Glossary
Revision limit
A revision limit says how many rounds of changes are included in the fee before extra work is quoted.
Last updated 26 October 2026
A revision limit caps how many times the client can send the work back for changes without paying more. It is usually written as a number of rounds, such as two rounds of consolidated feedback per deliverable. Without a number, “revisions” is often read as “until we like it”, which is how a short job becomes a long one.
A round means one collected set of comments, not a message every afternoon. Say that if you need to. Agencies usually add who may send a round — a named contact — so a junior note in Slack is not treated as a rejection of the whole delivery.
If the client wants more than the included rounds, the contract commonly says those are quoted first, or treated as a change request under the statement of work. That is the same habit as scope: extra work is written down before it starts.
Revision limits sit next to acceptance. A milestone that is “approved” after two rounds should not reopen because someone new joined the thread. If a later stakeholder wants a third pass, that is a new round, not a free continuation of round two.
Freelancers sometimes drop the limit to win the job and then drown in polish. A clearer sell is two rounds included and a named extra-round fee. Clients who know the price of a third pass tend to collect their comments.
Photography and film use the same idea under other names: “two selects”, “one regrade”, “one recut”. The job is still a number. If the client wants every frame retouched, that is a new line on the statement of work, not a free extra inside “revisions”.
A worked example
A brand project includes two rounds of feedback on the logo. The client’s marketing lead sends one collected list; that is round one. Legal sends a second list a week later; that is round two. A third list from the founder is quoted as a half day before the designer starts it. The statement of work says unused rounds do not roll to other deliverables.
How it shows up in a contract
Sample wording · our own drafting
Two rounds of consolidated feedback are included per Deliverable. A round is one written set of comments from the Client's named contact. Further rounds, or changes outside the scope of this agreement, are quoted and agreed in writing before the work starts.
In Plain English
Each delivery includes two collected rounds of comments from the named contact. A chat message every afternoon is not a round. Extra rounds, or work outside the list, are priced and agreed before they start.
Common mistakes
- Leaving revisions silent, so the client reads the fee as “until we like it”.
- Counting every Slack ping as a round, or counting none of them, with no definition.
- Letting a new stakeholder reopen an accepted milestone without a new round or a change order.
- Including unlimited “reasonable revisions” with no example of what reasonable means.
Related
The legal wording governsLast reviewed 26 October 2026Pending lawyer review