What to do when a client asks for extra work
Then decide what the request means for the current delivery, the time you have promised other clients and the kind of business you want to run.
When a client asks for extra work, check what you agreed before deciding how to respond. Then decide what the request means for the current delivery, the time you have promised other clients and the kind of business you want to run.
Is the request already part of the agreement?
Start with the quote, proposal or messages you both used to agree the work. Look at the result you promised as well as the tasks you listed. A request may be a reasonable clarification of that result, an additional piece of work, or something the agreement leaves open.
If the work is already covered, make a plan to deliver it within the agreement. If it is unclear, ask what the client needs and explain what you understood the original work to cover. The conversation may reveal that a smaller change solves the problem, or that you understood the agreed result differently.
If you and the client disagree about a significant commitment, the answer may depend on the agreement and the law that applies. You may need advice on that dispute before treating the work as an extra charge.
What would the extra work change?
Look beyond the hours needed to complete it. Would the request change when the existing work can be delivered? Does it need information or a decision from someone else? Would taking it on leave less time for another client or for work you intended to do in your own business?
Imagine a self-employed designer who has agreed to prepare a brochure. During the project, the client asks for a set of social media graphics using the same material. This is a hypothetical example. The designer checks the agreed deliverables and finds that the graphics were not included. The client also needs to choose the formats and approve the text before the designer can finish them.
The designer has another client's work scheduled immediately after the brochure. Promising the graphics at once would leave that work competing for the same time. The decision is therefore about the new request and what happens to promises already made.
Which response fits the work and your week?
You might decide to include a small addition because it helps complete the result and you have room for it. Make that choice deliberately, with a clear understanding of what you are adding and when you will do it. A clarification already covered by the agreement is part of the existing work, not automatically a new charge.
You might instead propose an additional deliverable with its own price and timing. Describe what you will provide, what you need from the client and whether the current delivery changes. Give the client a chance to decide before you begin. If the details are unclear, first agree on the question that needs answering before you can quote.
You could schedule the request separately. That can protect the current deadline while leaving room for useful work later. Check the week you are moving it into rather than assuming it has space.
You can also say no. Explain the limit in terms of the work or capacity and, if useful, what you can offer instead. You do not need to accept every request to treat a client well.
How can you explain the change to the client?
The designer could send a message like this, adapted to the actual agreement:
The brochure is covered by our current agreement. The social graphics would be an additional deliverable. Once you have chosen the formats and approved the text, I can prepare them for an additional fee and deliver them after the brochure. The brochure date would stay as agreed. Would you like me to send a price and schedule for the graphics?
Once the client has chosen the formats, the designer could follow up with a specific offer:
I can prepare the agreed graphics for [price] and deliver them by [date], provided I receive the approved text by [input date]. The brochure will still be delivered on the original date. Please let me know whether you would like me to proceed on that basis.
The brackets stand for the actual price and dates the designer is prepared to offer; they are not figures from a client project. If the client needs the graphics sooner, the conversation changes: what can move, who needs to agree, and is the designer willing to change the existing commitment?
Once you agree a change, record the work, price and timing in a form you can both find. If you include an addition at no extra charge, record what you have agreed to include.
What if extra requests keep changing the business?
One request can be handled on its own. A pattern can tell you something about the offer. Review a few recent projects: which additions did clients ask for, which did you enjoy doing, and which displaced work you had planned? You may want to include some work in a future offer, price it separately, or make a boundary clearer when you quote.
If the work repeatedly expands into evenings, compare the revenue it brings with the time it takes and the commitments it pushes aside. The answer may be a different offer, fewer simultaneous projects or a conversation with the client about how requests are handled.
My business coaching is for owners who want to work through decisions about clients, offers and the time their business requires. If you are preparing the initial agreement, the guide to pricing a freelance project covers what to include in the quote.