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Old boss told me my retainer agreements would never stick in court
He said I needed a separate fee agreement for every project, even small ones. After a $2,000 dispute last year I realized he was right, because the client argued the retainer covered extra scope changes. Has anyone else had a generic blanket agreement fail them like that?
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adamgreen16d ago
Yeah that scope creep will kill you without separate agreements.
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seanlee16d ago
yeah "scope creep" is the right way to put it @adamgreen. what worked for me was writing up a super simple contract add-on that listed exactly what the extra stuff would cost and what it covered. no handshake deals or verbal promises ever again. i literally just tack it on as a "change order" PDF before i touch any new work.
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martin.felix15d ago
Yeah, I had a similar thing happen a few years back with a client who thought the monthly retainer covered everything including a full website redesign. Learned the hard way that you gotta spell out what's included and what's not. Now I just send a quick email with bullet points before I start any extra work, keeps everyone on the same page.
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