Swapped from monthly retainer to project-based pricing 6 months ago

I used to charge clients a flat $2,500 monthly retainer but kept getting trapped in endless revision loops. Now I quote per project with clear scope limits and it's saved my sanity. Has anyone else made this switch and seen better profit margins?

3 comments

3 Comments

ninaowens1mo ago

You kept getting trapped in endless revision loops" - that part hit hard. Were you charging extra for those revisions on the retainer, or was it all included in the flat $2,500 no matter how many times they changed their mind? I'm curious how you defined "clear scope limits" in your new contracts. Did you write out exactly how many rounds of changes they get before it costs extra, or did you just list what's included and hope for the best?

jana_shah1mo ago

Wait, wait wait. You're telling me she was charging a FLAT $2,500 retainer and doing unlimited revisions in that price? That's insane. Like, that's a recipe for getting run ragged by any client with too much time on their hands.

rubyk261mo ago

I had this exact same problem with a client who wanted 17 revisions on a single logo. Honestly, @jana_shah is right that flat retainer with unlimited changes is a nightmare waiting to happen. I now cap revisions at 3 rounds per deliverable with clear wording like "each round includes changes to up to 10 elements max." In my new contracts I list exactly what's included - like wireframes, mockups, and final files - then spell out that any new requests cost $150 per hour. Ngl it cut my stress by like 80% and my profit margins doubled because I'm not wasting time on free work.