Free template · scope creep freelance

How to shut down scope creep without losing the client

A fixed-price project has quietly grown by four "quick favours". The newest one just landed in your inbox with the word "just" in it.

The email

Subject: Re: [REQUEST]

Hi [NAME],

Good idea — happy to take [REQUEST] on. It's outside what we scoped,
so it'd be [AMOUNT] and add about [DURATION] to the delivery date.

Do you want me to send it over as a change order, or park it for
phase two?

Thanks,
[YOU]

Replace everything in [BRACKETS] before you send it. A stray [NAME] is the most expensive typo in freelancing.

Why it works

It says yes, which is what keeps the relationship warm — the answer is never a refusal, it's a price. It attaches a number and a time cost in the same breath, so the request stops being free. And it ends on a question with two acceptable answers, which moves the decision to them without any confrontation.

What most people send instead

"Sure, no problem!" — then doing it at 11pm and hoping they notice the goodwill. They don't. What they learn is that the scope document was opening position, and the fifth request arrives on Friday.