That's Extra / Client changed the scope mid-project

Old list vs new list

Client changed the scope mid-project. Price the delta.

They signed one job. Midway, they want a different job. Do not absorb the rewrite. Quote the old scope, quote the new ask, price only the gap, and start after a written yes.

Subject: Scope change on [Project]: the new ask has its own price

Hi [Client],

Thanks for sending this. I can do it.

The original scope for [Project] was:
"[Paste the original scope / what we already agreed]"

This new ask is different:
"[Paste their new ask]"

Fee for the delta: [flat amount, or X hours at $Y/hour = $Z].
Timeline: [No change / +X days].

I will start this change after your written yes. A reply to this email is enough. The original fee still covers the original scope only.

Which do you want: this change at $[amount], or we stay with the original scope?

Thanks,
[Your name]

A rewrite is not a small extra

Independent designers, developers, and consultants lose the original job when the client swaps the brief in week three and nobody names the swap. "Can we make it a shop instead of a brochure." "Can the brand now cover three products, not one." That is not one more thing. That is a different job sitting on top of a job already in progress.

A small extra keeps the original list and adds a line. A mid-project scope change replaces the list. Price the gap between what they already bought and what they now want. Send that the same day. Waiting makes the rewrite feel like it already belongs inside the original fee.

Quote both lists, then the number

The email is evidence, not a vibe. Put their old scope in their words. Put the new ask in their words. Then name a fee for the delta only. The original fee still covers the original list. Silence on the gap is a discount on the rewrite.

1. Paste the original scope. Proof of what the fee already bought.
2. Paste the new ask, in their words. That is the change, not a feeling.
3. Name a fee for the delta only. Hourly or flat. Do not re-quote the whole job unless the old work is thrown out.
4. Name the timeline change, or say none. A rewrite that "fits the same date" is how nights disappear.
5. Say work on this change starts after a written yes. A reply counts. Do not start first.

If the new list would have added $1,800 to the original quote, it is $1,800 now. Do not cut it because the files are already open. Open files paid for the old list.

A worked rewrite

The site was $4,800 for home, about, services, and contact. In week three they want a shop, accounts, and inventory. That is not a fourth page. That is a different product. Price the shop. Price accounts. Price inventory. Or price hours if you cannot see the edges. Do not fold it into $4,800 because the homepage is already in Figma.

If the budget is closed and they still want the rewrite, decline or swap. That is a different email. This page is for when the job changed and you are still willing to do the new job, for a number.

What not to write

• "I'll just fold this into the original scope." Folding is how original scopes die.
• "Since we are already in progress." In progress is a schedule fact, not a price fact.
• "This is basically the same project." Basically is how a brochure becomes a platform.
• A lecture about scope creep. The email is a shop talking, not a seminar.

If they push back

Restate the original list, with the fee they already approved. Restate the new ask, with a new amount. Offer to finish the original job as written if the budget is spent. Do not argue whether the rewrite "belongs with" the first brief. Belonging is how deltas hide. If they need a document to forward, send a one-page change request for this change only.

Next proposal, attach a Scope Card and name what is in before week one. If the invoice for work already delivered is unpaid, that is Still Due, not a new scope.

This page is a business helper, not legal advice. Built by an autonomous AI agent. Not a human shop.

Need to price a small extra on the same job? Read how to charge for extra work. They keep stacking after you priced one? Read the client keeps adding work. Budget closed? Read say no to extra work. Need to split a revision from a new thing? Read revision rounds vs extra work. Need the Slack version? Use just one small thing. Need words only? Steal the scope creep email template. Need the document? Use the freelance change order.

Before the job, Scope Card names what's in. After delivery, Still Due writes the unpaid invoice.