How to raise prices for existing clients
A new price should fit the agreement you have and the work you want to offer.
To raise prices for existing clients, check the agreement you already have and propose a clear price for the next period or assignment. Explain what that price covers, when it would apply and what the client needs to decide before the new work begins.
Can the current agreement change?
An existing agreement is the starting point. Treat the proposed increase separately from work already agreed, and check what the existing agreement allows.
Look at the quote, contract or messages that established the work. Is this a defined project, a continuing arrangement or a series of separately agreed assignments? What do the terms say about prices, renewal, notice and ending the arrangement? If a significant commitment is unclear or disputed, get appropriate advice before assuming you can change it.
Separate the work you have already promised from the work you are now proposing. That gives the client a chance to understand the change without wondering whether an accepted quote has been reopened.
What should the new price cover?
Put the proposed price beside the service you intend to provide. You may be offering the same work at a different price, or changing what is included. The client needs to know which.
Review a few recent assignments. Count the preparation, delivery, coordination and follow-through required to complete what you promised. Notice where a small recurring task has become a regular part of the service without either of you deciding that it should.
If the service has expanded, describe the offer you want to make from now on. A lower-priced alternative may mean less work or a different delivery arrangement. It needs to remain useful to the client and workable for you. Avoid promising the same time-consuming service for less simply because that postpones a difficult conversation.
The guide to pricing a freelance project explains how to compare the work and fee with the capacity your business can sell. That calculation can inform your decision, but it cannot establish what a particular client will accept.
How can you explain the increase?
Explain the proposal in terms the client can use: the service, the price, the proposed start and the decision you need. Make room to discuss it before the change would affect their work.
Imagine a self-employed designer providing a separately agreed monthly package of newsletter layouts. This is a hypothetical example. The current package has a defined number of layouts and one correction round. The designer wants to charge a different fee for future monthly packages, while keeping those deliverables the same.
The designer could write:
I would like to discuss the newsletter package for the period beginning [date]. My proposed fee is [price] per month for [number] layouts and one correction round. The work already agreed for [current period] stays at the agreed fee. Could we review the proposal by [decision date], so we both know what to plan for the next period?
The brackets require the designer's actual proposal and an arrangement consistent with the existing agreement. They are not amounts or dates from a client project.
If the client asks what changed, answer honestly. Perhaps the designer has reviewed the time required and decided the current fee does not fit the service they are willing to provide. There is no need to invent a new deliverable or promise a better result to explain a different price.
What if the client cannot accept the price?
The client may accept, ask about another arrangement or decline. Decide what you are prepared to offer before treating any of those responses as a reason to withdraw the proposal.
In the hypothetical example, fewer layouts might fit a different budget. That option only works if the smaller package serves the client's needs and the designer wants to provide it. If the client needs the full package at the old price, the designer must decide whether to continue on that basis, discuss a transition or end the arrangement in accordance with its terms.
Include that possibility in your planning. What work and income would remain if the client declined? How would you handle any outstanding commitments? These questions do not predict the response. They help you decide what you can offer without relying on the client to make the choice comfortable for you.
What does the decision mean for your business?
A price decision also shapes the work you spend your days doing. Review the proposed arrangement against the clients, time and responsibilities you want the business to contain.
You may choose to retain an arrangement for a reason you value. You may also decide that it no longer fits. Name the reason and the commitment involved, then confirm any agreed change in writing so both sides can find it.
If you want to work through those choices, business coaching can bring the offer, client relationship and demands on your time into the same conversation.