Projects stall in the same three places: a client has not signed off, a client has not sent what you asked for, or a client has asked for something the agreement does not cover. Each needs a different email. The templates below are written to be short, specific about the date and the next step, and easy to send without sounding sharp.
Know who can decide. AIA Contract Documents advises understanding your client's decision-making authority, so that the change, the options, the costs and the schedule effect go to the person who can authorize them. Ask at the start of a project, and name that person in every sign-off request.
Put a date and a next step in every request. "By [date]" and "once approved, [this starts]" give the client a reason to answer.
Confirm calls in writing. RIBA's Journal quotes Emily Rae of Fletcher Priest Architects as preferring to talk to clients rather than email, with follow-up emails to confirm what was discussed and agreed. The last template does exactly that.
Sign-off emails
Use these when a design stage, drawing set or decision is waiting on the client.
Request for sign-off
When: When you issue the set.
Subject: [Project]: approval needed for [stage or drawing set] by [date]
Hi [first name],
Attached is [what you are sending, for example the concept design set, revision C, dated [date]]. It covers [two or three lines on what is in it and what changed since the last version].
To keep to the schedule, we need your written approval, or your list of changes, by [date]. A reply to this email saying "approved" is enough. If others need to sign off, tell me who and I will send them the set directly.
Once approved, the next step is [what starts].
[your name]
[firm name]
Nudge after silence
When: Three to five working days after the first request.
Subject: Re: [Project]: approval needed for [stage or drawing set] by [date]
Hi [first name],
Following up on the [stage] set I sent on [date]. We have not yet had your approval or a list of changes.
Is anything unclear, or does someone else need to review it? I am glad to walk you through it in a 15-minute call on [option one] or [option two].
[Next stage] cannot start until we have your decision. [If your agreement sets a review period, add it here: "Our agreement allows [number] days for review." Delete this line if it does not.]
[your name]
[firm name]
Late information emails
Use these when the client owes you something and the work is waiting on it.
Request for missing information
When: As soon as you know what is missing.
Subject: [Project]: information we need from you by [date]
Hi [first name],
To continue with [task], we still need the following from you:
1. [item, for example the site survey]
2. [item, for example the confirmed brief]
3. [item, for example the budget confirmation]
Could you send these by [date]? If any of them is not available yet, tell me which one and when you expect it, so I can plan around it.
[your name]
[firm name]
Reminder with the effect on the schedule
When: When the date you gave has passed.
Subject: [Project]: [item] still outstanding, effect on the schedule
Hi [first name],
We are still waiting for [item], which we asked for on [date]. Our schedule assumed we would have it by [date].
Without it, [milestone] moves from [current date] to [new date]. If it helps, we can continue with [interim assumption, for example the last issued survey] and confirm in writing that we have done so. Which would you prefer?
[your name]
[firm name]
Scope question emails
Use these when a request may sit outside the agreed services. Check your agreement first.
Clarifying question before you answer
When: When a request arrives and you are not sure it is in scope.
Subject: [Project]: your request about [topic]
Hi [first name],
Thank you for your message about [request]. Before I answer, one question so I understand what you need: [one specific question].
I will check it against our agreement and reply by [date].
[your name]
[firm name]
Notice of additional services
When: When the request is outside the agreement. Send it before any work starts.
Subject: [Project]: [request] is outside our current scope
Hi [first name],
Thank you for [request]. We have checked it against our agreement ([section reference]). It falls outside the services listed there, because [one-sentence reason].
We can do it as an additional service. If you would like us to, we will send a short proposal setting out the work, the change to the fee and the effect on the schedule. We have not started on it and will not until you approve it in writing.
Would you like the proposal?
[your name]
[firm name]
Confirming a decision made by phone
When: The same day as the call.
Subject: Confirming our call on [date]: [project]
Hi [first name],
Thank you for the call. To confirm what we agreed:
- [Decision one.]
- [Decision two, with who will do what by when.]
- [Anything still open.]
If I have anything wrong, please reply and tell me.
[your name]
[firm name]
(If a decision changes scope, fee or schedule, use the notice of additional services and wait for written approval instead.)
Before you send a scope email, read the sources on additional services. AIA Contract Documents says that for additional services "you need to obtain approval to proceed", if you hope to get paid for them, and that an unmanaged change can become scope creep, "the expansion of services provided without a corresponding increase in your fees". The AIA's standard Notice of Additional Services (G801-2017) has the architect describe the services and propose adjustments to compensation and schedule, and asks the owner to authorize them in writing where required. The Ontario Association of Architects' practice tip PT.15 gives the same advice in plain terms: inform the client in writing, and obtain written authorization before starting a change.
A request log that keeps scope honest
A shared sheet with one row per client request takes two minutes a day and answers most scope arguments before they start. Suggested columns:
Column
What goes in it
Date and project
When it arrived, and which project it belongs to.
From
Who asked. Is that person authorized to decide?
Request
One line, in the client's words.
In scope?
Yes, no or unsure, with the section of the agreement.
Status
Asked, quoted, authorized, done or declined.
Authorization date
The date of the written approval, if the work is additional.
Link
The email or document that records it.
Using AI to draft these
If you would rather have an AI assistant write the first draft in your own tone, the Admin Prompt Pack has prompts for client updates and for replying when a client asks for more than the agreed scope. The templates here are fixed text you can paste; the prompts adapt to your message. Read whatever an assistant writes before you send it, and never let it invent a fee, a date or a technical detail. Related: chasing a late invoice uses the same approach for payment.
Archon & Partners