markline

Mark the line
before they cross it

Works where you already are. Forward any client request to check@markline.app and get the verdict back by reply — which clause covers it, or a client-ready change order if nothing does. So you charge for the work instead of quietly absorbing it.

It always starts in a thread, never in the SOW.

By the time anyone notices, you've already done the work. The account manager won't bring it up. The client thinks it was included. Margin gone.

  • "Can you also do one small thing?" — at 4:48pm on a Friday.
  • "I thought that was part of the original deal."
  • Three rounds of revisions become seven. Nobody counted.
  • The conversation never happens. The invoice does — short.
Inbox · today
JR
Jamie (client) 4:48 PM
hey quick one — can the team also localize the site into French and Spanish before launch? shouldn't be much right 🙂
YOU
You 4:48 PM
Forwarded to check@markline.app — SOW attached.
M
MarklineREPLY 4:49 PM
Markline SCOPE CHECK
Out of scope — localization Action needed

Jamie's request falls outside the contracted deliverables. The change order is attached to this reply — forward it as-is, or send the drafted note below.

Clause
SOW §3.2 — "Deliverables are limited to a single English-language site."
Impact
+ 4–6 working days · ~$6,800 fixed scope
Confidence
94% — explicit exclusion
Suggested reply
"Happy to add it — we'd treat localization as a CO. Draft on its way."
markline-change-order.pdf Linked to SOW-2026-009 Nothing is sent for you
Coming to Agency — monitoring that runs this for you, automatically

Same verdict, same change order — Markline just spots the request itself, in the channel where it lands.

Built for the people who quote in days, not seats.

For: independent designers, devs & consultants, and studios of 5–25 running fixed-scope client work. Not for: SaaS teams with seat-based pricing — your math is different.
i.
52%

of projects experience scope creep — up from 43% five years earlier.

PMI, Pulse of the Profession® 2018. Thousands of project professionals surveyed.
ii.
78%

of agencies rarely or only sometimes charge clients for out-of-scope work.

Ignition, 2025 Agency Pricing & Cash Flow Report. n = 273 agency leaders.
iii.
$5K+ / mo

leaked monthly at 30% of agencies surveyed. Another 57% lose $1K–$5K.

Ignition, 2025. Only 1% said they bill for all out-of-scope work.
iv.
14min
With Markline

from forward to a drafted change order, ready to send.

Markline beta median. Writing one by hand: hours — if it happens at all.
Sources: PMI Pulse of the Profession · Ignition 2025 Agency Pricing & Cash Flow Report. Full citations on request.
Updated May 2026

Two ways in. Both end with the change order and the reply, ready to send.

i.

Forward it from your inbox.

Send the client's email to check@markline.app with the SOW attached. The verdict comes back as a reply — you never leave your inbox.

ii.

Or paste it here.

Drop in the SOW and the request. Markline reads the contract the way a careful lawyer would — clauses, exclusions, scope ceilings.

iii.

Get the recovery kit.

In seconds: is it covered, which clause, and — if it's not — a ready-to-send change order and a client reply that says "yes + price".

Paste a contract and a request. We'll tell you if it's covered.

Free. No login. One scope check per browser.
We don't store anything identifiable; the text is discarded after classification.
Contract / SOW0 / 8000
Client's request0 / 2000
QUOTA · 1 of 1 free check
Out of scope · 86% confidence

Localization isn't covered by the SOW.

The contract is explicit about English-only delivery. Treat this as a change order, not a courtesy.

Evidence
SOW §3.2 — "Deliverables are limited to a single English-language site."
Next step
Reply with: "Glad to take it on — adds ~4–6 days and roughly $X. I'll send the CO this afternoon."

Locked — the client-ready change order + a message to send. Upgrade to Solo.

Not a notification. A document.

When Markline catches a scope drift, it doesn't ping you with a vague alert. It writes the change order — pre-filled with the clause that was crossed, the work involved, and a price range you can edit in one minute.

  • Clause referenced inline, not lost in a PDF.
  • Suggested hours, plus a defensible price.
  • Pre-drafted client reply — kept warm, never accusatory.
  • One click to copy. One click to ignore. Nothing is sent for you.
MARKLINE keeps the document. You keep the relationship.
Change Order, draft.
CO-2026-014 · DRAFT
Project · Acme Co / Website rebuild Issued · 21 May 2026 Original SOW · SOW-2026-009 Status · Awaiting your edit

Reference: SOW §3.2 — "Deliverables are limited to a single English-language site."

Requested addition: Full localization of the site (FR + ES), including copy translation, RTL/LTR checks, and CMS field duplication.

No additional cost. + 4–6 working days, ~$6,800 fixed scope.

Translation pass (FR + ES, ~5,400 words)
$2,160
CMS duplication & QA
$1,800
Engineering — locale routing
$2,400
Project management
$440
Total
$6,800
— ok, send it.
YOUR SIGN-OFF
CLIENT COUNTERSIGN

Priced like the change orders it writes for you.

Start free — one scope check, no card. Upgrade to Solo any time for unlimited checks and PDF change orders.
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You did the work.
Now bill for it.

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