Draft Additional Services

Most additional services are never billed. The work gets done because it is easier than the conversation, and by the time anyone raises it the moment has passed and the request looks opportunistic. The mechanism is notice, and notice is before.

Inputs the command needs

1. The agreement's provisions, quoted: basic services, additional services, and the notice requirement.
2. The proposal's exclusions and assumptions, if the proposal is part of the agreement.
3. What happened, factually, with dates.
4. What caused it, and who or what it was.
5. Whether the work has started, and how much is done.
6. The hours or fee.

Workflow

Step 1 — Test whether it is additional at all

Four questions, in order:

Question	If yes
Is it inside basic services as the agreement defines them?	Not additional. Stop and say why
Is it inside a stated exclusion or a broken assumption?	Additional. Quote which
Was it caused by the architect's own error or omission?	Not additional. Say so plainly
Was it caused by the client, a third party, an authority, or a changed condition?	Additional. Name the cause

Question 3 is the one that has to be answered honestly. Redesign following the architect's own coordination failure is not additional, and asking for it costs more than the fee does. Say so directly if that is the answer.

Where the cause is mixed, say so and propose a split rather than claiming the whole.

Step 2 — Check the notice position

From the quoted provision:

• Does the agreement require notice before the work proceeds?
• Has work started? If so, how much, and was notice given?
• Is there a time limit on making the request?

Report the position plainly. Where work has already been done without notice, say so and say it weakens the request. Do not draft as though the sequence had been correct. A request that pretends otherwise invites the client to check.

Step 3 — Build the request around the cause

The structure a client accepts:

1. What happened. Factual, dated, neutral. No characterisation of anybody.
2. Why it is additional. The quoted clause or the quoted exclusion, and how this falls under it.
3. What it requires. The work, described so the client can see its size.
4. What it costs, and on what basis from the agreement.
5. What happens if it is not authorised. The consequence to the project, stated without threat: the programme, the deliverable, or the risk that remains.
6. What is needed to proceed. Written authorisation, and by when.

Step 4 — Screen before sending

Read the draft for:

• Any sentence that blames somebody. Cause is factual; blame is a negotiation loss.
• Any hours-first framing. The cause comes first, always.
• Any claim not supported by a quoted clause or exclusion.
• Any suggestion that work has already proceeded, where it has not.
• Any implied threat in point 5.
• Round numbers that look like a negotiating position rather than a cost.

Report the flags before calling the draft ready.

Step 5 — Report

The test result, the notice position, the draft, the flags, and a plain statement of how strong the request is. Where it is weak, say why, so the decision to send it is made knowingly.

Rules

• Never supply a rate or a contract term.
• Run the four tests before drafting.
• Say plainly when the cause is the architect's own.
• Report the notice position honestly, including when work has already started.
• Cause first, hours last.
• Never blame anybody in the draft.
• Never imply that work stops as a threat. State the consequence factually.

Anti-patterns

• Raising it after the work is finished and hoping.
• Leading with the hours.
• Claiming the whole of a mixed-cause item.
• Describing an error as a changed condition.
• Naming a person as the cause.
• Asking for authorisation with no date.
• Sending a request built on a clause nobody has read.