# Scope scripts for agency account teams Word-for-word scripts for the three scope conversations every retainer has (the quick "can you just" request, the repeated small asks, and the big new project), each in a written and a call version, plus the short lines for swaps, used-up allowances, goodwill waivers and work you do not offer. RevSmith, updated 4 November 2026. They go with the scope ledger (`scope-ledger.csv`) and the change order form (`change-order-form.md`) from the guide at https://revsmith.in/guides/agency-scope-creep. Replace everything in [brackets]. Keep the tone; change the words to sound like you. --- ## Before any script: five rules 1. **Answer before the work starts.** Run the four questions first (Do we sell it? Does a SOW line cover it, within its limits? Is there allowance left? Will the client swap a planned, unstarted deliverable for it?). The answer decides the script. 2. **The account manager answers; the account lead sends any change order.** Designers, writers and media buyers do not say yes or no in the thread. They reply "Thanks, [account manager] will confirm timing" and flag it internally. 3. **Lead with yes and a choice.** Every script offers at least two ways forward, one of which costs nothing (a swap, or waiting until next month). 4. **Name the plan, not the contract.** "This month's plan" is a shared tool; "the contract" is a weapon. 5. **Price and date in the same message.** A "we'll have to charge for that" with no number starts a negotiation. A number with a date asks for a decision. **Words to avoid as an opener:** "That wasn't included." "That's out of scope." "Per our contract..." "Unfortunately..." They describe the past. Start with what you can do next. --- ## Script 1: the quick "can you just" request **When:** one request, small or medium, that the four questions answer as **extra**. ### Written (email, Slack or Teams) > Happy to. That one sits outside this month's plan, so there are two ways to do it: > > 1. Swap it for [planned item not started yet], at no extra cost, or > 2. Add it as an extra for [$price], ready by [date]. > > Which works better for you? ### On a call > "Yes, we can do that. Let me check where it fits this month and come back to you today with two options: one where it replaces something we haven't started, and one where it's an add-on with a price and a date." Then send the written version the same day. Do not price on the call unless the rate card already has the number (for example "an extra revision round is $[120]"). ### If they push back ("it's only five minutes") > "If it really is five minutes, it fits the quick-task allowance and I'll just do it. If it turns out bigger, I'll tell you before we go past [an hour] so there are no surprises." (If there is no allowance left: "This month's quick tasks are used up, so this one would be [$price]. Or I can schedule it for the first week of next month, when the allowance resets.") --- ## Script 2: the repeated small asks **When:** the ledger shows a pattern, for example more than [three] extras in a month, or extras two months running. Do not argue each request; show the month. ### Written, before the monthly review > Before our review on [date], a quick flag: this month we handled [8] requests outside the plan, about [14] hours, listed below. I've been glad to help, and I don't want to quote you for every small thing. > > For next month I'd suggest one of these: > > 1. A small-request allowance: [4] quick tasks a month of up to an hour each, for [$X] a month, or > 2. Moving [the thing that keeps coming up, e.g. "two extra creatives"] into the core plan, for [$Y] a month, or > 3. Keeping the plan as it is, and we'll quote extras one by one from now on. > > I'll bring the list so we can pick the one that fits. > > [Table: date, request, hours, what we did] ### At the monthly scope review (15 minutes, beside the monthly report) 1. **Sold against used** (2 minutes): units, rounds, allowance, per SOW line. 2. **Extras** (5 minutes): what was asked, what was billed, what was waived, what was swapped. 3. **The pattern** (3 minutes): "These [three] kinds of request came up every week." 4. **The choice** (5 minutes): allowance, bigger plan, or quote one by one. Write down what they choose and update the SOW or the next invoice the same week. ### If they say "we thought that was included" > "That's fair, the line says [quote the SOW line], which can read either way. Let's write it down properly now so neither of us has to guess. Here's what I'd put in: [specific wording with a number]." A vague line is where this argument starts. Fix the line; do not win the argument. --- ## Script 3: the big new project **When:** the request is **not offered**, or it is large enough to need its own goals, timeline or team (a new channel, a website, a launch, a new market). ### Written > This is a good idea, and it's bigger than a tweak: it's new work with its own goals. Rather than squeeze it into the retainer and do both badly, let me scope it properly. > > I'll send a one-page outline with options and a price by [date]. Nothing in your current plan changes until you decide. > > To get it right, could you tell me: [what success looks like / the deadline / the budget range / who decides]? ### On a call > "I like it. It's a project in its own right, so I'd rather scope it than bolt it on. Can I ask three questions now, what does success look like, when do you need it, and who signs it off, and come back with options by [date]?" ### If you do not offer it at all > "That's not something we do well, and I'd rather say so than learn on your budget. [Name or type of partner] is good at it; happy to introduce you, and we'll keep [your current work] running as planned." --- ## Short lines for the other answers **Uses the allowance (confirm and count down):** > Done by [date]. That's quick task [3] of [4] this month, so [1] left. **Allowance used up:** > That's this month's last quick task, so anything else small will be [$price each] until [date], when the allowance resets. Or I can hold the next ones for the first week of [month]. **Replaces a deliverable (confirm the swap in writing):** > Confirming the swap: we'll make [the new item] instead of [planned item], with the same rounds and the same date. The month's total doesn't change. Shout if that's not right by [date]. **A goodwill waiver (free, on purpose, and said out loud):** > We've done this one at no charge, as a thank-you for [reason]. Normally a third round is [$120], so for the next one I'll send a quick quote first. **Included (say so, so the client knows the plan is working):** > Yes, that's part of this month's plan. It's round [2] of [2] on [creative], ready by [date]. --- ## Internal: the message to your own team Post this in the team channel when a request might be outside scope, so nobody answers the client in the thread: > Request from [client contact] in [channel]: "[request]". Looks like [extra / not offered / uses allowance] against [SOW line]. [Account manager] to answer the client by [time]. Please don't start until it's confirmed.