"Just one more tweak" — six times. Without a revision limits clause, every iteration is free, and the project never ends.
Free. No registration. No card. No catch.
What it means
A revision limits clause specifies how many rounds of feedback are included in the project price, what constitutes a "round" (a single consolidated batch of feedback, not individual comments), and what happens when the client exceeds the limit — typically a per-round fee.
Two rounds of revisions means the client gets two chances to submit consolidated feedback after each delivery. Not two tweaks. Not two emails. Two complete feedback cycles — each with all requested changes gathered into one submission before you begin revising.
Any project involving creative deliverables: design, writing, video, web development, photography, marketing. If the client will have an opinion about the output — and they always do — you need a revision limit clause.
Without a defined limit, every revision request is in scope. The project has no end state. You revise until the client is happy — and happy is an infinitely moving target. Your effective hourly rate drops with every round.
Why it's missed
Why missed
Telling a client they get "two rounds" sounds like you're rationing your time. The reality is that two consolidated rounds is generous and professionally normal — it's the unlimited approach that's the anomaly.
Why missed
One email with five feedback items: one round or five? If the contract doesn't define "round," the client will count each item separately. You'll never agree on when the limit is reached.
Why missed
Many providers skip the clause thinking they'll handle it case by case. But in the moment, with a client asking for "just one more pass," saying no is awkward without a contract to point at.
What can go wrong
The project that was scoped at 20 hours turns into 50 hours because the client sends one more round of feedback every time you deliver. Without a limit, you have no mechanism to stop.
The client changes their mind about the direction entirely. They call it a "revision." Without a clause defining what a revision is vs. a change in direction, you absorb a restart as if it were a tweak.
When "done" is undefined, final payment is tied to a moving target. The client keeps revising, the project never ends, the final invoice never lands. Cash flow stalls indefinitely.
Without revision limits, scope creep doesn't need to come through new feature requests. It comes through the revision process — new requirements submitted as "feedback" round after round.
Red-flag wording
These phrases appear commonly in templates. Each one removes the boundary that makes the clause worth having.
Red flag
The single most dangerous phrase in a creative services contract. It sounds like a feature. It's an open-ended obligation that can consume the entire project margin.
Red flag
Satisfaction has no objective standard. This is unlimited revisions with extra steps.
Red flag
Whose reasonable? No number, no definition, no mechanism to know when the limit is reached.
Red flag
Every client considers every revision "minor." The word does no definitional work.
Red flag
No number. No definition. The phrase signals awareness of the issue but addresses none of it.
Safer pattern
A strong revision limits clause defines the number of rounds, defines what a round is (consolidated feedback), sets a deadline for feedback submission, and specifies the fee for additional rounds. All four elements are necessary.
BizDraft includes revision limit language calibrated to your deliverable type and industry — from two rounds for design to one structured feedback cycle for copy.
Where it appears
Template
Design revisions are where projects go to die. Two consolidated rounds is standard — and the clause that enforces it is essential.
See template →Template
Copy revision cycles can multiply fast when client stakeholders disagree internally. One or two rounds forces internal alignment before feedback comes to you.
See template →Template
Web design combines design and development revisions in a single project — two separate tracks that each need capped revision rounds.
See template →Free. Five minutes. Yours to keep.
Draft your agreementRelated clauses
Clause
Revision limits cap iterations of what's in scope. The scope clause defines what the revisions are refining.
Read →Clause
How long the client has to submit each revision round — and what happens if they miss the window.
Read →Clause
The acceptance criteria that determine when a deliverable is done — making revision limits meaningful.
Read →