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Scoping and pricing

What it is

Scoping is writing down what the client gets, what they do not, and what has to be true for the work to finish — including what you need from them. Pricing is choosing a number for that scope, with the assumptions that produced it stated so that a change of scope has an obvious cost.

Why it matters

Scope creep is not usually a client behaving badly; it is an unwritten boundary meeting an ordinary conversation. Each request is small and reasonable in isolation, and together they turn a profitable project into unpaid work. A written scope with a stated change process makes every addition a decision with a price, which almost always reduces the volume of additions as well as the resentment.

Core ideas

Write inclusions and exclusions in the same list

The exclusions are the load-bearing half. Say what is not included, specifically, in the same document and the same tone.

Included   up to 5 pages, responsive layout, contact form with email
           delivery, one round of revisions
Not included  copywriting, photography, hosting setup, analytics,
           email marketing integration, content beyond 5 pages
Client provides  final text and images before the start date

The line about what the client provides prevents the commonest cause of a slipped schedule.

Price from the estimate, then add a margin for what you know you miss

Use your own correction factor from past projects and say the assumptions out loud. A fixed price built on an unexamined estimate is a bet you will lose quietly.

Estimate      3 weeks at the day rate
Correction    x1.4 from the last comparable project -> 4.2 weeks
Fixed price   priced on 4 weeks, valid for 30 days
Assumption    the client's design system exists and is current

Separate the unknown from the known in the price

Where something genuinely cannot be estimated — an undocumented integration, a legacy system — offer a paid discovery phase first, and make the build price conditional on its outcome. This is far better than a contingency you cannot defend.

Put an expiry on the quote

A price with no date drifts into a commitment you made about a different world. Thirty days is normal and easy to defend.

Charge for changes, and make that normal from the start

Write the change process into the proposal: a written request, an estimate, an approval before work starts. The first change is the moment the process either exists or does not.

Practice

Write a scope for a real project

Take a project you have done or are about to do and write inclusions, exclusions and client responsibilities as three lists.

Done when: two exclusions are things a client would plausibly expect, and each would be a priced change rather than an argument.

Price it from your own correction factor

Estimate the work, apply your historical ratio, add the margin, and write the assumptions and the validity date under the number.

Done when: the price has at least two written assumptions and an expiry date, and you would defend it out loud without apologising.

Common mistakes

  • Exclusions left unsaid — the boundary is negotiated one small request at a time; fix: write the exclusions in the proposal.
  • Fixed price from an unadjusted estimate — the project is under water before it starts; fix: apply your own correction factor and state the assumptions.
  • No client responsibilities — the schedule slips waiting for content and it looks like your delay; fix: list what the client provides and by when.
  • Quotes with no expiry — an old number becomes this year’s commitment; fix: date the proposal.
  • No change process — the first small addition sets the precedent that additions are free; fix: price the first change.

Go deeper

Worked examples

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