ZAMBO.

Direct answer

They changed their mind. That is a new job, not a free redo.

A defect in what you delivered is yours to fix. A change of mind about what they want is theirs to pay for. Almost every free-redo fight comes from those two things being blurred together, so here is the sort, the exact words to send, and the record that settles which one you are looking at.

See the instrument first: the live demo runs one real call and hands you its verifiable receipt, no signup.

Updated October 23, 2026. The two delivery records quoted below are real and public, with their client decision states read back from the live service on publication day.

Step 1. Sort the ask: defect, preference, or new direction

Every redo request is one of three things. A defect: the work does not match what was agreed, a file is broken, a promised piece is missing. Fix defects free and fast; that is the deal you sold. A preference: the work matches the agreement, but the client now likes a different colour, tone, layout, or emphasis. That is new work on an approved base. A new direction: the client changed the audience, the offer, the scope, or their mind about the strategy. That is a new job that happens to start from the old one. Say the sort out loud in your reply, because a client who hears their request named accurately usually stops calling all three of them a redo.

Step 2. Check what was actually approved, on the record

Before you answer, look at the decision state, not your memory of the calls. The record format is AER-1, published as an IETF Internet-Draft (draft-zambo-aer1-26), and each step carries a verifiable receipt: a receipt proves the saved result was not changed since it was saved. The two public records below show the two states you will meet:

Accepted: the decision is on the record

Pending: checked, and still waiting on a decision

An accepted record is the pivot of the whole conversation. The client checked the work and accepted it, 4 of 4 steps, with release_hint ok_to_release. Work accepted and then rethought is changed work, and changed work is priced. A pending record is different: 5 of 5 steps checked and no decision yet, release_hint hold, means the honest answer is to get the decision on the current version first, then treat anything beyond it as a change. Either way, you are pointing at a state both sides can open, not arguing about what somebody said on a call.

Step 3. Send the reply: warm, short, and priced

Use this shape, in your own voice: glad to make the change, and here is what it is. Name what was delivered and accepted. Name the change in one concrete sentence, not as a vibe. State that changes after acceptance are new work, quote the price or the rate for the change, and name what the change includes and does not include. Close with a choice: approve the change at that price and it starts, or keep the accepted version, which is complete and paid for. No apology for the policy, no lecture about clients changing their minds. People change their minds; the only question is who pays for the second version, and your reply answers it before the work starts, not after.

Step 4. If they push: hold the line on sequence, not on tone

The common pushes are predictable. We already paid for this: you paid for the version you accepted, and this is a different version. It should only take you a minute: then the priced version will be a small invoice, and it still gets agreed first. The last freelancer did changes free: that is a term you can offer on the next job, priced into it, not one that applies backwards. Stay friendly, repeat the two doors, and do not start the redo while the argument is open. A redo started in good faith while the price is disputed is a redo you have already donated.

Step 5. Get the new direction accepted in writing before the redo starts

The redo gets the same treatment as the original job, in miniature: the new direction written down, the price, the delivery date, and the client accepting all three. Deliver the redo as its own stage on the record, so version one stays accepted as version one and version two carries its own steps and its own acceptance. That separation is what stops the next argument, in which the accepted first version quietly becomes the free first draft of an endless second one. When the work runs through Zambo, each version is delivered as a handover the client checks and accepts step by step, so which version was approved, and when, is a fact on the record rather than a reconstruction from chat.

Step 6. Price the pattern into the next agreement

One paragraph ends most of this before it starts: work is accepted on delivery against the agreed brief; fixes for anything that does not match the brief are free; changes of direction, taste, or scope after acceptance are new work at the stated rate, agreed in writing before they start. Clients who read that paragraph at the calm start of a job rarely contest it at the heated middle. Clients who change direction often are not villains either; they are a pricing signal, and the paragraph is how their jobs carry the cost of their process instead of yours.

What a record does not settle

A verifiable receipt proves the saved result was not changed since it was saved; it does not prove the work was good, does not decide whether a request is a defect or a change, and cannot make a client pay for a version they never agreed to buy. The agreement, the brief, and the acceptance state settle what was promised. This page is general information, not legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

My client changed their mind and wants me to redo the work for free. What should I say?

Sort the request first. If the work does not match what was agreed, that is a defect: fix it free and fast. If the work matches the agreement and the client now wants a different direction, taste, or scope, that is a change, and changes after acceptance are new work. Say exactly that, warmly and in writing: name the version that was delivered and accepted, name the change in one concrete sentence, quote the price for the change, and offer two doors, approve the change at that price or keep the accepted version, which is complete. Then get the new direction, the price, and the date accepted in writing before the redo starts, and deliver the redo as its own stage with its own acceptance. Starting the redo while the price is still disputed turns it into a donation, so the sequence is always sort, quote, acceptance, then work.

How do I tell a defect from a change of mind?

Hold the delivered work up against the written brief, not against what the client wants today. Anything the brief promised that is missing, broken, or wrong is a defect, and it is yours. Anything the brief never asked for, anything that reverses a choice the client approved, and anything driven by the client changing audience, offer, or strategy is a change, and it is theirs. The grey middle is a brief that was vague, and the honest move there is to split it: cover the part a reasonable reading of the brief includes, price the rest, and write the next brief tightly enough that the line is visible before the work starts, not after.

What if the client never formally accepted the first version?

Then get that decision first, because everything else depends on it. Send the delivery record and ask for the decision on the version as delivered: accept it, or flag the specific steps that do not match the brief. A client who will not decide is keeping both doors open at your expense, the old version unfinished and the new one unpriced. Put a date on the decision in the same message. Once the first version is accepted, later changes are priced changes. If specific steps are flagged as defects, fix those, get the acceptance, and only then quote the new direction as the separate job it is.

Should I ever do a change of mind redo for free?

Sometimes, as a priced decision, not as a default. A tiny change for a good client, done once and named out loud as a courtesy, buys goodwill cheaply. The danger is the silent free redo: it sets the price of every future change at zero and teaches the client that acceptance means nothing. If you waive the fee, say the fee out loud first: this change would normally cost this much, I am covering it this once, and the agreement rate applies from the next change. A courtesy with a price tag on it stays a courtesy. A courtesy with no price tag becomes the contract.

How do I stop this happening on the next job?

Write the line into the agreement before anyone changes their mind: fixes for work that does not match the brief are free, changes of direction, taste, or scope after acceptance are new work at a stated rate, agreed in writing before they start. Deliver in stages with an acceptance at each stage, so a change of mind lands on one stage instead of reopening the whole job. And run the work on a record: when the work runs through Zambo, every step is saved as it happens and the client accepts each delivery on the record, so the approved version and the changed version never blur. For $0.99, deliver the redo as its own recorded stage with its own acceptance, so version two can never be argued into a free version one: get the Day Pass. A Day Pass covers 24 hours, no subscription. Ongoing use is the Zambo Pass at $29 for 30 days, one payment, or $290 for 365 days, and $19 for 30 days for $ZAMBO holders, which adds private handover links, your branding, and the approval record as PDF and JSON files.

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