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The Scope Creep Survival Kit

Scope creep is not a client problem. It is a documentation problem that shows up as a client problem in week six. This is the paperwork that moves the argument to week zero, where it costs a paragraph instead of a weekend.

1. Scope of work — A scope of work with deliverables, explicit exclusions, revision rounds, acceptance criteria, and a change-order process that actually gets used.
2. Change order — One page that turns "can you just" into a priced decision the client makes, instead of a favour you absorb.
3. Revision policy — Defines a round, so "one more small tweak" has an answer that was agreed before anyone was annoyed.
4. Kill fee clause — What you are owed when a project dies in week three, and what happens to a client who goes silent.
5. What to say when the ask arrives — Five scripts. The paperwork only works if you can say it out loud without flinching.

Plain English, square brackets where your details go. Last updated 2026-08-26.

Where should we send it?

The whole pack opens on the next page — you are not waiting on an inbox to read what you were just promised. The email is a second copy, for the day in eighteen months when you search for “kill fee” and need it.

What is actually in it

Five documents. Written to be sent, not admired — every one of them is something you paste into an email today.

1. Scope of work

A scope of work with deliverables, explicit exclusions, revision rounds, acceptance criteria, and a change-order process that actually gets used.

Read this one online

2. Change order

One page that turns "can you just" into a priced decision the client makes, instead of a favour you absorb.

3. Revision policy

Defines a round, so "one more small tweak" has an answer that was agreed before anyone was annoyed.

4. Kill fee clause

What you are owed when a project dies in week three, and what happens to a client who goes silent.

5. What to say when the ask arrives

Five scripts. The paperwork only works if you can say it out loud without flinching.

Read a page before you hand over anything

The opening of the kill fee clause, exactly as it appears in the pack. This is the clause that decides what you are owed when a project dies in week three.

KILL FEE AND CANCELLATION CLAUSE

Paste this into your contract, or attach it to the scope of work as an
addendum. The numbering assumes it sits inside a longer agreement — renumber
to fit yours.

X. CANCELLATION AND KILL FEE

X.1  Either party may terminate this agreement at any time on written notice.

X.2  Where the Client terminates, the Client pays:
     (a) the deposit, which is non-refundable in all cases;
     (b) all work completed up to the date of notice; and
     (c) a kill fee, set by the stage the project has reached at that date:

         Stage reached at notice                    Kill fee
         -----------------------------------------  --------------------
         Before kickoff, more than 14 days out      Deposit only
         Before kickoff, within 14 days             25% of the total fee
         After kickoff, before first presentation   50% of the total fee
         After first presentation                   75% of the total fee
         After final files are delivered            100% of the total fee

Excerpt. The clause runs to 8 subclauses.

Worth your email if

You have said yes to "one small tweak" and lost a weekend to it
You quote a project price but have never written down what is not included
A client has gone quiet for a month with your work half-finished and unpaid
You are charging for revision rounds but cannot define what a round is

Skip it if

You already run signed change orders on every project
You bill hourly with no fixed deliverables, so scope is the client's problem
You have a lawyer-drafted MSA you are happy with — this is lighter than that

Why we give this away

PaloWorks is software that does this automatically: intake forms, a scope your client approves at a public URL, a revision log that counts rounds for you, change orders, and invoices they can pay. The kit is the paper version. If the paper version is enough for how you work, use it and never think about us again — that is a fine outcome.

If you find yourself re-typing these documents for the fourth client this quarter, that is the point where software starts earning its keep. Free tier is one client and one active project; Pro is $19 a month for unlimited. No trial countdown, no card to start.

We are not going to tell you how many people downloaded this or quote a testimonial we wrote ourselves. Read the excerpt above and decide whether it is any good.

Send it over

One email with the kit in it. The newsletter is a separate tick, and the kit arrives whether or not you take it.

Already convinced? Start a free workspace and let PaloWorks keep the paperwork for you.