Download the cover sheet template
XLSX
Clarifications and deviations summary (Excel)
Cover sheet with header block, statement, calculated counts and documents reviewed; an Items sheet with drop-downs; a filled-in example and a How to use sheet.
CSV
Clarifications and deviations summary (CSV)
The example rows as plain CSV (UTF-8), for Google Sheets or any other tool.
DOCX
Cover letter (Word)
If the buyer wants a letter rather than a sheet: the same content as a one-page letter.
Markdown
Cover letter (plain text)
The same letter as plain text, to paste into your own letterhead.
All free under CC BY 4.0, with no form to fill in. The CSV carries the Items table only.
What it is for and who uses it
Evaluators read the cover sheet first. It tells them which documents and revisions you priced against, how many deviations and clarifications to expect, and which answers you need before the price and delivery hold. The proposal or bid engineer who wrote the deviation list fills it in, and the engineering manager or lead engineer signs it off.
Example cover sheet
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| To (customer) | Example EPC Contractor Ltd (fictional) |
| Attention | Procurement lead, valves package |
| Project | Example Gas Compression Station, Phase 2 (fictional) |
| RFQ / enquiry no. | RFQ-EX-0417 |
| Material requisition | MR-VAL-001 Rev 1 |
| Our offer no. | OF-EX-2291 Rev A |
| Deviation list | TDL-EX-2291 Rev A (10 items) |
| Date | 2026-10-15 |
| Prepared by | Proposal engineer |
| Checked by | Lead application engineer |
| Approved by | Engineering manager |
| Order of precedence | As stated in MR-VAL-001 clause 2.3 |
Statement
Our offer complies with the material requisition and the documents listed below, except for the items in the attached technical deviation list. No other deviations are taken. Items marked Clarification meet the intent of the requirement; please confirm them in writing. The priced and unpriced copies of our offer carry the same list.
| Document no. | Title | Revision | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MR-VAL-001 | Material requisition, ball valves | 1 | 2026-09-30 | Includes addendum 1 |
| PS-VAL-001 | Project specification, ball valves | 2 | 2026-09-12 | |
| DS-VAL-001 | Valve datasheets | 1 | 2026-09-12 | Line 14 conflicts with PS-VAL-001 3.4 (see EX-01) |
| PS-PNT-002 | Painting and coating specification | 0 | 2026-06-01 | |
| VDRL-VAL-001 | Vendor data requirements list | 1 | 2026-09-30 |
Example items for confirmation
| Item | Clause | Type | Summary | Impact | Cost of withdrawal | Customer response |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EX-01 | PS-VAL-001 3.4 | Clarification | Specification and datasheet give different design minimum temperatures. Offer based on −46 °C; confirm. | None | No cost | Accepted |
| EX-02 | PS-VAL-001 4.2 | Deviation | Cast A352 LCC body offered instead of forged A350 LF2. | Cost and schedule | Forged body: +9% unit price, +5 weeks | Query raised |
| EX-03 | PS-VAL-001 4.5 | Deviation | RPTFE seat inserts offered instead of PEEK. | Schedule | PEEK seats: no price change, +2 weeks | Open |
| EX-04 | PS-VAL-001 5.1 | Clarification | Fire-test certificate is to an earlier edition of API 607; confirm acceptable. | None | Requalification to the current edition: not offered within the bid lead time | Open |
| EX-05 | PS-VAL-001 6.3 | Clarification | ISO 15848-1 qualification is by design family; confirm it covers 6 in. | Cost and schedule | Size-specific test: +USD 14,000 one-off, +6 weeks | Open |
| EX-06 | PS-VAL-001 7.2 | Deviation | EN 10204 3.1 certificates offered instead of 3.2. | Cost and schedule | 3.2 certificates: +3%, +2 weeks; inspector fees by buyer | Rejected |
| EX-07 | PS-PNT-002 5.3 | Deviation | Standard coating system offered instead of system C-3. | Cost | System C-3: +2% unit price, no change to delivery | Open |
| EX-08 | PS-VAL-001 9.4 | Clarification | Pressure tests to API 6D instead of API 598; confirm acceptable. | Schedule | Additional API 598 test: no cost, +1 week | Accepted |
| EX-09 | PS-VAL-001 10.2 | Deviation | Gear operator sizing factor 1.3 instead of 1.5. | Cost | Larger gear operator: +1.5% unit price, no change to delivery | Open |
| EX-10 | MR-VAL-001 6.1 | Not offered | Two-year operating spares not included; quoted on request. | Cost | Two-year spares: priced separately | Open |
The rows summarise the deviation list example. The file also has Response needed by and Status date columns. Every example value is invented: specification PS-VAL-001, the requisition, the datasheets and every certificate and report number do not exist. Standards such as API 6D, API 607, ISO 15848-1 and EN 10204 are named but not quoted, so check each clause against your own licensed copy.
Columns and what to write
| Column | What to write |
|---|---|
| Deviation list item | Item number from the technical deviation list. |
| Spec document | Customer document number. |
| Clause | Clause or datasheet line. |
| Type | Clarification, Deviation or Not offered (drop-down). |
| Summary | One line: what differs, and what you need the customer to confirm. |
| Impact | None, Cost, Schedule, or Cost and schedule (drop-down). |
| Cost of withdrawal | Copied from the deviation list. |
| Response needed by | Date you need the customer's answer to hold price and delivery. |
| Customer response | Open, Accepted, Accepted with comment, Rejected or Query raised (drop-down). |
| Status date | Date of the last change (YYYY-MM-DD). |
How to use the template
- Send this sheet on top of the technical deviation list, in both the priced and unpriced copies of the offer.
- Fill in the header block. Give the deviation list number and revision, and state the order of precedence the requisition sets, or say that you raised it as a clarification.
- Edit the statement so it says exactly what your offer covers. Keep the sentence "No other deviations are taken" only if it is true.
- List every document and revision you reviewed, including addenda, on the cover sheet.
- On the Items sheet, add one line per deviation list item that is a Clarification, Deviation or Not offered, with the date you need an answer by.
- The summary counts on the cover sheet update from the Items sheet.
- When the customer replies, record the response and status date here and in the deviation list, and reissue both with a new revision.
Related guides, terms and tools
- Technical deviation list guide: what goes in the list this sheet summarises.
- Technical deviation list template and compliance matrix template.
- Glossary: governing-document precedence and technical query.
- Spec requirement extractor: a free in-browser tool that lists requirements in pasted specification text.
Have OdysseyGPT draft the list behind it
Want OdysseyGPT to fill in the deviation list from your tender package?
OdysseyGPT reads the tender package, checks each customer requirement against your own datasheets, and drafts the compliance matrix and deviations & clarifications list, each row with a quote from the source page, sheet or cell. Your engineers decide every open item. Managed plans start from $999/month.