A 90-Day Scope Check Clause (and why scope is your new best friend!)

As firm owners, we understand that managing scope is essential for profitability. However, it’s often more challenging than we realize, which is why our firm implemented the 90-day scope check clause. This approach allows us to return to our clients three months after onboarding to ensure we're still aligned and operating within the intended bounds of our original contract.

What is a 90-Day Scope Check Clause?

A 90-day scope check clause is a contractual provision that allows us to review the project scope after three months. This clause safeguards against scope creep, ensuring that our firm and the client remain aligned with our goals. During the 90-day check-in, we not only review the scope but give our clients the opportunity to share feedback about our services up to that point.

Before diving into the benefits of a 90-day scope check clause, it's essential to understand the role scope plays. A well-defined scope of an engagement sets clear boundaries for the work, outlining what is included and what's not. It serves as a roadmap, guiding our team in their work and preventing misunderstandings with the client. We take the time to ensure the scope is crystal clear for the client and our team by holding an external kickoff meeting to review the contract with the client before work begins. We also hold an Internal Kickoff meeting with our team to discuss the engagement's details, clarify boundaries, and outline our responsibilities to the client.

Scope is Your New Best Friend!

During consultations with firms, I’m often surprised when scope definitions are not a major part of their initial planning with clients. Especially for ongoing CAS and Advisory work, scope sets the stage for clarity, prevents misunderstandings, and allows the firm to say “no” when clients creep in to receive more services than they paid for. Here’s why scope should become your new best friend:

1. Clarity and Alignment: Planning out the scope of services for a client ensures that everyone is on the same page. As relationships evolve, it's easy for the firm and client to develop varying interpretations of scope. Scope planning and the 90-day scope check provide an opportunity to define the relationship, realign, and clarify expectations.

2. Early Issue Detection: Reviewing scope after 90 days of service can identify and address potential problems before they snowball into major issues. As we all know, major issues with a client can strain relationships, making them hard to repair. This proactive approach can save time, money, and, most importantly, client relationships.

3. Flexibility with Control: Of course, scope is very nuanced. You can plan it up front, but it will evolve as the firm and client get to know each other and establish a working rhythm. The 90-day scope check allows for controlled flexibility, providing a structured process for discussing and implementing changes after 90 days. By checking in, the firm stays in control and can reinforce the definition of the scope.

4. Enhanced Communication: Regular scope reviews with your team and client foster open communication. Sometimes, the conversation is awkward, but avoiding them will make communication more difficult the longer you wait. An ongoing dialogue builds trust and strengthens relationships with both the client and your team.

5. Financial Protection: The most important reason for planning scope is to protect your profit. As a firm owner, you sell the capacity of your team, so a well-defined scope prevents you from giving away extra work without extra pay. Regular scope check-ins can also help clients see the value of additional services and agree to pay more for them.

A Role to Manage Scope

A role we rarely see in firms is a project manager. Instead of having professionals and owners handle scope management, you can create a role dedicated to overseeing the scope and managing the team’s capacity for each client. The more complex the engagements, the more important it is to have someone monitor capacity and scope. Here are 4 key areas we would love to see a Project Manager oversee scope:

1. Prioritizing work: Professionals often tackle tasks based on immediate needs or ease. A project manager can help the team do work in the right order. 

2. Managing capacity: Capacity is embodied within each team member. Some give away too much of their capacity, and others don’t give enough. There is a balance to this. A Project Manager can help by overseeing capacity distribution and ensuring it aligns with client demands.

3. Managing workflow: If you document your scope in a workflow system (and you should!), someone has to manage that tool, keep it updated, and key new contracts into the system for the team. A Project Manager can take on this task to ensure the workflow remains organized and efficient.

4. Eliminating confusion: Scope, client, and team dynamics are constantly evolving. A Project Manager can hold weekly meetings to ensure the team is aligned on their work and help adjust scope as necessary.

Client work in firms is highly complex, and depending on the firm’s makeup, it can be the key to turning client revenue into profit. Doing this requires a clear understanding of scope, consistent communication with both clients and the team, and ongoing management. A 90-Day Scope Check Clause is a great tool for protecting your resources from over or under servicing. By embracing scope as your new best friend, you pave the way for clearer communication, better resource management, and ultimately, a more successful and profitable firm.