Most freelance proposals have five sections. The most effective ones have six.
The sixth section that most freelancers skip: what is explicitly not included in this proposal.
This section prevents more disputes than any other element of the project document. It is also the section that feels most awkward to write because listing exclusions seems distrustful or pedantic.
It is neither. It is professional clarity.
Why exclusions matter
Every client reading your proposal is making mental assumptions about what is included. Some of those assumptions match your scope. Some do not.
The client who assumes social login is included when you only scoped email/password authentication will raise it during or after the project. The conversation at that point is a dispute. The conversation during the proposal review is an alignment.
The same information, communicated at different times, produces different outcomes.
What to list as excluded
Things the client might reasonably expect based on the project description. Related functionality they might assume is implied. Adjacent work that is commonly bundled with this type of project but that you have not scoped.
"Mobile application versions are not included in this scope."
"Content migration from the existing system is not included."
"Ongoing maintenance after delivery is not included. A separate maintenance engagement is available."
"Third-party integrations beyond [specific ones listed] are not included."
How to frame it
Not as a list of things you refuse to do. As a list of things that define the boundaries of this specific engagement.
"The following are outside the scope of this proposal. They can be addressed in a separate engagement or a future phase."
The Solopreneur AI Toolkit includes prompts for writing scope sections, exclusion lists, and change order policies. EUR 12.
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