See exactly what happens when a client asks for one more thing
Follow one invented project from its signed baseline to a priced change, a client approval and a Protected Revenue report. Nothing here is a real customer, and no numbers are averages or promises.
No payment details needed to look around.
Step 1
Start from the baseline you actually signed
A project begins with the contract amount, the hours you planned and your two rates. That is the margin you are protecting.
Northwind Bakery — website build
Fixed fee · 8-week delivery · fictional client
Contract amount
$12,000.00
Planned hours
96
Internal cost rate
$80.00
Billable rate
$150.00
Planned cost
$7,680.00
Baseline margin
36.00%
Target margin
40%
What the contract includes
- Five-page responsive website — two revision rounds
- Two homepage concepts
- Product photo editing — up to 20 images
- One training session at handover
Step 2
Unpriced extras eat the margin quietly
The same project, twice: on the left the team absorbs three out-of-scope requests. On the right each one was priced and decided before the work started.
Without MarginFence
Extra work absorbed silently. Revenue unchanged, cost up.
27.00%
Gross margin
- Revenue
- $12,000.00
- Cost
- $8,760.00
With MarginFence
Same extra work, decided and priced first.
36.17%
Gross margin
- Revenue
- $13,725.00
- Cost
- $8,760.00
Margin difference in this example: +9.2% · Fictional example. Your own numbers will differ.
Step 3
One extra request, worked all the way through
The client asks for a third homepage concept. MarginFence turns that sentence into numbers before anyone opens a design file.
“Could we see one more homepage direction before we choose? Something bolder.”
What you enter
- Extra hours
- 7.5
- Extra direct costs
- $0.00
- Delivery impact
- +3 days
What MarginFence works out
- Incremental cost
- $600.00
- Retail value
- $1,125.00
- Recommended charge
- $1,125.00
- Margin if you absorb it
- 31.00%
- Margin if you charge it
- 36.91%
How the recommendation is reached
Recommended charge is the higher of the retail value and the amount that keeps the extra work at your target margin.
Step 4
Five ways to answer — each one recorded
MarginFence does not force you to charge. It makes the choice deliberate, and it remembers what you decided and why.
Comp
Effect on this project
No charge. Retail value recorded as goodwill; cost is absorbed.
When to use it
A small gesture you want the client to see the value of.
Decline
Effect on this project
No work, no cost, no charge. The reason is logged.
When to use it
The request would break the timeline or the budget.
Trade
Effect on this project
Swapped for scope of similar size. Hours and cost stay flat.
When to use it
The client wants the new thing more than something already agreed.
Charge — recommended
Effect on this project
Charges the amount that holds your target margin.
When to use it
Straightforward extra work with a clear scope.
Charge — custom
Effect on this project
Your own figure, with the margin impact shown as you type.
When to use it
Relationship, volume or timing justifies a different number.
Step 5
What your client receives
A single secure link. It shows the decision they need to make and nothing about how you run your business.
Change proposal from Meridian Studio
For Northwind Bakery · Website build
Third homepage concept
An additional homepage direction, presented alongside the two concepts already agreed.
Additional fee
$1,125.00
Timeline adjustment
+3 days
Preview only — the buttons above are not active on this page.
What the client sees
- The request, in plain language
- The fee and any timeline change
- A name and email box, so the approval is attributable
- A printable copy of what they agreed to
What the client never sees
- Your internal cost rate or staff costs
- Your margin, target margin or Protected Revenue
- Any other client, project or change
- Your team's names, notes or internal reasons
Links carry a long random token, expire on a date you set, and are replaced if you send a revised proposal.
Step 6
From request to report
The whole loop, usually inside a few minutes of the request landing.
- 1
Request arrives
An email, a call, a message in a shared channel.
- 2
Log it against the scope
Hours, costs and delivery impact, linked to the scope item it exceeds.
- 3
Decide commercially
Comp, decline, trade or charge, with the margin effect in front of you.
- 4
Send for approval
A secure client link, valid until the date you choose.
- 5
Client responds
Approved or declined, with their name, email and a timestamp.
- 6
Record the payment
Mark it collected when the money lands, in full or in part.
- 7
Report the month
Protected Revenue, goodwill given and margin held, per client.
Step 7
The same pattern, other kinds of work
Four more invented scenarios, showing how a request becomes a decision in different disciplines.
A fourth logo route after the shortlist was signed off
Decision
Charged at the recommended amount
A booking integration that was never in the brief
Decision
Charged at a custom amount, timeline +1 week
A re-shoot after a product recipe changed
Decision
Traded against the unused behind-the-scenes edit
Six extra reels in a month of twenty
Decision
Two comped as goodwill, four charged
Fictional example. Your own numbers will differ.
Step 8
What the month looks like afterwards
An invented quarter across four fictional clients. Every figure comes from decisions that were recorded at the time.
Protected Revenue
$18,450.00
Approved extra work, in money.
Collected
$14,200.00
Payments you have marked as received.
Outstanding
$4,250.00
Approved but not yet paid.
Pending approval
$2,400.00
Sent to clients, not answered yet.
Complimentary retail value
$3,150.00
Goodwill you chose to give, at your rates.
Absorbed cost
$1,680.00
Cost of comped and unbilled work.
Revised margin
38.96%
Margin after every recorded decision.
| Client | Changes | Protected Revenue | Complimentary retail value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwind Bakery | 4 | $5,325.00 | $300.00 |
| Harbour Legal | 6 | $7,800.00 | — |
| Two Rivers Coffee | 3 | $2,925.00 | $1,350.00 |
| Alder Fitness | 5 | $2,400.00 | $1,500.00 |
Honest limits
What MarginFence tracks, and what it does not claim to do
What it tracks
- Scope baselines, and the requests that exceed them
- Cost, retail value and margin impact of each request
- The commercial decision, the reason and who made it
- Client approvals, with name, email and timestamp
- Payments you record against approved changes
- Protected Revenue, goodwill and revised margin per client
What it does not do
- It is not accounting software and does not file anything
- It does not track time or watch your team
- It does not take payments itself; you record what you collect
- It does not send contracts or give legal advice
- It does not promise a margin figure — that depends on your rates
- It does not import from your accounting or project tools yet
Who uses it
Different jobs, the same record
Founder or owner
Sees which clients erode margin and how much goodwill was given, before the quarter closes.
Producer or project lead
Answers “can we just add this?” in a minute, with a number instead of a maybe.
Designer or maker
Starts extra work only once it has been decided, so nothing is redone for free.
Finance or ops
Knows what was approved, what was invoiced and what is still outstanding.
Pricing, so you are not guessing
Same plans as the pricing section on the home page.
Starter
$49.00/month
1 seat · 10 active projects
Studio
$99.00/month
5 seats · 30 active projects
Agency
$179.00/month
20 seats · 100 active projects
Questions people ask on this page
- Is any of this data real?
- No. Every client, project, rate and amount on this page was invented to show the workflow. Your account starts empty.
- Can I try it with my own numbers?
- Yes. Create a workspace, set your internal and billable rates, and add one project. The calculations on this page then run on your figures.
- Does the client need an account?
- No. They open a secure link, read the proposal and approve or decline it.
- Does MarginFence collect the money?
- No. You invoice as you do today and record the payment here, so approvals and receipts sit together.
- What happens if we change a proposal after sending it?
- The old link stops working and a new version is issued, so a client can never approve a superseded figure.
- Is my client data visible to anyone else?
- No. Each workspace is isolated at the database level, and approval links reveal only the single change they were created for.
Protect the margin on your next project
Set up a workspace, add one live project and price the next request properly. It takes about ten minutes.