Client Change Request Template: Scope, Cost and Approval

A client change request template records a proposed change to agreed work, its effect on cost and timing, and the client's decision before delivery begins. For agencies, consultants and other service teams, it creates a traceable link between the original scope, the new request and the work eventually billed.

The practical test is simple: could a teammate understand what changed and why without searching an email chain? If not, the request needs a clearer record. This guide includes a copyable template, a worked example and a way to manage the record in Workspace369.

What counts as a client change request?

A change request proposes a departure from the agreed project baseline. The Association for Project Management describes change control as capturing and evaluating proposed baseline changes before approving, rejecting or deferring them. Its guidance also calls for assessing effects such as scope, quality, time, resources, cost and risk. Read APM's explanation of change control.

For client work, compare the request with the accepted proposal, deliverables and revision allowance. A spelling correction, an additional landing page and a new launch date need different decisions.

These categories are a working framework; the accepted engagement terms determine the actual boundary. For the broader delivery setup, see agency project management in Workspace369.

Copy this client change request template

Keep one record for each decision. Combine related requests only when they can be assessed and approved together.

Store links to relevant records rather than copying confidential files into every document. If the change is too uncertain to price, record the discovery work needed before offering a delivery commitment.

Turn vague feedback into a request someone can assess

“Make this more engaging” does not identify an acceptance condition. “Add a customer example to the onboarding video after the pricing section” gives the team something concrete to evaluate.

For video work, Mark Studios' guide to actionable video revision notes recommends locating the exact moment, describing the observation and explaining why it matters. It also distinguishes corrections from changed requirements. Apply that feedback discipline to the request record, then assess the commercial impact separately.

For a website, use a page URL and screenshot. For a report, use a section and version. Ask the requester to describe the outcome before prescribing the implementation. A precise location and clear purpose help the delivery lead identify whether the request fits the existing scope.

Worked example: adding social cutdowns to a video project

The following is an illustrative planning example, not customer data or a recommended market rate.

A client approved one 90-second product video. During review, they ask for three additional 15-second vertical cutdowns. The original proposal does not include those exports or the reframing work.

The delivery lead checks capacity before confirming the revised date. If the client changes the closing card after approval, the team compares that request with the accepted change record rather than reopening the entire original brief.

The key distinction is between a proposed change and an accepted commitment. Until the decision is recorded, keep the additional work separate from the approved delivery plan.

Move the request through five clear decisions

1. Capture it. Record the client's wording, the source message and the current scope reference.
2. Assess it. Identify effort, dependencies, price, timing and any simpler alternative.
3. Present the options. Show the client what changes under each choice, including what happens if the request is deferred.
4. Record the decision. Attach the written response to the specific request version. A meeting discussion still needs a durable decision record.
5. Update delivery and billing. Adjust the relevant tasks, dates and commercial documents, then notify the people doing the work.

Use operational labels such as proposed, under assessment, awaiting decision, approved, declined and delivered wherever your team tracks status. An overdue decision is a blocker to resolve; it is not approval by silence.

Keep change records connected in Workspace369

Workspace369's projects and tasks and client records provide places to connect the request to the engagement. Its proposals and invoice tools handle the commercial documents. This template is a process you can implement with those tools; it does not depend on a dedicated change-control module.

Start with a note or file containing the change record. Link it from the project and retain the source conversation with the client context. Once the client decides, create or update the delivery tasks and attach the relevant proposal or billing reference. Keep the approved version available when producing the next invoice.

Use your normal written approval process for the decision itself. Check the current product documentation and plan comparison for the tools available to your team.

Check the record before work starts

Before assigning the added work, confirm that another teammate can answer four questions: what changed, who approved it, which deadline applies and how it will be billed. If one answer is missing, close that gap before the request becomes a delivery task.

Use this client change request template on the next real request. Keep the record as short as the decision allows, but preserve the approved scope, version and evidence. That is what makes the later project handoff and invoice understandable.

Editorial note: Prepared with AI-assisted drafting and source verification on September 13, 2026. The worked example is fictional. Product references describe a suggested workflow using documented Workspace369 capabilities.