Designers: Price the Extra Request Before You Start

Designers: Price the Extra Request Before You Start

The website is nearly finished. The client likes it. Then comes a perfectly reasonable question: could you add a landing page for the new offer, too?

You know how to build it. You also know that saying yes without discussing the price will turn a paid project into a larger project with the same paycheck.

For independent graphic and web designers, this is a personal-brand moment. Clients learn whether your helpfulness comes with clarity, whether your estimates mean anything, and whether a new idea will produce a surprise invoice.

The useful first step is small: open the approved scope beside the new request. Identify exactly what has changed before you decide what to charge.

A clear additional-work proposal lets the client buy more of your expertise without either person having to pretend the extra work was included all along.

First, Separate an Addition From a Correction

A client asking for something does not automatically make it billable extra work. Start with the agreement, the approved design, and any included revision allowance.

Consider three hypothetical requests:

• A button on the delivered website points to the wrong address because you entered it incorrectly. Check your responsibility to correct that specification failure.

• The client requests a different headline treatment during an included revision round. That may already be part of the purchased service.

• The client requests a separate campaign landing page that was absent from the approved deliverables. That is a candidate for an additional-work quote.

The distinction matters because clients can reasonably lose confidence when a designer charges extra to deliver what was already promised. Designers can reasonably protect time when the desired outcome changes.

Avoid arguing about whether the request is 'small.' A small visual change can require new layouts, mobile testing, production files, or another approval cycle. Describe those activities instead.

If the original scope is genuinely unclear, acknowledge the ambiguity. A fair negotiated solution now may be better than an aggressive interpretation of a sentence neither person discussed carefully.

For the next project, sharpen the description of what buyers receive. What to Put on a Consulting Services Page Before You Send Someone the Link offers a useful starting point, even if your service is design rather than consulting.

A Real Example: The Price Is a Choice, Not an Industry Rule

There is a helpful distinction in AIGA's Standard Form of Agreement for Design Services. Its change provisions separate ordinary out-of-scope requests from substantive changes that may need a new proposal. The template leaves the hourly rate and substantive-change percentage for the parties to complete.

Now compare Turnbach Design's published Basic Terms & Conditions. Section 4.1 specifies $150 per hour for requested work outside the agreed services. Section 4.2 identifies revisions approaching or exceeding 20% of the required time, or changes to the value or scope of services, as grounds for a separate proposal. That revised proposal must be signed before the work begins.

Those terms are marked effective September 2021. They are one studio's published choices, not a current individualized quote, a market average, or a recommended rate for your business.

For this article, the comparison examined the two numbered change provisions, 4.1 and 4.2, in those two documents. It is a descriptive comparison, not a survey of designers. The observation is practical: the template creates places for commercial decisions; the studio supplies its own numbers and approval process.

That is the lesson to borrow. Decide how additional work will be priced and authorized. Do not copy someone else's $150 rate or 20% threshold because it looks official.

Use an appropriately qualified lawyer to adapt your agreement. This is a workflow discussion, not advice about what a contract will legally require in your jurisdiction.

Price the Work You Will Actually Have to Do

Once you establish that a request is additional work, turn it into a deliverable you can estimate.

'Add a landing page' leaves a lot unanswered. Does the client supply final copy? Will you adapt an existing layout or create a new one? Are form integration, mobile testing, and analytics setup included? Who approves it?

A hypothetical extra-page quote might cover one page using the existing site design, client-supplied copy and images, one revision round, and testing of the agreed form. Writing the copy and developing a new visual direction would remain outside that quote.

Choose a pricing method that fits the uncertainty:

Use a Fixed Fee When the Addition Is Defined

A fixed fee gives the client a clear purchase decision. Estimate the complete effort behind it, including coordination, review, and delivery. Do not price only the minutes spent moving objects on a screen.

State the assumptions that make the fee workable. If those assumptions change, discuss the effect before continuing.

Use an Estimate When Discovery Is Still Needed

Some requests cannot be sized confidently from a short email. An unfamiliar integration or a poorly documented website may need investigation.

Explain what you can estimate, what remains uncertain, and when you will stop to get approval. If you use hourly billing, make the rate and any authorized limit explicit. An open-ended task should not become an open-ended financial surprise.

Offer a Trade When the Budget Is Fixed

Sometimes the client values the new page more than an unfinished item in the original plan. You can discuss replacing that item rather than adding both.

A trade still needs a written agreement about the revised deliverables and timing. Do not quietly remove promised work or assume two tasks have equal value because they sound similar.

Give the Client a Decision They Can Actually Make

A change request should answer four questions: what changes, what it costs, what happens to the schedule, and what approval you need.

Here is a hypothetical message a designer could adapt:

'Yes, the campaign page can be added. It is outside the five-page site we approved. The additional fee would be $650 for one page using the existing design, with copy and images supplied by you and one revision round. With those materials received by Tuesday, I can deliver the additional page the following Tuesday. Please approve the added scope, fee, and timing before I begin.'

The $650 is an illustration, not a pricing recommendation. Only offer a date you can support, and use the approval method required by your agreement.

If the client declines, the original project can remain intact. If they accept, you have a shared record of the new purchase.

The same clarity should start before the project begins. What to Send After a Discovery Call So the Next Step Is Clear covers the earlier handoff from conversation to a decision.

Make Generosity Deliberate

You may choose to include a modest extra for a valued client. That can be a sensible business decision. Name what you are including and keep the boundary specific.

For example: 'I can include this additional social graphic at no charge for this launch. Any further formats would need a separate estimate.'

Do not present a favor as a debt the client must repay later. Do not attach an invented normal price to make it look more generous. And do not let repeated unpriced additions become the only reason the relationship appears profitable.

For requests that arrive before any engagement exists, How to Handle “Can I Pick Your Brain?” Without Giving Away a Consulting Session addresses a related but different boundary.

Save This: The YPBP Extra-Request Check

Before starting an addition, capture these six items in the project record:

1. Original promise: The deliverable or revision allowance already approved.

2. New request: The specific addition, separate from corrections you owe.

3. Work included: Formats, inputs, testing, and review rounds.

4. Price: Fixed fee or agreed billing method, with assumptions and limits.

5. Timing: Dependencies and any effect on the original delivery.

6. Authorization: Who can approve it and how approval is recorded.

Use this as a preparation checklist, not a replacement for your agreement. Your first step today is to apply it to one pending request before doing the work.

At completion, make sure the client receives the revised deliverables and knows what happens next. The Last Client Handoff Is Part of Your Personal Brand explains why that final exchange deserves attention, too.

FAQ

Should every extra request receive a separate invoice?

Not necessarily. Your agreement and billing process determine how approved additions are invoiced. The immediate goal is to agree on the added work and financial consequences before starting, rather than surprising the client afterward.

What if the client says it will only take five minutes?

Explain the actual work involved without becoming defensive. If it genuinely is a tiny addition, you can choose to include it. If it affects multiple layouts, testing, or approvals, describe that effort and offer a clear quote.

What if I already started without discussing the price?

Pause before adding more work. Explain what has been done, what remains, and what you propose. Do not assume a retrospective invoice will be accepted. Review the agreement and seek appropriate advice if payment is disputed.

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