The small extras that change a project
A practical check for scope creep in a service business.
Hi there,
A quick request at the end of a project rarely feels like a big decision. One more revision. Another meeting. A small extra that will only take an hour.
Each request may be reasonable. The problem starts when the extra work is delivered but never reaches the project budget or invoice.
Before deciding that a service is underpriced, take a closer look at what the team is actually delivering. A review of a few recent projects can help separate three things:
- The work included in the original scope.
- Additional work the customer approved.
- Extra work the team absorbed without a clear decision.
Then ask where the process became unclear. Did the team know when to raise a change? Was someone responsible for confirming the price? Did the office hear about the request before the work was finished?
The answer may involve pricing, but it may also involve a clearer approval step or a better handoff between the people doing the work and the people billing for it.
Choose one project to review this week. Compare the original scope, the work recorded and the final invoice. Note the differences before drawing conclusions about the customer or the team.
A project profitability review gives that conversation a financial starting point. It can help you see which questions deserve attention and what information is missing.
If this sounds familiar, reply with the part of the process that is hardest to track. We can explain whether our advisory support is a fit.
Best,
Your advisory team
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Good ideas.
Made for the feed.
Busy isn’t always profitable.
A queue at the counter tells you customers want what you sell. It does not tell you what is left after ingredients, waste, staffing and the rest of the day’s costs.
For a bakery, one useful review starts with a product that sells well. Compare the recipe being made today with the cost sheet. Ask what gets thrown away, how long preparation takes and whether demand changes through the week.
Fresh ingredient costs and a week of waste notes can give the next conversation with your accounting team a useful starting point.
What would you most like your product numbers to explain?
Profit on paper. Cash in the bank.
An invoice can appear in the sales picture before its payment reaches the bank. Payroll and supplier commitments may arrive in between.
That is why a profit review and a cash forecast belong in the same conversation. One helps explain the economics of the business. The other helps the team see the timing of receipts and payments.
Start with the next meaningful commitment. What has to be paid, when is the related cash expected and which dates are estimates?
A useful forecast makes those assumptions visible and gives someone responsibility for updating them.
Before the next hire.
Write down the problem the role should solve before building the hiring forecast.
Is work waiting because the team lacks capacity, or because a process is unclear? Who will train the person? When should the extra capacity become useful?
Then connect those answers to the relevant costs and the timing of expected new work. The first payroll can arrive well before the first payment from that extra work.
Review the decision with the manager and accounting team together. They may see different assumptions, and both views belong in the plan.
A full restaurant. A healthy margin?
Your most popular pasta dish gets compliments all night. When was the last time someone checked what it costs to serve?
Current ingredient costs, preparation, waste and the effect on a busy kitchen all matter. Review a few items with the chef and the accounting team before changing the whole menu.
Ask what changed since the recipe was last costed. A different portion, supplier or garnish can make an old estimate less useful.
Start with one dish and one question. A focused review is easier to turn into a decision than a stack of reports nobody has time to read.
The work is done. Has the cash arrived?
Completing the work and collecting the payment are separate steps.
For a project business, a payment may depend on an approval, inspection or supporting documents. If those steps are missing from the plan, the expected collection date may be too optimistic.
Before the next job begins, map the delivery milestones alongside purchasing, payroll and billing. Name the person responsible for each handoff.
Then review what happens if a payment arrives later. Which commitments remain, and what action would the team take?
Plan for the quiet months.
Summer bookings look great. The winter rent is still coming. For a seasonal business, those two facts belong in the same forecast.
A forecast is more useful when it reflects that pattern. Look at the timing of preparation, sales, collections and payments using the information your business actually has.
Separate confirmed bookings from hoped-for demand. Review what changes if the season starts later or customers pay more slowly.
That gives you time to discuss the decisions ahead: purchasing, staffing, payment terms and the cash needed to carry the quieter months.