A revision policy is a number and a definition, agreed before work starts. Include two rounds, define a round as one consolidated list of changes, treat anything outside the brief as new scope, and bill extra rounds at a stated rate. Write all four into the proposal and contract so nobody argues at the end.
Why unlimited revisions quietly destroy your margin
Most service businesses do not lose money on projects that go badly. They lose it on projects that go almost right, then keep going. The work is approved in spirit, the client is happy, and then a fourth round of small changes arrives. Then a fifth. None of it feels big enough to push back on, so you absorb it. By the time the file is final, you have worked a week longer than you quoted and your real hourly rate has collapsed.
"Unlimited revisions" sounds generous. In practice it removes the only natural stopping point a project has. When there is no cap, every round of feedback is free, so feedback stops being decisive. Clients defer choices, change their minds and experiment on your time, because nothing tells them the experimenting has a cost.
This is scope creep, and it is common. The Project Management Institute's 2018 Pulse of the Profession, as summarised by Kissflow, found that 52 percent of projects had scope creep or uncontrolled changes, up from 43 percent five years earlier. PMI covers the pattern in its own piece, Scope creep rising. That is an older figure and it covers all kinds of projects, but the point holds. Large organisations with change-control boards struggle to contain it. A small business with no policy has little chance.
The cost is real money. Unbilled revision rounds are hours you already sold to a future client and gave to a current one. Stack three on top of a fixed-price quote and the project that looked profitable ends at a loss that you funded yourself.
What counts as one revision round
Before you can cap revisions, define the unit. A round is one consolidated set of feedback on a specific deliverable, returned to you in a single pass. The key word is consolidated.
Ten changes in one document are one round. The same ten changes sent as ten emails over four days are ten interruptions, and without a definition they can be counted as ten rounds. Ask clients to hold their notes until they have reviewed everything, then send them together.
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A practical definition: a round is your delivery of the work, the client's single list of requested changes, and your implementation of that list. When you send the updated version back, the round is closed. The next feedback opens the next round.
How many rounds to include
There is no universal number, but two rounds is the sensible default for most creative and digital work. Round one absorbs the big directional feedback. Round two handles the polish. Past that, you are usually not improving the work, you are reacting to a client who has not decided, and that indecision should not be free.
Other freelance guides land in the same place. Twine's advice on revisions says one or two rounds are far more common than five as a standard inclusion. Adjust to the work. A logo or brand mark, where taste varies and the stakes feel high, can justify three. A blog post or routine landing page rarely needs more than one or two. A large website build should attach revisions to each stage, so feedback stays close to the work it concerns.
Whatever you choose, state it as a number and say what happens after: "This project includes two rounds of revisions. Additional rounds are billed at my standard hourly rate." That single sentence turns an open-ended obligation into a defined one.
A designer comparing two versions of a layout on screen while taking notes
The line between a revision and new scope
This is the distinction that protects you most, and the one people most often get wrong. A revision refines work you already agreed to do. New scope is a new request. In a client's message they look alike. In your week they feel completely different.
Use a simple test. If the change brings the deliverable closer to the agreed brief, it is a revision. If it adds something the brief never described, it is new scope. "Make the headline larger and warm up the blue" is a revision. "Can you also design a matching email template" is new scope. "Tighten the second paragraph" is a revision. "Now write three more articles in this style" is new scope.
New scope wears the costume of a revision. It arrives in the same thread, in the same friendly tone, often with "just" or "quick" attached. If you treat it as a revision, you do unpaid project work and call it feedback. Naming it early, calmly and without drama is the whole skill. You are not refusing the work. You are pricing it. For a deeper look at how these requests build up, read our guide on how to stop scope creep, and for the paperwork side see change orders for scope changes.
Write the policy into the proposal and contract
A policy only protects you if the client agreed to it before the work began. Said for the first time at delivery, it sounds like a penalty. Written into the proposal they signed, it is simply the deal.
The Freelancers Union makes the same case in its post on avoiding unpaid revisions: a revision clause should say how many rounds the base fee covers, what counts as a revision, and that scope changes cost extra. Jobbers' guide to contract clauses that prevent scope creep adds that after the agreed number of revisions, extra work should be paid at a specified rate.
Your clause does not need legal language. It needs four things to be unambiguous: how many rounds are included, what one round means, what triggers a billable round, and the rate for extra work. Something like this is enough:
This project includes two rounds of revisions per deliverable. A round is one consolidated set of changes submitted together after you review the work. Requests that fall outside the agreed brief are treated as new scope and quoted separately before any work begins. Additional revision rounds are billed at my standard hourly rate.
The phrase "quoted separately before any work begins" does the heavy lifting. It promises the client no surprise invoices, and it promises you that you will never start unpaid work by accident. Treat this as a template and a starting point. Have a lawyer check the wording for your country before you rely on it. A clear statement of work is also worth writing for any project of real size.
Calm scripts for the out-of-scope conversation
When an out-of-scope request lands, the instinct is to say yes and resent it, or to go quiet and dread the reply. A prepared script removes both. The tone should be matter-of-fact, never apologetic. You are answering a pricing question, not delivering bad news.
For a clear new request: "Happy to take this on. It sits outside our original brief, so I'll treat it as a small add-on rather than a revision. It's about two hours of work, which comes to the figure below. Want me to go ahead?"
For a client who has used the included rounds: "We're now past the two revision rounds included in the project. I'm glad to keep refining. Further changes are billed hourly, so I'll send a quick estimate before I start anything. Does that work for you?"
For the "just one quick thing" that is really a new deliverable: "I can build that. It's a separate piece from what we scoped, so I'll quote it on its own rather than fold it into this project. That keeps the timeline and the invoice clean for both of us."
Every script says yes to the work, names the line without arguing about it, and ends with a next step. You are not asking permission to be paid. You are letting the client decide whether the extra work is worth it, which is the only fair way to handle it.
How Delivvo keeps revisions inside the agreed scope
Delivvo puts the revision terms where the client signs them and where the work is reviewed, so the policy is not just a sentence in an email.
Build the quote from packages and add-ons, and list what each package includes. Put "two revision rounds" in the package description so the client sees it before choosing.
Add the revision clause to your contract. The client signs it with a typed or drawn signature, and Delivvo stores a signing record with a SHA-256 hash, IP address, device and an archived PDF.
Share the work through the client portal. Files are versioned, so version two is clearly version two, and the client approves each version with a click.
Messages and approvals sit on the project, so "which round are we on?" has a visible answer, not a thread to search.
When a client asks for something new, send a quote for the add-on from the same project. The client picks, signs and pays the deposit from one link.
Because the terms, the versions and the approvals sit together, a client can see what was agreed and what falls outside it. If a dispute ever comes up, you can point to the signed contract, the dated versions and the approvals in one place instead of scrolling through email. Every contract carries a verification code too, so the signed copy can be checked later. Delivvo takes 0% of payments, and clients pay through your own gateway. See client approvals for how the portal handles sign-off.
FAQ
How many revision rounds should I offer?
Two is a sensible default for most creative and digital work: one for direction, one for polish. Higher-stakes deliverables like brand identity can justify three. For multi-stage projects, attach revisions to each stage.
What is the difference between a revision and new scope?
A revision refines work you agreed to deliver against the brief. New scope adds something the brief never described. If a change moves the work closer to the brief, it is a revision. If it adds a request, quote it separately.
Should I ever offer unlimited revisions?
Almost never on fixed-price work. It removes the project's natural stopping point and encourages indecision. If you want to show generosity, offer a clear number of rounds and respond quickly within them.
How do I tell a client a request is out of scope without losing them?
Say yes to the work, name it as a separate item and quote it before starting. Keep the tone factual. Most clients are not trying to take advantage. They simply do not see the line you see.
Delivvo runs the whole client cycle for service businesses, from the first inquiry to the quote, contract, deposit, invoice and delivery, so revision terms are agreed, signed and visible before the work starts. Clients pay you directly through your own gateway, and Delivvo takes 0%. Start free
