How to limit revision rounds in a freelance contract
Define what a revision round is, keep new requests and your own fixes out of it, price extra rounds, and answer round four with a choice.
Put a set number of revision rounds per deliverable in your contract, and define a round as one list of written comments sent within a few days of delivery. Keep fixes for work that misses the brief free, send new work through a change order, and price each extra round before you start it. When the client asks for one more, check your contract, then offer a price and a choice.
Why do revisions run past what you priced?
Revisions are a scope problem: a fixed fee buys a set amount of work, and each extra round spends it. New York City's model freelance contract, from its Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, tells both sides to "factor preparatory work and revisions into the price."
Rounds tend to run away when nobody wrote down what a round is, who sends comments, when they're due, or what counts as new work. Then every email starts a round, three people send three sets, and a new page arrives as "just a revision."
Our guide to negotiating as the smaller party gives revisions one row; this guide goes deeper.
What counts as a revision?
Sort every request with three questions, in this order. Does the work miss something the brief required? Then fixing it is a correction: free, and it never uses a round, even after approval. Is it a change of preference, within the brief, to a draft not yet approved? Then it's a revision, and it uses a round. Is it new work, or a change of preference to approved work? Then it needs a separate change order, signed by both sides.
| Request | Example (made up) | Uses an included round? | What it costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Correction | A typo you made, or a page missing a feature the brief listed | No | Free, before or after approval |
| Revision | "Make the blue darker and cut the intro to two lines." | Yes | Included; after the last one, your extra-round price, approved first |
| New request | "Can you add a pricing page?" when the brief listed five pages | No | A separate change order with its own price and dates |
| Change to approved work | Redesigning the homepage they approved two rounds ago | No | A separate change order; corrections to it stay free |
| Rework from their late input | Final copy arrives after the layout is done, twice as long | No | An approved estimate at your hourly rate, and new dates |
Write the brief in countable units, such as five pages or three logo concepts, so the first question has an answer.
What do standard contracts say about revisions?
Two free standard forms, the Common Paper Professional Services Agreement (Standard Terms version 1.1) and the Bonterms Professional Services Agreement (version 1.2), don't mention revisions or rounds at all. They do cover the other rows, with standard wording you can point to. Their acceptance rules apply only where the statement of work (SOW) uses acceptance.
- Corrections. A client that rejects a deliverable must say why in writing, and you correct it and resubmit (Common Paper §1.4). Bonterms gives the client 15 days to review against the specifications, and you 15 days to fix any nonconformance they report (§3.4(a), (c)). Acceptance there "will not affect any warranty obligation" (§3.4(e)).
- New requests. A change order binds only once both sides agree in writing (Common Paper §1.3) or sign it (Bonterms §3.3(c)).
- Late input. Common Paper says the provider "is not responsible for an inability to perform the Services caused by Customer's failure to cooperate as reasonably requested" (§1.2). Bonterms has the provider tell the client when work may be delayed because information or materials the SOW requires haven't arrived (§3.2).
Neither sets a rework rate or moves dates by formula; you negotiate those. Common Paper's SOW has a Customer Obligations field "to identify dependencies on the client," such as a single point of contact.
How should you set the limit?
Count rounds per deliverable, not per project, and price them into your fee. We suggest two rounds for small items, such as an ad, and three for larger ones, such as a homepage. Treat those as a starting point, not an industry norm: check how many rounds your last few projects took.
Then pick how the limit works. Prices are examples.
| Approach | Works when | They may say | You can reply |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rounds per deliverable, then a flat price per extra round | Deliverables are similar in size, such as web pages | "What if we need one more?" | "It's $[450], and I start once you approve it." |
| Rounds per deliverable, then hourly | Changes vary in size, such as edits to a report | "We can't approve an open hourly rate." | "You'll approve an estimate and any new date first." |
| A budget of revision hours across the project | Many small items with small edits | "How will we know what's used?" | "Each delivery email shows the hours left." |
| Rounds tied to stages: concept, design, final | Each stage builds on the one before | "Can we revisit the concept later?" | "Yes, through a change order." |
| A small-edit allowance after the last round | The client wants reassurance before launch | "What counts as small?" | "Up to [2] hours of edits in total, within [5] business days." |
What wording caps revisions?
A revisions clause should separate revisions, corrections, new scope, changes to approved work and late input. For a one-off job, it goes in your freelance service agreement. Under an MSA, our statement of work guide shows where project terms go; check which document wins a conflict. Use this in place of the revisions clause in your template; it sets the price and approval for extra rounds. Bracketed figures are examples.
“Revisions. (a) Included rounds. The fee includes [three] rounds of revisions for each Deliverable listed in [Schedule A]. (b) What uses a round. Correcting a Deliverable that doesn't meet [Schedule A] is free and never uses a round, before or after approval. Any other change within [Schedule A] that Client asks for in a draft not yet approved uses a round. Work outside [Schedule A], and changes of preference to approved work, need a separate change order signed by both parties. (c) Comments. Client's named contact, [name], sends revision requests for each draft as one written list within [5] business days of receiving it (the "Comment Period"), which closes early once the contact confirms the list is complete. A round starts, and counts, only when there are revision requests to work on, and an extra round only after approval under (d). After the Comment Period closes, Provider continues on the schedule, and later comments go into the next round, if one remains or is approved. Correction requests can be sent at any time. (d) Extra rounds. Each round beyond those included costs $[450]. Provider starts an extra round only after Client approves that price, and any new delivery date, in writing. (e) Late materials. If materials listed in [Schedule A] arrive after their due date, Provider will give Client reasonable revised dates for the affected Deliverables in writing. Rework they cause is billed at $[95] per hour, and starts only after Client approves Provider's written estimate. (f) Acceptance. This clause doesn't change [the acceptance section of the Agreement], which still applies to every delivery it covers.”
What do you send when they ask for round four?
Before you reply, sort the request with the three questions. Fix corrections free; new work and changes to approved work get a change order. If your contract already caps rounds and prices extras, use the email below. If it doesn't, charge only as your current agreement allows; an hourly agreement may already cover the work. A new cap or price needs the client's written agreement first, and shouldn't apply after the fact.
“Subject: [Project] homepage: your new notes Hi [Name], Thanks for the notes on the homepage. Most are quick, and the change to the top section makes sense. We've now used the three rounds included for this page ([dates]). Under our agreement, an extra round is $[450], so there are two ways forward: 1. Extra round. Reply "approved" to confirm the $[450] and a delivery date of [date], with every comment from your team in one list. 2. Approve this version. You sign off the homepage as it is today, and I'll list the new ideas so we can price them as a small follow-up after launch. If the notes are part of a bigger rethink, a short call could save a round. Best, [Your name]”
When comments arrive in pieces from several people, ask for one list first:
“Could you gather everyone's comments into one list and tell me when it's complete? I'll start the round then. If anything I delivered doesn't match the brief, flag it any time; those fixes are free and don't wait for a round.”
When should you just say yes?
Giving a round away can be the right call. Say it's a one-off, so it doesn't become the baseline.
| If | Then |
|---|---|
| The change takes a few minutes | Do it, and write "no charge for this one" in your delivery email |
| A long-term client is having a hard week | Give the round, and call it a courtesy outside the agreed rounds |
| You bill hourly anyway | Agree a budget, ask before you go past it, and show the running total with each delivery |
If you give rounds away on most projects, raise the rounds and the fee together on your next quote.
What should you check before you send the contract?
- The number of rounds is set per deliverable, and every deliverable is listed.
- A round is one list, from one named contact, within a set Comment Period.
- Corrections stay free after approval; new scope and changes to approved work need a signed change order.
- Extra rounds have one price, and start only after the client approves it in writing.
- The acceptance clause still covers every delivery it applies to, and late materials lead to new dates in writing.
When should you get a lawyer?
Consider legal advice when your revision terms connect to bigger risks:
- The client can reject work at its "sole discretion," and payment on a large project waits for approval.
- A dispute over rounds has become a large invoice the client won't pay.
- You'd pay for missed deadlines, even when their late input caused the delay.
- The client is abroad, or the contract is under a law you don't know.
When does handling revision terms by hand stop working?
Writing and checking revision terms by hand works while clients sign your own contract as written. It slips when clients send their own contracts, each defining rounds and acceptance differently. It slips again when redlines quietly change a comment period or turn a paid change into an included one. That's when a tool is worth having for two separate jobs: drafting your terms from your own clauses, and showing every change when they come back.
DealMate is an AI contract assistant that takes a deal from first draft to final: describe the deal in a sentence and get a draft built from your templates and clauses; when they send their template, review it from your side and see what's risky; when their redlines come back, compare the versions and see every change and the risk it carries.
Sources
- Professional Services Agreement, Version 1.2 — Bonterms
- Professional Services Agreement Standard Terms, Version 1.1 — Common Paper
- Professional Services Agreement: Cover Page and annotations (Standard Terms v1.1) — Common Paper
- Freelance Work Agreement (model contract) — NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection
This is general information, not legal advice. For high-stakes or unusual terms, talk to a lawyer.
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