The short answer
Projects rarely end. They fade, and the fading is unpaid. The final invoice is settled, and then 6 weeks of small requests arrive free because nobody ever said where the project stopped.
Define the end of the project in the contract, before it ends.
Offer a short warranty window for defects in your own work, free and explicitly.
Treat everything that is not a defect as new work or as a retainer.
Send a completion note that closes the project warmly and in writing.
Answer small questions generously, but log them so the pattern is visible.
The money at stake is larger than it feels. A tail of 20 small requests over 2 months is a week of unbilled work on a project whose margin was already spent.
Why the tail happens
3 things combine, and none of them involves anyone behaving badly.
The first is that delivery has no ceremony. A project that ends with a launch has a clear moment; one that ends with a file transfer or a site going live often has none, so nothing marks the point at which help stops being included.
The second is warmth. You have just finished something together and the relationship is at its best. Saying no to a 10-minute request in that week feels disproportionate, and it is, individually.
The third is that each request is genuinely small. Nobody asks for a week of work. They ask for a tweak, and then another, and the aggregate is invisible to both sides until somebody counts it.
3 different things called support
What is asked | Example | Who pays |
|---|---|---|
A defect in your work | A broken link, a form that fails | You, within a stated window |
A change to the work | A new page, a different headline | Them, priced as new work |
Questions and training | How do I edit this, can you walk me through it | Them, or budgeted as handover |
Only the first row is arguably yours. It is the difference between fixing what you built and building something else, and most clients accept it readily once it is named. The problem is almost never that clients refuse to pay; it is that nobody drew the line.
The second row is scope creep with a different timestamp, and it behaves the same way: it becomes unpaid at the moment you start it without pricing it.
The third is the one agencies most often give away without noticing. An hour of training for a client's new marketing manager is a real hour, and it is reasonable to have budgeted it into the project or to quote it.
The warranty window
Offer one. A stated period during which you fix defects in your own work at no charge is generous, easy to honour and, crucially, it ends. It runs from acceptance, which is worth defining too, since a project with no agreed acceptance point has no agreed start for the clock either, as the piece on sign-off sets out.
30 days is a common and comfortable figure for a digital project. Say what it covers, which is work not performing as specified, and what it excludes, which is changes, new requirements, third-party failures and anything caused by somebody else editing the work.
For 30 days following acceptance, we will correct, at no charge, any defect in the delivered work that prevents it from functioning as described in the specification. This does not cover changes to the specification, new requirements, issues arising from modifications made by others, or failures in third-party services.
That clause does 2 things. It gives the client real reassurance at the moment they are most nervous, and it converts an open-ended obligation into a dated one. Agreed at signature it is uncontroversial; offered after launch it reads as a limitation being imposed, which is why it belongs with the other things worth settling before you start.
What the standard actually is
The background rules support the distinction between defects and changes rather than undermining it.
In the US, the federal clause for services is a useful model. Where services do not conform to the contract, the government may require the contractor to perform the services again in conformity with contract requirements, at no increase in contract amount. Re-performance of nonconforming work is included; it is the same work done properly. Nothing in that obliges anyone to supply different work for free.
In the UK, section 13 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 implies into a business service contract a term that the supplier will carry out the service with reasonable care and skill. That is a standard of performance rather than a commitment to ongoing free work, and it is satisfied by doing the job properly, not by answering questions indefinitely.
In the EU the position is national and contractual. In every case the useful move is the same: write down what you will fix, for how long, and what counts as something else.
The note that closes the project
A project needs an ending somebody sends. It costs 10 minutes and it is the single most effective thing in this article:
Subject: [Project] complete — handover and what happens next
Hi [Name],
[Project] is complete as of today, and everything is handed over: [files, accounts, documentation, logins].
A few practical notes. If anything we built isn't working as specified, tell me and we'll fix it at no charge until [date, 30 days out]. After that, and for anything new or changed, I'll quote it as usual.
If it's useful, I can set up a small monthly arrangement for ongoing changes and support rather than quoting each one. Happy to talk it through.
It's been good working on this. [Something specific and genuine about the work.]
Thanks,
[Name]
The warmth matters as much as the boundary. This note is also the natural place to propose the retainer, because the client is pleased with you and has just realised they will need somebody. Where the engagement is genuinely over rather than tailing off, the sequence in ending a client relationship applies instead, and the order still matters: get the final invoice settled before anything else.
The quick question problem
Small questions after launch are good for the relationship and worth answering. The trouble is that generosity with no record becomes an expectation with no end.
So answer them, and log them. A line in a shared note with the date and the time spent costs nothing and changes the conversation entirely. After 6 weeks you either find there were 4 of them, in which case it was fine and you stop worrying, or you find there were 24, in which case you have a specific, factual thing to show:
Since launch we've handled 24 requests, about 9 hours. Happy to keep doing it, and it's probably worth putting a small monthly arrangement in place so it's properly resourced rather than squeezed between other projects.
That framing works because it is true and because it offers the client better service rather than less of it. A client who hears the number is rarely offended, and frequently embarrassed, which is not the aim but does tend to settle the matter.
Turning the tail into a retainer
The month after launch is the best moment of the year to propose one. The work is fresh, the client has just discovered that a live thing needs attention, and you are the obvious person.
Keep it small and specific rather than comprehensive. A stated number of hours or a defined set of deliverables each month, billed in advance, with a review date. The structure is in how to structure a retainer, and the thing to avoid is an open-ended arrangement that recreates the problem with an invoice attached.
Where the client declines, that is a clean answer too. You now quote each request, which is a worse deal for them and a better one for you, and nothing is being absorbed silently.
FAQ
Should post-launch support be free?
Fixing defects in your own work should be, within a stated window. Changes, new requirements, training and questions are separate work and are reasonable to charge for. The problem is rarely that clients refuse to pay, it is that nobody drew the line.
How long should a warranty period be?
30 days after acceptance is a common and comfortable figure for digital work. Say what it covers, which is work not performing as specified, and exclude changes, new requirements, third-party failures and anything caused by others editing the work.
What is the difference between a defect and a change?
A defect is the work not doing what was specified, and fixing it is the same job done properly. A change is a new requirement, however small. Re-performance of nonconforming work is normally included; different work is not.
How do I start charging for support without upsetting the client?
Show the number. Log requests and hours as you go, then propose a small monthly arrangement framed as properly resourcing something you are already doing. That offers better service rather than less of it.
When should I propose a retainer?
In the completion note, or within a fortnight of launch. The client has just realised a live thing needs attention and is at their most positive about the work, which is the best combination you will get all year.
What if they only ever have a few small questions?
Then answer them and stop worrying about it. Logging exists to tell you which situation you are in, and most of the time the honest answer is that the tail is small and the goodwill is worth more.
Not legal advice. Implied terms, warranty obligations and acceptance differ by country and by contract, and the provisions mentioned here have their own scope. Have your terms reviewed before relying on them.