Guide
The client keeps asking for revisions. Here's how to tell if it's still in scope.
Updated 2026-08-24
Short answer: revisions aren't the problem — revisions with no defined end are. Check whether this specific round is a genuine refinement of what you already agreed to, or whether it's turned into new work wearing a revision's name. If it's the latter, treat it like any other out-of-scope request: price it and get it approved before you touch it again.
Work out whether this is a normal revision or a new request
Revisions blur together because they arrive one message at a time, each one small on its own. Three buckets make it easier to see where a specific request actually falls:
Clearly included
Feedback on what you already delivered, inside the number of revision rounds you agreed to — refining direction, fixing something that doesn't match the brief, adjusting details. This is what revisions are for.
Ambiguous
A "just one more small thing" after you thought the round was closed, or a change that's reasonable on its own but wasn't counted against your agreed revision limit. Worth a quick check before assuming either way.
Clearly additional
A request to redo something from scratch, a different direction than what was already approved, or something new introduced under the label "just a revision." If you're doing meaningfully new work, it's not a revision anymore.
No single revision usually feels big enough to push back on — that's exactly how a project quietly absorbs a dozen unpaid rounds. The useful question isn't "is this one revision a big deal," it's "where are we against the number of rounds we agreed to, and does this specific one require new work."
How to respond when revisions won't stop
- Acknowledge the specific change being asked for — not "the revisions" in general.
- Say plainly where you are against the agreed revision count, if you're tracking one.
- If this round requires new work rather than adjusting what's in progress, name that plainly too.
- Offer a clear path forward: proceed with the current direction as agreed, or approve the added cost for genuinely new work.
The email templates below work for this situation too — the underlying message is the same one you'd send for any out-of-scope request: acknowledge, explain the impact, ask for a clear go-ahead.
Why this is worth checking before you make the change
Once a revision is made, it's very hard to un-make the case that it was extra — you've already done it, and "can I charge you for a change I already delivered" is a much harder conversation than agreeing on it first. Checking before you start costs one extra question; skipping that question can cost the rest of the project's margin.
When your contract or SOW should decide this instead
If your contract or statement of work already defines a fixed number of revision rounds or has its own change-order process, that document controls. Use this page to think through an ambiguous round and to communicate the decision — not as a substitute for what you actually signed.
This isn't legal advice. For a revision-limit clause that actually holds up, talk to a lawyer licensed where you and your client operate.
Check the scope, then price it if it's genuinely extra
Answer three quick questions to see which bucket this round falls into. If it comes out as additional work, the pricing calculator and response templates below pick up from there.
If this isn't a revision at all but a genuinely new request, the extra-work guide covers that situation directly.