Extra hours already have a floor
A change-order post will tell you to paste “20% of the original quote” into the SOW and call it a day. That number is not a law, not a tax table, and not what this card computes. They asked for more hours. Those hours have a floor — the same hourly floor you already set on the hub.
Extra charge = extra hours they just asked for × hourly floor. New project total = original quote + extra hours × floor. The original quote already priced the old scope. The new hours are new money. That extra is why this page exists.
Extra 4 hours is not a vibe. It is $360.
Preset: extra 4 hours. Floor $90. Original quote $2,000. 4 × $90 = $360 extra. New total $2,360.
You do not invent a bonus percent on top of hours you can already count. You do not start the extra round before the dollars have a name. Paste the sentence. Start after they confirm.
They ate the week
Preset: extra 12 hours. That is not a tweak. 12 × $90 = $1,080. New total $3,080. The original $2,000 was a different job. If the brief actually changed shape, stop adding hours and rebuild on quote a project. This card is for extra hours on the same job, named before you work them.
If they already walked, that is not a change order. Hours already worked vs the deposit is the keep / unpaid gap. Different ping, different card.
If they did not add extra NEW hours — they wrote a lid on the original invoice, and the original hours ran long — that is not this add-on yet. billed = min(hours × floor, cap they type) on the not-to-exceed card. 20h × $90 = $1,800 vs cap $1,500 → billed $1,500, 3.33h unpaid. Those leftover hours become this card only after they open a change-order for them. A cap is not extra screens.
If they did not add hours — they just moved Friday up — that is not this card. Same hours, shorter calendar is the rush-job compression, not extra hours × floor.
If they did not add hours — they asked you to show up — that is not extra NEW hours either. Hours on site + travel hours you type × this floor is the on-site day card. A commute is not a change order.
If the ping was “put the stock on your card” (or fonts, ads, a contractor) and not extra screens, skip this hours math. The expense-markup card multiplies the pasted vendor cost by one plus a share you type. Zero share is repay-at-cost. Typing 0.15 is a 15% illustration you chose, not an agency rule. New hours stay on this card.
If they did not add NEW hours of your craft — they want motion, copy, or photo you don’t do, and you will find, brief, and review that person — that is not extra screens you will draw. Specialist extra = hours you type to hunt them × this floor on the specialist card. 3h × $90 = $270. Their invoice still pastes on expense-markup. New pages you will make stay here. Casting someone else goes there. This page will not invent a 20% markup or “specialist is 15% of the project.”
If picture is already locked and they want opens, lower thirds, or end cards on that cut — that is not extra NEW hours of shooting, and it is not a new edit while the cut is still open. Hours you type × this floor live on the motion-graphics card. 6h × $90 = $540. Not 20% of the edit. Not a per-second mill. YOUR hours on the graphics. A motion person you don’t do still sits on specialist. New shooting or a new sequence stay here. Type that moves on a locked picture goes there.
If they did not add NEW hours of deliverable work — they asked for a standing Zoom, standup, or status call that was never in the job hours — that is not extra screens. Call extra = calls per week × hours per call you type × weeks × this floor on the weekly-call card. 1 × 0.5h × 4 weeks × $90 = $180. New pages stay here. The recurring invite goes there. This page will not invent “meetings are free.”
If they did not add NEW hours of work — they moved hours they already bought onto Saturday, or asked you to stay after the day they already paid for — that is not extra screens. Weekend extra = weekend hours × this floor × a share you type on the weekend-hours card. 0.5 is a half-again example, not employment overtime. New hours stay here. Saturday/Sunday of hours already in the job go there.
The small tweak you were going to eat
Preset: extra 2 hours. Floor $90 → $180. You were going to “just fix the header.” Two hours still left the calendar. Two hours × the floor is the charge. Eating it does not make you easy to work with. It trains the next ping.
If the look was never even a job — free kickoff, unpaid audit — that time is unpaid discovery, not a change order. Price the look, or walk. Do not launder a free teardown into “one small tweak.”
If there is no original quote — just a $40 inbound tweak with no live job — that is the minimum-fee card, not extra hours on a live job. This card needs a quote that already exists.
If they did not ask for new screens or new features — they asked to make the logo bigger, or take another pass on the same file, after the revision rounds already in the quote are used — that is not extra NEW hours. Price that rework on the revision-round card: hours for that pass × this floor. New deliverables stay here. Same-file rework goes there.
If they did not add extra NEW hours of deliverable work — they added extra people to the review chain (legal, brand, a VP) and the screens stay the same — extra = extra people you type × hours per extra person you type × this floor on the extra-approvers card. 2 extra people × 2h × $90 = $360. Hours per extra person are whatever you type, not a 2-hour industry default. New pages stay here. Extra inboxes go there.
If they did not ask for extra NEW hours at all — they asked to run the same deliverable in paid ads, every market, or perpetual worldwide — that is not this card. Same hours, broader rights. Usage extra = hours already in the quote × this floor × a multiplier they type on the usage-license card. 0.5 is a half-again example, not 2× for nationwide ads, not copyright law. New screens stay here. A bigger grant on the same files goes there.
If they did not ask for extra NEW hours of new work — they asked for the Figma, PSD, or AE project after they already bought the PDF, MP4, or site — that is not this card either. Source extra is hours to package and hand off × this floor on the source-files card. Type 0 on the optional original-hours multiplier to leave it off. 0.25 is a quarter-job example, not 50% of the project, and not added to that extra. New screens stay here. Working files of a finished delivery go there.
The rush % / change % box is a planning example. You can clear it.
Some people want to see a percent of the original quote next to the hours math. Fine. Type a rush % or a change %. The card will show that product and label it a planning example. It does not replace extra hours × floor. It does not become the sentence. It is not added to the extra or to the new total. There is no official 20% or 25% freelance change-order fee on this page.
Example: original quote $2,000, you type 15% → $300 planning example. Extra still 4 × $90 = $360. New total still $2,360. The percent line is a comparison you asked for, not a rule we invented.
Send the sentence tonight
Do not write a speech about scope creep. Name the extra hours. Name the dollars. Name the new total. Copy from the card so the dollars match.
- Extra 4 hours. The extra 4 hours at my $90.00/hr floor is $360.00. New project total is $2,000.00 + $360.00 = $2,360.00. Please confirm that change before I start the extra work.
- They ate the week. The extra 12 hours at my $90.00/hr floor is $1,080.00. New project total is $2,000.00 + $1,080.00 = $3,080.00. Please confirm that change before I start the extra work.
- Small tweak. The extra 2 hours at my $90.00/hr floor is $180.00. That is not a free tweak. New project total is $2,000.00 + $180.00 = $2,180.00. Please confirm that change before I start the extra work.
Skip guilt, fake scarcity, and “industry standard change order.” Those lines turn a calendar fact into a fight. If they will not confirm, do not start the extra hours. The original quote still stands. If the extra is actually a new project, cut it on the quote guide and take a fresh deposit before you block another week. If they only wanted a wider grant on the same hours, stop adding hours and use the usage-license extra.
This is planning math, not a contract
Educational only — not legal, tax, or collections advice. We do not invent a required change-order percent, a statutory extra-hours fee, marketplace change fees, or a 50-state tax engine. Confirm live terms in whatever agreement you already use. If you need an enforceable change clause, a lawyer in your jurisdiction writes it before extra work starts. Typing numbers here does not create one.
The math is: extra hours you type, hourly floor, original quote, extra charge, new project total, optional planning % of original quote, one email-sized sentence.
Rate calculator Quote a project They capped the original invoice If they cancelled instead Same hours, they need it Friday Saturday / after-hours extra Take a deposit on the new total Unpaid discovery Tiny job, no live quote Same file, another pass Extra people, same screens Same hours, broader rights They want the working files Stock / fonts / ads they named A specialist you don’t do Picture, they want graphics
Rebuild the floor on the hub if billable weeks moved. Extra hours on a live job get a name on this card. A lid on the original invoice — billed = min(hours × floor, cap) — lives on not-to-exceed until they open those leftover hours as extra here. Opens, lower thirds, or end cards after picture is live on motion-graphics — 6h × $90 = $540, not 20% of the edit, not a per-second mill, not extra NEW shooting. Broader rights on the same hours live on usage-license. Working files after a bought delivery live on source-files. Another pass on the same file after included rounds is the revision-round fee, not new scope. Extra people on a one-signer quote is the extra-approvers fee, not extra NEW hours. If they only wanted a look, price paid discovery instead of another free teardown. If they already walked, use the kill-fee keep / gap.
FAQ
What should a freelance change order include?
A short written note that names the original quote, describes the added work, and lists the extra hours times your floor, any admin or delay line, and the new project total. Add the new delivery date and the client's written approval before you start the extra work. On the opening numbers the original quote is 84.75% of the new total. On this page, 4 hours times $90 is $360.
Change order vs scope creep: what's the difference?
Scope creep is extra work that shows up without a new price or date. A change order is the same request written down with hours times floor, a new total, and approval. Turning creep into a change order is the whole point of this calculator.
How do I charge a freelance change order for extra hours?
Extra charge is extra hours they just asked for × your hourly floor. New project total is the original quote plus that product. If they did not add hours — they asked for broader usage of the same work — price that on the usage-license card. Planning math, not a contract.
Is a freelance change order 20% or 25% of the original quote?
Not on this page. There is no official 20% or 25% change-order fee here. A rush % or change % can appear only as an optional planning example you type against the original quote, labeled as an example, not a rule. It never replaces extra hours × floor and is not added to the extra or the new total.
What is the new project total after they ask for extra hours?
New project total = original quote + extra hours × hourly floor. The original quote already priced the old scope. The extra hours are new money. Rebuild the whole quote only if the brief actually changed shape.
What if they asked for a small tweak I was going to do for free?
A small tweak is still hours. Two hours at a $90 floor is $180. Eating it does not make you easy to work with; it trains the next ping. Name extra hours × floor before you start them.
Is this change-order math a contract or legal advice?
No. Educational planning only — not legal, tax, or collections advice. A lawyer in your jurisdiction writes an enforceable change clause before extra work starts. Typing numbers here does not create one.
Should the client approve the change order in writing before I start?
Yes, before the extra hours start. Extra charge is extra hours × your hourly floor. 4 hours × $90 = $360, so a $2,000 quote becomes $2,360. Send that total and wait for a written yes. This page is planning math, not a contract.