By Neevio · Updated 4 October 2026 · Product workflow guide
What should a client change request include?
A client change request records a proposed change to agreed project work, its effect on price and delivery, and the client's decision. Include the original deliverable, requested outcome, estimate, affected dates and approval owner. Keep the request pending until the authorised client contact approves or declines it.
Example: a website project includes one contact form. The client requests a member login area. Record the login requirement separately, explain the added implementation and testing effort, and propose a revised price and date. An internal task marked ready does not replace the client's commercial approval.
- Original agreement: one public contact form; member accounts excluded.
- Requested change: member login and password recovery.
- Impact: additional implementation, testing and delivery time; estimate to be reviewed.
- Decision: named client contact approves or declines the proposed terms.
1. Capture the request before committing.
A client request starts a conversation. It does not automatically change the agreement. Record the requested outcome, who asked for it and which project it affects. Clarify what success looks like before deciding how to deliver it.
In Neevio, intake gives incoming work a review step. Accepting a request into planned work and approving its commercial impact are separate decisions.
2. Compare it with the agreed baseline.
Find the deliverable, exclusion or assumption the request affects. Use the source agreement to explain whether the request is included, outside scope or ambiguous. An AI suggestion can help you find a possible mismatch; a person still needs to review the evidence.
For example, a website agreement includes a contact form, and the client asks for a customer account area. Describe the added capability rather than calling it a small form change. In Neevio, Scope Guard keeps source documents and the reviewed baseline together.
3. Explain the impact in plain language.
State the proposed work, price assumptions and expected effect on delivery. Include dependencies and the uncertainty in your estimate. Give the client enough information to make a decision without reading internal task discussions.
- What work will be added or changed?
- What remains included in the original agreement?
- What is the proposed price or billing basis?
- Which dates or dependencies need to change?
- Who needs to approve the request?
4. Record an explicit approval or decline.
Send the change request to the appropriate client contact. Keep the decision with the engagement so the team can distinguish approved work from work still under discussion.
Neevio's client portal provides a change-request decision step. If the client declines, discuss a smaller option or leave the requested work outside the delivery plan. Silence is not a substitute for approval.
5. Update the plan and reconcile the work.
After approval, update tasks, estimates and affected dates. Record the time spent and review the change alongside the agreement when preparing an invoice.
Before billing, check that the charge matches the approved commercial terms. Logged time explains effort; it does not by itself establish that an additional charge was agreed.