That's Extra / Say no to extra work

Budget closed

Say no to extra work, or swap.

The fee is spent. They still asked. You can decline. You can swap something that has not started. You should not eat the extra. Send the email the same day.

Subject: Extra work on [Project]: decline or swap

Hi [Client],

Thanks for sending this. I can see why you want it.

"[Paste their ask]" sits outside what we priced for [Project]. The budget we agreed is closed, so I cannot add it inside the original fee.

Two paths:

1. We skip it for now. The original scope stays as signed.
2. We swap: this in, [named item still not started] out, same fee. I will not start the swapped item.

If you still want both, I can price the extra as a separate change request. Work on it starts after your written yes. A reply to this email is enough.

Which do you want?

Thanks,
[Your name]

Closed budget is a fact, not a vibe

Independent designers, developers, and consultants hear "we do not have more budget" and then hear "can you also." Those two lines can live in the same Slack. The first one is the wall. The second one is extra work. If the fee is spent, the extra is not free. It is a no, or it is a swap, or it is a new change request with a new number.

A closed budget is not a reason to work for free. Decide the same day. Waiting makes the extra feel like it already belongs inside the original fee.

Decline, swap, or price. Pick one.

Three honest paths. Pick one. Mixing them in one thread ("maybe I can squeeze it") is how you do the extra and still feel unpaid.

1. Decline. The original scope stays. The extra waits for a later job or a later change request.
2. Swap. This in. Something listed that has not started goes out. Same fee. Write both names.
3. Price it. They still want both. That is a change request, not a closed-budget gift.

If the thing they want has already been started, you cannot swap it out. Decline the rest or price what remains. Do not invent a fourth path that is "a little of it for free."

How to offer a swap without eating the extra

A swap is not a discount. A swap is a trade of listed work. Name the inbound extra in their words. Name the outbound item that has not started. Say you will not start the outbound item. If they later want that item back, that is extra again.

Do not swap work already in progress, or goodwill from last month. Two names, one fee, written yes. If nothing is left to swap, decline or price.

A worked example: the site was $4,800 for home, about, services, and contact. They ask for a shop. Skip the shop, or swap contact if contact has not started. You cannot fold a shop into the original fee. If they want the shop and the four pages, send a number.

The email that does not sound cold

Warmth is a thank-you and a clear next step. It is not an apology for having a fee. "I wish I could but" trains them to ask again with more feeling. "The budget we agreed is closed, so I cannot add this inside the original fee" is polite and done.

Quote the ask. Name the closed budget. Offer the two paths. If they want both, price a separate change request. Work starts after a written yes. A reply is enough.

What not to write

• "I will just do this one." That is how closed budgets stay closed and extras stay free.
• "Happy to squeeze it in." Squeeze is unpaid labor.
• "Sorry we cannot afford to." You are not the one who closed the budget. Do not take their constraint as your debt.
• A lecture about scope creep. The email is a shop talking, not a seminar.

If they push back

Restate the original list and the fee. Repeat the two paths. Do not argue whether it "feels small." Small still has a price when the fee is spent. If they still want both, send a priced change request. That is what That's Extra is for.

Next proposal, attach a Scope Card so extras have a wall before week four. If the invoice for work already delivered is unpaid, that is Still Due, not a new extra.

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

Need to price the next extra after you already priced one? Read the client keeps adding work. Need to price the extra instead? Read how to charge for 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.