Round six of two
The quote for an explainer video said two rounds of amends. After round two, the client sends a few more tweaks, which the producer accepts to keep them happy. Then a new stakeholder joins and wants a different voiceover. Then the legal team asks for a new end card. Then marketing decides the video should be two minutes, not three.
By the time the film is signed off, the editor has spent far more days than quoted. The producer knows it but has no clear record of when the rounds ended and what was new. Raising it at the invoice stage feels like an ambush, so the extra time is absorbed.
Why rounds are never counted
- Nothing marks when one round ends and the next begins.
- Small extra notes arrive between rounds and are just done.
- New requests, such as a changed brief, look like normal notes.
- The producer does not want a difficult conversation mid-job.
- The quote's terms on revisions are not in front of anyone during the edit.
What uncounted rounds cost
Unbilled edit days come straight off the job's margin, and they happen on the jobs with the most demanding clients. Editors get frustrated working on endless versions. Other jobs slip because suite time was eaten. And clients learn that rounds are unlimited, which makes the next job harder. None of this is the client being unreasonable, usually. They simply never see a count, so they have no idea how many rounds they have had.
How we build round tracking
- Each job carries the number of included rounds from the quote, and what counts as a round in your terms.
- Each review is opened and closed as a numbered round, linked to a version, so the count is visible to the producer and the client.
- Notes are classified as amends or new requests. A language model suggests which notes look like changes to the brief, such as a new voiceover, a different length or a new section, for the producer to confirm.
- When the included rounds are used, or new requests appear, the system drafts a short change note for the client: what is requested, what it affects, and the cost or time from your rate card.
- The client approves the change note from a link, and the approval is recorded against the job.
- At invoice time, approved extra rounds and changes are listed with their approvals, ready to add to the invoice in Xero or QuickBooks.
| Situation | What happens |
|---|---|
| Round within the quote | Counted and shown to both sides |
| Round beyond the quote | Change note drafted for client approval |
| Note that changes the brief | Flagged as a new request, change note drafted |
| Late notes between rounds | Held for the next round, not done ad hoc |
| Approved change | Listed for the invoice with approval date |
The explainer, with rounds tracked
Round 1 and round 2 are counted on the review page. The client can see they have used both. When further notes arrive, the producer sends a change note for a third round, which the client approves. The voiceover change is flagged as a new request and costed, and the client decides to keep the existing voice.
The final invoice includes the approved extra round, with the approval attached. There is no ambush and no absorbed cost.
Your editors notice the difference as well. Late notes no longer arrive one at a time in the middle of other work. They wait for the next round, which lets the editor plan suite time properly and finish one job before starting another.
Is this how your edits run?
- Jobs regularly go beyond the rounds in the quote.
- Extra rounds are rarely charged.
- New requests are treated as ordinary notes.
- Nobody knows which round a job is on.
- Raising extra costs feels awkward because nothing was agreed at the time.