Scope Card / Not included in the proposal
Paste under the fee
What's not included in a freelance proposal.
The quote listed deliverables. It did not list the outs. Clients fill the edges in. Paste this list under the price so extras have names before anyone asks "can you also."
Steal this
Not included in this proposal The fee of $[amount] does not include: - Extra pages, screens, or templates beyond the list above - Extra brands, lockups, or languages - A second platform (print, iOS, Android, a second CMS) - Photography, illustration, icon sets, or stock licenses - Copywriting, content entry, or migrating old content - Third-party integrations not named above - SEO campaigns, ads, social templates, or email sequences - Hosting, training, analytics setup, or ongoing support - Extra revision rounds beyond [N] - Rush work, on-site days, or extra stakeholder workshops Extra work is billed at $[rate]/hour, or at a flat fee we agree in writing. Work on anything in this list starts only after your written approval. A reply to email is enough.
Why the outs need names
Independent designers, developers, and consultants lose money when the proposal is a list of what's in and a shrug about the rest. "Misc extras" is not a wall. Names are. A client who never sees "photography" on the page will assume photos are in the fee. A client who never sees "a second platform" will assume the app comes with the site.
This list sits under the fee, in the proposal they actually read. It is not a 12-page appendix. It is not a contract lecture. It is a business list for small fixed-price jobs. Not legal advice. A lawyer can still write a master services agreement if the job is large.
How to edit the list for your craft
Keep the lines that people actually assume. Cut the ones that look copied. Then add one or two that are specific to this job.
- Design: photography, illustration, print, social templates, extra inner pages, extra lockups, brand guidelines beyond a one-pager.
- Development: third-party integrations, content entry, training, hosting, SEO campaigns, extra platforms, extra languages.
- Consulting: extra workshops, extra stakeholders, implementation, ongoing retainers, travel.
Name the revision cap on the same page. 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.
List, clause, card
The list is the evidence. A short out of scope clause is the rule: the fee covers listed work only, extras need a written yes. A one-page card is the thing they can forward to a partner. Use all three if you can. If you only have time for one thing tonight, paste the list under the fee. Send the card tomorrow.
This is not a change request. The list 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.
- "Etc." Etc. is a hole. Name the thing or leave it off.
- A threat about breach or courts. You are bounding a small job, not dressing as a firm.
When the list 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 list. 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 list into a one-pager.
The list 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.