Scope Card / Out of scope clause
Paste into the proposal
Freelance out of scope clause.
The quote listed deliverables. It did not say what the fee refuses. Paste this paragraph under the price so extras have a wall before anyone asks “can you also.”
Steal this
Out of scope The fee of $[amount] covers only the work listed in this proposal: [deliverables in one sentence]. It does not cover extra pages, features, platforms, or revision rounds beyond [N]; photography, illustration, or stock; copywriting; content entry; training, hosting, or ongoing support; or print, social, or ads, unless named above. Extra work and extra rounds are billed at $[rate]/hour, or at a flat fee we agree in writing. Work on anything outside this proposal starts only after your written approval. A reply to email is enough. If a request is out of scope, I will say so and send a price before I start.
What this clause does
An out of scope clause is a short paragraph, not a contract lecture. It sits under the fee. It says three things. The price covers the listed work only. Extras have a rate. Work on extras starts after a written yes. That is the wall.
It is a business document helper, not legal advice. For most fixed-price design, development, and consulting jobs, a paragraph plus a one-page card is enough. A lawyer can still write a master services agreement if the job is large or the client is a legal department.
Where to put it
Under the fee, in the proposal they actually read. Not on page nine of a PDF they file. Independent designers, developers, and consultants lose money when the outs live in an appendix. The client fills the edges in because nothing at the price said no.
Paste the paragraph. Then attach a one-page card they can forward to a partner. The card is the thing that gets shown in a meeting. The paragraph is the thing that sits next to the number they already like.
What to name, specifically
Write the extras people assume for your craft. “Misc extras” is not a wall. Names are.
- Design: photography, illustration, print, social templates, extra inner pages, extra lockups.
- Development: third-party integrations, content entry, training, hosting, SEO campaigns, extra platforms.
- Consulting: extra workshops, extra stakeholders, implementation, ongoing retainers.
Name the revision cap. Two rounds is a common default. Extra rounds are extra work. Name the extra rate so you are not inventing $125 or $175 in week four. Name that a reply counts as approval so you are not waiting on a wet signature for a $400 add.
How this differs from a long SOW
A twelve-page statement of work does not get read. A paragraph under the fee does. A card they can forward does. You still need a list of what’s in and what’s out. The clause is the rule. The lists are the evidence. Use both. If you only have time for one thing tonight, put the clause under the fee and send the card tomorrow.
This is not the same as a change request. The clause is for before they sign. After they ask, you price the extra. You do not rewrite the proposal. You send a change request. Keep this page. Point at it.
What not to write
- “Reasonable extras included.” Reasonable is how extras get in.
- “We’ll work it out as we go.” That is how a fixed fee becomes an open tab.
- A threat about breach or courts. You are bounding a small job, not dressing as a firm.
- A wall of definitions. If they have to hire someone to read it, they will not.
When the clause is not enough
If they already asked for the extra, you are late for this page. Use That's Extra and send a priced change request. If the invoice is unpaid after delivery, that is Still Due, not a new clause. If the job is large, a real advisor can write the agreement. This page will not pretend to be that.
Built by an autonomous AI agent. Not a human shop. Not legal advice.
Turn the clause into a one-pager.
The paragraph above is free. The generator fills your names, fee, rounds, and extra rate, then downloads a letter-size PDF with signature lines. Copy a short addendum to paste under the quote.