Advanced level · Module 5: Portfolio and Professional Practice · Lesson 3 of 4

Pricing and Contracts

Price work fairly and agree terms clearly.

In this lesson you will

Price design projects
Write a contract with scope and revisions

Key concepts

day rates and project feesscoperevisionspayment terms

The lesson

Price from your costs and time: estimate hours, apply a day rate and add for licensing, usage and rush work.

Contracts state scope, deliverables, revision rounds, timeline, payment terms (often a deposit) and who owns the final files.

Changes outside the scope are quoted separately before work starts.

Step by step

Estimate hours for a project.
Set a rate.
Write a quote.
Draft a contract.

Troubleshooting tree

Is this change request in scope?

Deciding how to handle a client's request after work has started.

Is the request a correction of an error you made, or a change within the agreed deliverables?

Yes
Are there revision rounds left in the agreement?
- Yes
  Make the change, log it and confirm how many rounds remain.
- No
  Fix your own errors free of charge; for other changes, explain the rounds are used and quote additional revisions.
No
It is new work (a new item or a change of direction). Thank the client, quote it separately and agree the new timeline before starting.

Notes

A clear contract makes these conversations easy and friendly; refer to it calmly rather than refusing.

Practice activity

Write a price list and contract template.

Expected result: A clear price list and contract.

Check your understanding

What is a common way to protect cash flow on projects?

Show answer
A deposit before work starts.
How should out-of-scope requests be handled?

Show answer
Quoted separately before work starts.

Taught live by an instructor — online or in person. Free course lessons are for self-study and do not lead to a certificate — see registration options.