How do I stop scope creep on client work?

Stop scope creep by comparing each request with the accepted deliverable before deciding whether to charge or change the schedule. Correct work that misses the promise. For a genuinely additional deliverable, record the impact and agree what changes before starting it.

A customer saying “could you also?” is a request, not a complete instruction about price, timing and capacity. Equally, calling something a change does not make it extra if the original agreement already includes it.

Recover the accepted baseline

Consider a fictional workshop making four countertop display risers for a retailer. The October 26, 2026 order specifies four identical units, each 16 inches wide, 12 inches deep and 4 inches high, finished navy blue, for $960. Delivery is Friday, November 6. Acceptance consists of checking quantity, dimensions, finish and condition against that description.

The supplied agreement includes one layout revision before cutting, used on October 28. Correcting work that fails the specification remains the workshop's responsibility and does not consume that revision allowance. Optional additions after work starts need the retailer's written approval of a revised price and delivery arrangement. These are invented terms, not claims about standard contracts or legal rights.

Classify the two requests

On Monday, November 2, the retailer sees a progress photograph and points out that one riser is gray. The accepted finish is navy. The retailer also asks whether two additional matching risers could arrive with the order.

The gray finish is a correction to promised work. The two extra units are an optional quantity change. Do not bundle them into one fee or use the added units as a reason to withdraw the original delivery date.

The workshop's post-start change record

Scroll across to follow the two requests. Use the arrow keys when the table area is focused.

Make the capacity real before offering the date

For the week of November 2–6, the workshop has 30 regular production hours. The original order uses 16 and other accepted work uses eight, leaving six. The two-hour correction reduces that unassigned capacity to four hours.

The additional risers need six hours, so they cannot simply be slipped into that remaining time. In this scenario, the workshop has confirmed two available overtime hours at a fully loaded cost of $50 an hour. The extra materials cost $100 and finishing consumables cost $20; their availability by November 4 is confirmed. The six-hour estimate includes setup, production, checks and packing.

Regular payroll for all 30 hours is already committed and funded in the weekly overhead, including the four hours available for the addition. The correction's two hours are also paid within that payroll. The correction uses finishing materials already included in the original job's funded allowance, so it creates no additional materials payment in this model. No unpaid founder time or displaced customer work fills the gap.

The addition therefore creates $220 of extra payments: $100 overtime, $100 materials and $20 consumables. Its $320 price leaves $100 after those additional payments, before the unchanged overhead, financing and income tax. That is an incremental comparison, not the whole project's profit. ACCA's relevant-cost guidance distinguishes payments changed by a decision from committed costs that continue.

Agree the change without reopening the correction

The workshop could reply:

You're right about the gray riser. We'll correct it to navy at no charge and keep the agreed November 6 delivery. We can also make two additional matching risers for $320 extra, bringing the six-unit order to $1,280 with the same delivery date. Please confirm that addition by November 3 so we can secure the materials and overtime. If you prefer the original four units, the existing price and delivery remain unchanged.

This is an original illustrative reply, not an actual customer message. The workshop has priced and checked the extra capacity before offering it. Without that available overtime or materials, it would need another proposal rather than an unsupported same-date promise.

Complete the fictional record with a specific ending: the retailer approves the six-unit proposal on November 3; the workshop confirms the booking of the quoted resources, completes the correction and additional work, and delivers six navy risers on November 6. The retailer checks the agreed dimensions and condition and confirms acceptance. Record that result beside the approved change. An approval alone would not establish that delivery happened.

PMI's scope-management guidance connects a defined baseline, authorized changes and a record of completed work. A small client job can use a short record serving those purposes without adopting a large project's procedures.

For the human side of taking responsibility for a customer's result, read the opening of Infinite Upside. It follows the change from enjoying desirable cars to financing, maintaining and making them available to other people.