Client change log template, with three emails for scope changes
A free change log for client projects (what changed, when, in whose words and at what cost) and three emails: confirm today's changes, quote a change outside the scope, and ask the client to confirm the new version.
By Plaro · Content date
Why log changes as they happen
Most scope disputes start with a change nobody wrote down: agreed on a call, mentioned in a chat, remembered differently a month later. A change log keeps the date, the source, the client's own words and the effect on time and cost next to each change, so you can point to it instead of arguing from memory. The template below is free to copy or download.
Change log template
The rows are an example from the online store redesign sample. Replace them with your project's changes.
- No.
- C-1
- Date
- Oct 26
- Source
- Meeting
- Requirement
- R-4 Payments
- Before
- Credit card payments (one gateway)
- After
- Card and PayPal payments (two gateways)
- Client's words
- “Can we take PayPal as well as cards?”
- Impact
- Second gateway; estimate sent
- Status
- Out of scope (quoted)
- Confirmed
- Oct 28
- No.
- C-2
- Date
- Oct 26
- Source
- Meeting
- Requirement
- R-6 Admin panel
- Before
- Create and edit products, view orders
- After
- Create and edit products, view and cancel orders
- Client's words
- “Admins should be able to cancel orders.”
- Impact
- Small; inside the scope
- Status
- Agreed
- Confirmed
- Oct 28
- No.
- C-3
- Date
- Oct 26
- Source
- Meeting
- Requirement
- Shipment tracking
- Before
- Not in the requirements
- After
- Courier integration?
- Client's words
- “I will check internally and get back to you.”
- Impact
- Unknown until decided
- Status
- Open
- Confirmed
- —
Email templates
Confirming today's changes
Changes from today's call: please confirm
Hi {name}, Thanks for today's call. Here is what changed, so we work from the same list: 1. {change}. You said: “{client's words}” 2. {change}. You said: “{client's words}” Still open: {question}. You'll get back to us by {date}. If this matches your notes, a quick “confirmed” is enough. If anything is off, reply and I'll correct it before we start. {your name}
A change outside the agreed scope
{change}: outside the current scope, estimate inside
Hi {name}, You asked for {change} (“{client's words}”). It isn't part of the scope we agreed on {date}, so here is what it adds: - Work: {what it involves} - Time: +{days} days - Cost: {amount} Reply “go ahead” and I'll add it to the next version of the requirements. If you'd rather keep the current scope, we'll leave it out and nothing else changes. {your name}
Please confirm the new version
Requirements v2: please confirm
Hi {name}, Version 2 of the requirements is ready. What changed since v1: - {item}: {before} → {after} - {item}: {before} → {after} Everything else stays as agreed in v1. Please confirm v2, or tell me which line to change, so we can plan the next stretch of work against it. {your name}
What goes in each column
No. numbers the change. Date and Source say when and where it came up: a meeting, a call, a chat or an email. Requirement is the item it touches. Before and After are the wording on each side. Client's words is the exact sentence, in quotes. Impact is the extra time or cost, if any. Status is proposed, agreed, out of scope (quoted) or declined. Confirmed is the date the client confirmed it in writing.
How to use it after each meeting
Within a day of the meeting, add each change with the client's words. Mark what falls outside the agreed scope and estimate it. Send the list for confirmation with the first or second email, fold the agreed changes into the next version of the requirements, and send that version with the third email. Keep declined rows: they answer questions later.
Doing the same in Plaro
Plaro does these steps with you. It compares a meeting transcript, recording or chat with the current requirements and lists what changed and what was missed, each with the exact words. You pick what goes into the next version, the client confirms it from a link without signing up, and the developer's Claude Code or Codex reads the confirmed version.