Just had a client come back and ask if they could add the time from our free discovery call to the final invoice. It feels kind of weird since we agreed it wouldn’t be charged.
Now I’m stuck figuring out how to handle this in a way that doesn’t damage our agreement.
Sounds like they need it for their books. Just bill it then discount it back to zero.
Just add it if they asked for it.
Add those discovery call hours to the invoice. Be clear in your note that it was initially complimentary but the client asked to bill it. This keeps everything professional and straightforward. You provided value in that time, so it’s reasonable to charge for it.
Same thing happened with one of my consulting clients. Their CFO wanted a full hour breakdown for budget approval on future projects.
I just added the discovery call as a separate line item with actual hours and rate, then showed the discount right below:
“Initial discovery call - 2 hours @ $150/hr = $300”
“Discovery call discount (per agreement) = -$300”
Their accounting was happy, our deal stayed the same. Client was actually grateful I could work with their internal process without changing terms.
Don’t overthink the email - just tell them you can add it for their records and confirm the total stays identical.
Yeah, this is weird but not a red flag. Some clients need everything documented for their accounting departments.
Here’s what I’d do:
Their books stay complete and you’re still honoring your agreement. I’ve had clients ask for this when they needed to justify internal processes or show their boss the full scope.
Just make sure the total doesn’t change from what you both expected.