and editing a D&C

Some D&Cs are seeded from the global library. These rows display a Library badge. Because the server re-seeds library rows when an estimate is prepared, the Delete button is hidden for these rows.

1. Open the estimate workspace and select Tender Submission.
2. In the Departures and clarifications panel, select Add D&C inside the group you want.
3. Enter the text (up to 4,000 characters).
4. Select a group using the group picker, or leave it empty to file under General.
5. Select Save D&C.

Library D&Cs can still be edited (group, text, sort order) to suit the project. Changes you make here are project-specific and do not affect the global defaults.

1. Find the D&C in its group.
2. Select Edit on the row.
3. Update the text or group.
4. Select Save D&C. Select Cancel to discard your changes.

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Deleting a D&C

Select Delete on a project-specific D&C. It leaves the list straight away and an Undo notification appears in its place; select Undo to bring it back. The delete is sent when the notification closes, when you delete something else, or when you leave the page. Stralos then removes the D&C and all its work-item links. Library-sourced rows cannot be deleted. If a D&C is removed from your company’s library, its copies on open estimates become this estimate’s own D&Cs. The Library badge goes, the wording, group, type and included state stay, and Delete becomes available. The D&C is not removed for you.

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Linked-item counts

Each D&C shows a count of the work items linked to it. Selecting the count navigates to the estimate schedule filtered to those items, so you can check scope coverage before pricing or submission review.

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Linking work items to a D&C

To link a work item to a D&C:

1. Go to the estimate schedule.
2. Open the ⋯ action menu on the relevant work item.
3. Select Departures and clarifications…. From an open work-item detail pane, select Departures and clarifications… instead.
4. The side sheet opens, showing all D&Cs grouped by group, with General last.
5. Tick the D&Cs that apply to this item.
6. Select Save D&C links. Select Cancel to close without saving.

Each clause shows a count of the work items linked to it. Numbered linked items also appear as chips beside the clause. Selecting the count opens the Estimate schedule filtered to those linked items, so you can check that scope coverage aligns with the clause before pricing or submission review. The count can include linked items without an item number, even when there is no chip for them. The count reflects work items loaded in the current session. If any work-item tag lookup fails, a warning above the clause list explains that the displayed counts may be understated.

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D&C schedule filter

When you open the Estimate schedule from a clause’s linked-item count, a D&C filter banner appears above the work items list. The banner shows the clause text (shortened if long), its group, and how many of the estimate’s total items are currently visible. It also notes that displayed totals are for the whole estimate, not just the filtered rows. Select Clear filter on the banner to remove the filter and return to the full schedule. The filter is part of the page URL, so a copied link, a page reload, and the browser back button all preserve or restore it as expected. If the clause cannot be found — for example because it was deleted after the link was copied — the banner says it could not be found and shows all estimate items instead. When a sub-item is linked to a clause, Stralos keeps the sub-item’s parent row and its ancestor section headings visible in the filtered view so the scope context is readable.

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Creating a D&C while linking

1. Select a group in the side sheet, or leave it empty for General.
2. Enter the D&C text.
3. Select Add D&C or press Enter.

Stralos creates the D&C and links it immediately. The new entry appears in its group already ticked while you continue editing other links. If the save fails, neither the D&C nor its link is saved. The sheet’s final Save D&C links applies only the remaining checkbox changes. You can add several D&Cs to the same group in a row — the group picker retains the last selection between adds.

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Filtering

Use the side sheet search field to filter by D&C text or group name. The matching entries remain grouped.

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From document suggestions

Document suggestions may identify clauses, obligations, or risk notes from uploaded tender documents. When accepted, they are added as D&Cs on this estimate. Review the resulting text, group, and included state before pricing or submission review.

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Good practice

• Keep D&C text commercially clear and specific.
• Use consistent group names so related items stay together across estimates.
• Review excluded D&Cs before final sign-off.
• Link D&Cs to work items where there is a direct pricing obligation so the scope trace is complete before submission.