Scope creep: document and bill an agreed change

Start with the agreed baseline

After delivery, review the complete effort using the fixed fee effective hourly rate calculation. Include revisions and coordination in the hours.

Find the original proposal, contract or written scope and identify the deliverables, included revision rounds, assumptions and acceptance process. A broad service label such as brand project is not enough to decide whether three additional assets were included. Use the specific list the parties agreed.

Separate a clarification from a change. Correcting work that failed an agreed requirement may be different from adding a new format or audience. Record the question and ask the responsible project lead to resolve it. This is a practical review process, not advice about contractual rights or remedies.

Describe the difference in ordinary language

Write the original commitment and the new request side by side in your change note. Name the extra deliverables, any work removed and the expected effect on the delivery date. Avoid relying on an informal comment such as a few small additions, which gives neither party a clear boundary.

If the request contains unknowns, state them. For example, confirm who supplies copy, which sizes are needed and whether review rounds apply to the new assets. A specific assumption is more useful than padding an estimate without explanation. The onboarding scope checklist covers prevention before delivery begins.

Estimate the change separately from the project

Estimate the additional tasks and review effort using the rate or fee basis you intend to propose. Keep the estimate separate from actual time already spent. If discovery is needed before a reliable estimate, agree that step rather than presenting an unsupported fixed amount.

Tell the client whether the proposed amount is a fixed addition, a capped allowance or an hourly estimate. Those are different commercial choices. State what happens if the extra work itself changes. Do not describe an estimate as an automatic entitlement to bill every hour regardless of the final agreement.

Worked example: three extra brand assets

Illustrative fictional example, USD, excluding taxes: an agency has a $4,500 brand project that includes two revision rounds for the specified deliverables. The client asks for three additional assets outside that list. The agency estimates seven hours at $130 per hour, giving a proposed $910 addition.

The change note names the three assets, the seven-hour estimate, the $130 rate, the $910 proposed amount and the revised delivery assumption. The authorized client contact confirms the change externally in writing before work begins. For this example, both sides agree to a fixed $910 addition for that defined work.

The revised agreed project amount is $4,500 plus $910, or $5,410. If the original $4,500 has already been invoiced, the remaining new charge is $910, not $5,410. If nothing has been invoiced, the agency can reconcile a combined draft or separate drafts against the same $5,410 total. It must not add a change line and also invoice the same seven hours as another extra charge.

Get agreement before starting the extra work

Route the change to the contact authorized to approve the budget. Preserve the response with a date and reference in your own controlled records. A request from a client teammate or a positive reaction to a preview may not answer the budget question.

ABH offers proposals and contracts on eligible paid plans, but this guide does not describe a native change-order approval system. Keep the change decision explicit even when you use ABH for the original project documents. If no agreement arrives, ask the project lead to choose whether to pause, reprioritize or continue only the existing scope.

Track delivery without turning every note into proof

Tag time and tasks clearly enough for the agency reviewer to distinguish original work from the approved addition. Record the change reference in your review notes. Use specific descriptions that explain the work without exposing private client discussions or unrelated internal commentary.

The timesheet approval process helps validate actual work before invoicing. Approval of time remains an agency action; it does not replace the external change agreement. If the change belongs to a retainer, also check the overage workflow so allowance usage and extra scope are reconciled together.

Reconcile the charge and the client explanation

Compare the completed deliverables with the approved change and the invoice draft. Check the original project total, previous invoices, deposits and any earlier change charges. Label the new amount so the recipient can understand why it differs from the original quote without searching through every project message.

Where the work or estimate changes again, return to a documented decision rather than stretching the old authorization. Keep any unresolved difference out of an unexplained invoice total. ABH does not collect the client payment or enforce the agreement; use your external payment arrangement and record received money manually after checking it.

Close the change after the billing decision

After delivery, note whether the agreed additional assets were completed and which invoice contains their charge. Keep that note alongside the external approval reference so another reviewer can distinguish a finished change from an open estimate. If only part of the request proceeds, ask the responsible people to confirm the revised commercial treatment before billing. For the fictional brand project, the three additional assets belong to one defined $910 change, not three separate permissions to add $910 each. Preserve the original two-round revision boundary and record any newly agreed review allowance for the extra work. This gives the next project conversation a clear starting point without rewriting the old agreement.

Scope change billing checklist

• Find the original deliverables, revision boundary and agreed fee.
• Describe the requested additions, exclusions, assumptions and timing effects.
• State whether the proposed price is fixed, capped or an hourly estimate.
• Obtain external written agreement from the authorized client contact.
• Review delivered work and reconcile previous invoices before adding the charge.
• Share a clear invoice explanation and preserve the change reference.