Header
Keep the reference details at the top so the client's finance team can match the change to the original agreement.
- Change request no. [CR-001]
- Project: [Project name]
- Client: [Client company], attention of [Client contact]
- Agency: [Agency name]
- Original agreement: [Proposal or SOW name], signed [date]
- Date of the request: [date the client asked]
- Date of this change request: [today's date]
What you asked for
Use the client's own words. It shows you listened, and it removes any doubt about who asked for what.
- Request: “[the client's words, as said or written]”
- Requested by: [name], on [date], in [meeting, email or call]
Why it's a change
One neutral sentence that points to the scope, not to a person.
- The signed [proposal or SOW] covers [the relevant item, for example two logo directions in 2D]. [The request] is new work that isn't included in that scope.
What we'll deliver
Describe the output as precisely as the original scope did.
- Deliverable: [exactly what will be delivered]
- Format and specs: [file types, sizes, versions]
- Revision rounds included: [number]
- Not included: [what stays out, for example animating the 3D logo]
Price and timing
Price it from hours and your rate, the same way you priced the original work.
- Estimated effort: [hours] hours
- Rate: [currency and hourly rate from the agreement]
- Price: [hours × rate] [currency], excluding applicable taxes
- Payment terms: [for example, invoiced on approval, due in 14 days]
- Delivery: [date, or number of working days after approval]
- Effect on the current timeline: [none, or what moves and by how much]
Approval
Work on this change starts once you approve it in writing. A reply to this email saying “Approved” is enough, unless our agreement requires a signature.
- Approved by: [name, title]
- Date: [date]
- Signature, if required: [signature]
Cover email you can paste
Hi [first name], thanks for the idea on [topic]. We'd be glad to do it. It sits outside what we signed for [project], so here's a short change request with the hours and the price. Reply “Approved” and we'll start on [date]. If you'd rather leave it for now, that's fine too: nothing changes in the current plan.
Not legal advice
This template is general information, not legal or tax advice. Your contract decides how changes are approved and billed, so check it first, and ask a lawyer when the amounts are large.