The file is called logo_final_v7. The client agreed the price three weeks ago. This morning there is a new message: "Almost there, just one small change." You never said how many rounds the price covered, so in the client's mind it covers all of them.
Unlimited revisions at the same price is a complaint as old as freelancing, and the cause is nearly always the same: the limit was never written down. The fix is a revision limit written into the quote, and the wording is below.
The one-line fix
Write one line in every quote: "Includes 2 rounds of revisions. Additional rounds are billed at ₹[amount] per round." Then define a round: one consolidated set of feedback, from one named person, within a set number of days. Say what does not count as a revision. When round 3 arrives, send a short message with the price before you do the work.
How to word the limit in the quote
Two rounds is the default I would start from, and it suits most project work. Put the limit in the terms or notes of the quote, next to the price it belongs to. This is the base wording:
Includes 2 rounds of revisions. One round is one consolidated list of changes from [name], sent within [3] working days of each draft. Additional rounds are billed at ₹[amount] per round. New pages, new deliverables or a change of direction are quoted separately.
Four sentences. The limit, what a round is, the price of the next one, and what falls outside. The same idea, worded for four kinds of work:
Design
Includes 2 rounds of revisions on the chosen concept. One round is one consolidated list of changes from Ananya, sent within 3 working days. Additional rounds are billed at ₹2,000 per round. A new concept or additional sizes are quoted separately.
Video editing
Includes 2 rounds of revisions on the first cut. One round is one list of changes with timestamps, from Karthik, sent within 3 working days. Additional rounds are billed at ₹1,500 per round. New footage, a change of length or a new format is quoted separately.
Writing
Includes 2 rounds of revisions per article. One round is one set of comments in the shared document, from Sana, within 5 working days. Additional rounds are billed at ₹1,000 per round. A new topic, a new angle or added word count is quoted separately.
Web development
Includes 2 rounds of revisions on the built pages, raised as one list from Vikram within 5 working days of the staging link. Additional rounds are billed at ₹800 per hour. New pages, new features and new integrations are quoted separately. Bugs in agreed features are fixed at no charge and do not count as a round.
The amounts are placeholders. Use your own. If you want the rest of the document around this line, my post on the quotation format for freelancers covers every field.
What counts as one round
This is where most limits fall apart. The freelancer wrote "2 rounds". The client sent eleven messages over nine days and called it round one.
A round has three parts. Write all three down.
- One consolidated set of feedback. Everything in one message, one document or one call. Not a trickle of messages as each thought arrives.
- From one named person. If the client's partner, their manager and their cousin all have opinions, the client collects them. You get one list from one name.
- Within a set number of days. Three to five working days suits most jobs. Without this, a project stays open for months.
On that last point, you can add: "If I do not receive feedback within [5] working days, I will treat the draft as approved and move to the next stage." A clause like this only helps if the client accepted it in writing before you started, and it is a strong line, so check with a lawyer before you rely on it.
When feedback arrives in pieces, hold it. Reply once:
Thanks, noted. Send me everything in one go when you are done reviewing, and I will treat that as round 1.
What is not a revision
A revision changes the thing you agreed to make. It does not change which thing you are making.
| The request | What it is |
|---|---|
| Change the colour, tighten the intro, trim the ending | A revision |
| "Can we try a completely different style?" | A new direction |
| "Add a Careers page" | A new page |
| "Also give me a reel version" | A new deliverable |
| "The form does not submit" | A bug. Fix it free. |
A new direction, new pages and new deliverables are not round 3. They are new work with a new price. I covered how to price additions in my post on scope creep. The cleaner your scope of work, the easier this line is to hold.
One more thing that is not a revision: your own mistakes. A typo you made, a wrong export size, a broken link. Fix those without counting.
How to price round 3
Decide before the project starts and print it in the quote. There are two ways.
Per round. A flat fee for each extra round. This suits work where a round is roughly the same size every time: a logo, a thumbnail, an article, a short video. The client knows the cost before asking.
Hourly. A stated rate, billed for time spent. This suits work where one "change" can take ten minutes or two days, which is most web development. Give an estimate before you begin so the bill is not a surprise.
Pick one. State it up front. I am not going to tell you what the number should be. It should be large enough that the client thinks before using it, and fair enough that you would not be embarrassed to send the bill.
The message for "this is round 3"
Send this before you do the work, not after. The whole point is that the client gets to choose.
Hi Ananya, happy to make these changes. We have used the 2 rounds included in the quote, so this would be round 3 at ₹2,000, as mentioned there. Shall I go ahead?
It is three sentences, it neither apologises nor accuses, and it points at the quote, not at the client. Most of the time the reply is either "yes, go ahead" or a much shorter list of changes.
For hourly work:
Hi Vikram, these changes are outside the 2 included rounds. I estimate about 3 hours at ₹800 per hour, so around ₹2,400. Shall I go ahead?
Wait for the yes. Then add it to the invoice as its own line.
When the client says "it is just a small change"
Sometimes it is. A small change that takes you five minutes is not worth a negotiation. Do it, and say that you did:
Done. That one is on me. Anything further would be round 3.
You have been generous and you have marked the line. Both things in one message.
The trouble is the fifth "small change". Small changes arriving one at a time are a round that never ends. When you see the pattern, batch them:
No problem. Send me all the remaining changes in one list. If it is a quick fix I will include it. If it is a full round, it is ₹2,000 as per the quote, and I will confirm before I start.
And if the client pushes back with "but it will take you two minutes", stay on the terms:
It might. The quote covers 2 rounds, and we have used both. I am glad to keep going, at the rate we agreed.
Putting the limit on record
A limit only helps if both of you can find it later. A line said on a call does not count.
I built Riffit, so I am not neutral here, and what follows is what it does today. A quotation you build on the dashboard has Terms and Notes, and that is where the revision limit and the extra-round rate go. A quote sent straight from WhatsApp has neither, so add them on the dashboard first. The client opens a link and taps to accept, or sends back changes, and once they accept, the limit is on record with the price, in one dated place.
If you want a short reminder on every quote, put a line such as "2 rounds of revisions included" in the quotation footer note, under Document defaults in Settings. It prints on every quote, including ones made in WhatsApp. Keep the full wording in the terms, though, because the footer note is not saved with each quote.
If the scope changes halfway, you revise the quotation and the versions stay under the same quotation number, so you can see what you agreed at each stage. An accepted quotation converts to an invoice when the work is done, and neither plan caps how many quotations you send.
What it does not do: it does not count rounds for you, and it does not stop a client from asking. You still send the round 3 message yourself.
Write the revision limit into your quotation terms. Your client accepts in one tap, so the limit is on record.Try Riffit freeIf the project started with no limit
You cannot go back and add a rule to a price that is already agreed. You can set one from here. Do the current round fully, then say:
Sending the updated version now. To keep us on schedule, I will include one more round of changes after this. Further rounds would be ₹2,000 each. Please send everything in one list.
It is not as strong as a line in the quote. It is far better than v12. On the next project, the limit goes in before the price does, and for a small job with no formal quote, it goes in the one WhatsApp message you send before starting.
FAQ
Add one line next to the price: includes 2 rounds of revisions, with additional rounds billed at a stated amount per round. Then define a round as one consolidated set of feedback, from one named person, sent within a set number of days. Two rounds is a sensible default for most project work.
One round is one consolidated set of feedback, from one named person, sent within a set number of days. Three to five working days suits most projects. Eleven separate messages over nine days is not one round, so ask the client to send everything in one list.
Charge either a flat fee per extra round or an hourly rate, and state it in the quote before the project starts. Per round suits design, writing and short video edits. Hourly suits web development, where the size of a change varies a lot. Confirm the cost with the client before doing the extra round.
You can, but price it as open-ended work, because unlimited revisions at a fixed price means the project has no end date. Most of the time a stated number of rounds plus a rate for extra rounds works better for both sides. If the client insists on unlimited, quote a higher price or decline.
A quick fix that takes a few minutes is usually not worth counting, and doing it free builds goodwill. Say that you did it as a favour and that further changes fall under the next round. Several small changes sent one at a time add up to a full round, so ask for them in one list.
A revision adjusts the thing you agreed to make, such as a colour, a sentence or a transition. A change in scope adds something new, such as a new page, a new deliverable or a completely different direction. Scope changes get their own price and are not counted as revision rounds.
In the Terms and Notes of the quotation, which you write on the Riffit dashboard. A quote sent straight from WhatsApp has no terms, so add them on the dashboard first. The client accepts the quotation in one tap from a link, so the limit is on record with the price. Riffit does not count rounds for you, so you still tell the client when the included rounds are used.