One-page mid-project money defence for UK freelancers & sole traders
Free lead magnet — not legal advice. Templates and checklists only. Adapt to your practice; seek professional advice for contracts. A fuller Scope Guard pack may be offered later via the OpsKit Digital store when available. No purchase required to use this page.
1. Pause before you say yes
Re-read the original proposal / SOW / email brief
Classify: in scope, clarification, or new work?
Estimate hours or fixed fee before committing in chat
Avoid “sure” on Slack / WhatsApp with no paper trail
If >~30 min, or changes deliverables / timeline / price → change order.
2. Capture the request
Date
Client
Project
From
Ask
3. Classify the impact
New deliverable
Changed deliverable
Extra revision round beyond the proposal
Timeline change (bring forward / delay / new milestone)
New third-party / access dependency
Out of scope entirely (different service than sold)
Hi [Name], thanks for the request to [short description]. That’s outside the current scope for [Project]. Proposed change: [what you will do] | Extra fee: £[amount] (or [n] hrs at £[rate]) | Timeline: [none / +X days] | Payment: [on approval / add to final / 50% now]
If you’re happy, reply “approved” and I’ll proceed. Or we can park this for a later phase. — [Your name / trading name]
Clear written approval
Fee & dates in the thread
Tracker / calendar updated
6. Protect the next project
Revision cap in proposals (extra rounds billed / change-ordered)
Out-of-scope list + written change process
Know Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 for overdue fees — not a substitute for change orders