How to manage client requests: a 5-step workflow and free template

What a good client request contains

A request is ready to estimate when you can answer six questions without another call. Most delays come from the last three: nobody wrote down what “done” means, where the problem is, or who decides.

Keep passwords, API keys and other credentials out of requests and screenshots. Share access through a password manager or another channel you control.

Free client request template

Two templates cover most software client work: one for new features or changes, one for bugs. Send them to clients at onboarding, paste them into your request form, or use them yourself when you turn an email or call into a request. Clients fill in what they know; you complete the rest when you clarify.

Feature or change request template

Request title (one line, one outcome):

What should change?

Why does it matter? (who is affected, what happens today)

What counts as done? (one acceptance criterion per line)
-
-

Where? (page URL, screen or part of the system)

Attachments (copy, designs, examples, screenshots):

Deadline, and why that date (or "no fixed date"):

Anything that must not change?

Who answers questions and approves the result?

Please don't include passwords or other credentials. Share access separately.

Bug report template for clients

Clients rarely know which details a developer needs to reproduce a bug. This template asks for them in plain language.

What is broken? (one line)

Page URL or screen:

Environment: live site / staging / test

Browser and version:

Device and operating system:

Logged in as which user or role? (no passwords)

Steps to reproduce:
1.
2.
3.

Expected result:

Actual result:

Exact error message, if any:

How often? every time / sometimes / once

When did it start? (date, or after which change)

Impact: blocks customers or sales / has a workaround / cosmetic

Screenshot or screen recording: attached / link

The 5-step client request workflow

1. Collect every request in one place

   Give clients one channel for requests. When something still arrives by email, chat or a call, copy it into that place yourself and note the source. Split a message that contains several asks into one request per outcome.

2. Clarify the outcome and acceptance criteria

   Ask your questions before you estimate, on the request itself so the answers stay with it. If a request hides several outcomes, split it into tasks or subtasks with clear boundaries. Tell clients when to expect a first reply, and keep to it.

3. Check scope before you promise

   Compare the request with what you agreed. In-scope work goes to planning. Out-of-scope work gets hours and a fee, and waits for a client estimate approval before you start. If the client is changing work that is already agreed, use the change request template instead of a new request.

4. Prioritise and plan agreed work

   Give each task one owner and a priority, then move it from Inbox to Planned and In progress. When an answer or decision from the client blocks the next step, mark it Needs client so the wait is visible to both sides.

5. Review delivery against the brief

   Check every acceptance criterion before you hand over, move the task to In review and ask for delivery sign-off. Feedback that goes beyond the original criteria is a new request, not a correction.

Worked example: one email, two requests

A client sends this:

“Hi, can we get a newsletter thing on the site before the campaign? Also the menu looks weird on my phone.”

That is two outcomes, so it becomes two requests. The first one, after a short reply asking for the missing details:

The signup form was not in the original agreement, so it is out of scope. You estimate 8 hours and $480 (example project figures, not a TaskOH price), the client approves, and the task moves to Planned.

The menu goes into the bug template: iPhone, Safari, home page, “menu items overlap the logo”, plus a screenshot. The menu was part of the delivered build, so the fix is in scope. It gets a high priority and is planned this week, with no estimate needed.

How to prioritise urgent client requests

Agree with each client what “urgent” means before the first emergency. A useful test is to ask what happens if the request waits a week. If the answer is “nothing much”, it is not urgent.

Urgent does not mean free. Urgent out-of-scope work still needs an approved estimate, even if that approval is one line sent within the hour. Review non-urgent requests at fixed times, for example twice a week, instead of reacting to each message as it lands.

Common mistakes

• Several outcomes in one request. Half of it gets done and the request never closes.
• Estimating before the acceptance criteria exist. You price one version and the client expects another.
• Agreements made only on calls. Write a short summary on the request after every call.
• Requests spread across email, chat and calls. You lose track of what was asked and when.
• Saying yes to urgent work without saying what moves. The other deadlines slip quietly.
• Credentials in tasks or screenshots. They end up in notifications, exports and other people’s inboxes.
• No single decision-maker. Three people give feedback and nobody approves.

Set it up in TaskOH

Create a project, invite your client and turn on “Clients can submit requests” in the project settings. In the TaskOH client portal, clients submit a title, a description and files, and new requests land in Inbox. Paste the template above into the description to get the details you need. Clients sign in with an email link or a password and see only the projects and tasks you share with them.

Each task has a type (Request, Bug or Task), a priority, a due date and a scope setting: in scope or out of scope. Billable out-of-scope tasks also carry hours and a fee. Send an estimate from the task when the client needs to decide. Tasks move through six fixed statuses: Inbox, Planned, In progress, In review, Needs client and Done.

If the request arrives as a Word brief, turn the .docx into draft tasks and review them before they are created. On Pro and Business, pasted emails or notes create tasks directly in Inbox. You can also connect Claude or ChatGPT to triage new requests in Inbox.

Free includes two projects and task collaboration. The client portal and estimate and delivery approvals start with Solo at $1.99 per workspace per month. Client guests count toward each project’s member limit. Compare current plans and limits.