markline

Mark the line
before they cross it

Forward the client's request to check@markline.app and the verdict lands in your inbox: the clause that covers it, or a change order ready to send if nothing does. Stop doing extra work for free.

Start free See how it works

Works with Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail. Nothing to install.

Scope creep never shows up in the SOW. It shows up in your inbox.

By the time you notice, the work is already done. Nobody wants the awkward conversation, the client assumes it was included, and your margin quietly pays for it.

  • ↳"Can you also do one small thing?" Friday, 4:48pm.
  • ↳"I thought that was part of the original deal."
  • ↳Three rounds of revisions quietly turn into seven.
  • ↳You skip the awkward conversation, and the invoice comes up short.
Inbox · today
JO
Jamie Osei, Larkspur4:48 PM
hey quick one, can the team also localize the site into French and Spanish before launch? shouldn't be much right 🙂
YOU
You4:48 PM
Forwarded to check@markline.app with the SOW attached.
M
MarklineREPLY4:49 PM
MarklineSCOPE CHECK
Out of scope: localizationAction needed
Clause
SOW §3.2: "Deliverables are limited to a single English language site."
Impact
+ 4 to 6 working days · ~$6,800 fixed scope
Suggested reply
"Happy to add it. We'd treat localization as a change order. Draft on its way."
markline-change-order.pdfLinked to SOW-2026-009Nothing is sent for you

For people who sell days, not seats.

For: freelance designers, developers and consultants, and studios of 5 to 25 doing fixed scope client work. Not for: SaaS teams with per seat pricing. Your math is different.
52%

of projects get hit by scope creep, up from 43% five years earlier.

PMI, Pulse of the Profession® 2018. Thousands of project professionals surveyed.
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.
$5K+ / mo

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

Ignition, 2025. Only 1% said they bill for all out of scope work.
<5min
With Markline

from forward to a change order you can send.

Markline beta average. 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

Forward one email, get back a change order and a 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, so there's nothing new to install or learn.

ii.

Get paid for the extra work

Within a minute you know if it's covered and by which clause. If it isn't, you get a change order and a client reply that says "yes + price".

Not a notification. A document.

When Markline catches scope drift, it doesn't send a vague alert. It writes the change order for you: the clause that was crossed, the work involved, and a price range you can adjust in a minute.

  • The clause quoted inline, not buried in a PDF.
  • Suggested hours and a price you can defend.
  • A client reply that stays warm, never accusatory.
  • Copy it, edit it or ignore it. Nothing is sent for you.
Markline writes the document. You keep the relationship.
Change Order, draft.
CO-2026-014 · DRAFT
Project · Larkspur Health / Website rebuildIssued · 21 May 2026Original SOW · SOW-2026-009Status · 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 to 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
Your sign off
Client countersign

Costs less than one unbilled afternoon.

Your first scope check is free, no card. Go Solo for unlimited checks and PDF change orders.
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Solo
Freelancers & consultants
$49$29/ mo · or $299 / yr
Free: one scope check, no card · 30 day money back guarantee
  • Change orders and client replies, drafted for you
  • Works by email: just forward
  • Unlimited scope checks
  • PDF change order downloads
  • A verdict and a confidence level on every check
  • Cancel any time
Start free
Agency
Teams · many clients
Custom
Annual contract · pilot available
  • Everything in Solo
  • Dedicated onboarding
  • Multiple clients & seats
  • Automatic Slack monitoring: we watch, you stop forwarding On the roadmap
  • Automatic email & shared inbox monitoring On the roadmap
Talk to us
Our targetCatch scope creep worth 3× your annual plan in your first 90 days.
30 day full refund · cancel any time · Prices in USD · VAT where applicable

You did the work.
Now bill for it.

Your first scope check is free, no card needed. Go Solo when you want unlimited checks and PDF change orders.

Start free