Step · Reveal · Client Edition
The Scope Creep Invoice
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Every "quick addition" arrived without a change order. Aggregated, they are a second contract you signed on delivery.
What this reveals. One number: the dollar value of the work you have delivered outside the scope of your original contract, un-invoiced. Portfolio-wide across similar client engagements.
What it does not do. It does not tell you to bill retroactively or renegotiate the current contract. It documents the invoice that was never sent so the next contract carries a change-order clause.
What was the original contract fee?
The signed engagement value for a typical client of this kind. Use the fee at signature, before any adjustments. Enter the number, not the range.
What is your hourly rate for out-of-scope work?
The rate you would invoice if this additional work were commissioned as a change order. If you have no formal change-order rate, use your standard hourly rate.
How many extra hours have you delivered beyond scope on this engagement?
"Quick calls" that ran long. "One more thing" requests. Meetings you were invited to. Documents you reviewed. Slack messages that turned into strategy. Count them.
What share of that out-of-scope work has been invoiced?
Change orders you issued and got paid on. Everything else is uninvoiced.
How many similar client engagements are running under the same pattern?
Contracts written to a fixed scope where the delivery has drifted. If this pattern is representative across your book, include the full count.
portfolio-wide value of un-invoiced scope-additional work
The number above is the aggregate dollar value of the work you have delivered outside the scope of your contracts, un-invoiced. Priced at your change-order hourly rate, held against your reported extra hours per engagement, net of the share already invoiced, and scaled across similar engagements running the same pattern.
Every hour of scope creep is a line item the client received but did not authorize as a purchase. The contract measured the original scope. It did not measure the additions.
Three scenarios from the same inputs:
Assumptions used: original contract fee, out-of-scope hourly rate, extra hours per engagement, share already invoiced, and count of similar engagements, all inputs you selected. The invoice is a scenario built from those inputs. It is not a bill you can send. It is not legal or contractual advice. Consult qualified counsel before pursuing retroactive change orders.
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This estimate prices the out-of-scope hours you entered at your stated rate, less the share you reported as already invoiced. It then multiplies that figure by the number of similar engagements you counted, which assumes each carries the same hours. What it means for additional payment depends on the agreement, approvals, and supporting records.
Before you accept more work or renew the contract, establish the scope and fee you intend to propose. Decision Desk™ can help prepare the economic case for that discussion. Questions about contractual entitlement belong with qualified counsel.
Bring one date to the Review: the change-request response date or the renewal notice deadline. If it is not set, say so.
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