Photo by Zach Klein

What the heck is this “Scope Creep” you speak of? Quite simply scope creep refers to uncontrolled changes in a clients project’s scope. You’ve finished the clients project to the original specifications but they just dumped a load of emails in your inbox with 20 more features, changes, ideas, and so on. It never seems to end! Most clients don’t know exactly what they want until the project is almost complete. Have you ever heard something like “Now that i see it, i think it might be better to do this…” or “I think it would be perfect if we could add this feature…” and of course its no simple task and definitely not outlined in their specifications… and its another 2 days of work!

Did you prepare for this inevitable outcome? If not then this is a good chance to learn a valuable lesson in real world freelancing. If you have taken all the necessary precautions then congratulations.. you have learned to get the most out of your clients… and yes, this also means money wise!

Learning to prepare for this can greatly increase the income for any project in which suffers from the “scope creep syndrome.” You will soon learn to love it, and so will your bank account! Not to sound like this is taking something from your client- it’s only fair that if you need to do more work then they specified then it will also cost them more. But what if you didn’t prepare for this outcome? How do you handle the clients needs with no extra income then you both originally agreed upon?

How To Deal With It Now

So you’ve done 10 revisions of this clients design and he still replies “Let’s try it with this color… and tweak this and pull it down a little.” You know as soon as you send it back he is going to reply with more work for you to do. You can’t just ignore him! What are you going to do?

The first step is to, politely but sternly, tell him that you limit your revisions or customizations to X amount. You will gladly do one more for him but after that, any further revisions will be subject to additional charges. Tell him that it is, of course, nothing personal! Explain, politely, that you have to calculate your time spent on the project and each revision ends up cutting into your costs as well (by not being able to work on other projects) and to support yourself you must set a limit!

Don’t be afraid to hit that “send” button. I’ve never gotten an angry reply to one of these emails and either the client will send one last revision (believe me, they will be thinking hard on it this time), or they will gladly pay you more for further changes.

Learn How To Love It Later

Now that you’ve dealt with that last project (it seemed soooo long) you’ve vowed to never have this happen to you again! What should you do to ensure that this will be avoided in the future? Here are some ideas…

Document This In Your Contract

Before beginning any project you should always have the client sign a contract in which you’ve laid out your terms. Don’t be afraid to be detailed but don’t make them read over a 20 page document either.

Within this contract you should specify your limits for the project scope. Explain clearly that changes beyond this limit will be subject to further charges. Highlight this if you must! You learn to foresee the future of the project work before you take it on. It usually comes with experience (bad ones). Every time you foresee scope creep within a project, highlight that field!

Clients aren’t as afraid of contracts as many beginning freelancers might assume. Even if they try to sound like your long lost buddy in their emails, they still understand that this is business. It doesn’t hurt your relationship with that client and it many cases it makes it stronger. They see you as more professional and they also clearly know their boundaries as well… which can help them cut cost overrun.

Have Them Sign A Completion Document

When you complete the project as outlined in their specifications, have them sign a “Completion Document.” This should state that the project is completed as specified and that all further work will be charged at your hourly rate.

Try Hourly Rate

If you are doing this project hourly, then scope creep is not an enemy but a friend! It means more billable hours. If you have tried per-project billing and have had problems, try an hourly rate.

I myself do both per-project and hourly depending on the project. No matter what though, you should still have new clients pay a deposit! Just as there are flaky freelancers, there are flaky clients! For hourly rates it can be a percentage of the estimated time to complete the project.

Now hopefully you’ll avoid working more for nothing! Working more for more money, on the other hand, isn’t such a bad thing

Have anymore ideas…?

Have anymore ideas? Let us know, and leave a comment below!