The creative studio glossary.

Terms every studio owner should define

Most arguments with clients, and most lost margin, trace back to a term that was never defined: what a revision round is, what the scope excludes, when a deposit is due. These short entries explain each one in studio terms, with examples and the practical consequence. They describe common practice and are not legal advice; have your contract wording reviewed for your jurisdiction.

• Scope of work: A scope of work is the written description of what a studio will deliver for a project: the tasks, deliverables, timeline and boundaries agreed before work starts.
• Retainer vs project fee: A project fee is a fixed price for a defined piece of work; a retainer is a recurring payment that reserves a studio's time or ongoing services.
• Kill fee: A kill fee is a payment a client owes a studio if they cancel a project partway through, compensating for work already done and time reserved.
• Revision rounds: Revision rounds are the agreed number of times a client can request changes to a deliverable before further changes are priced separately.
• Creative brief: A creative brief is a short document that states a project's goal, audience, deliverables, constraints and success measures, so a studio and client start from the same understanding.
• Statement of work: A statement of work is a formal document that defines the deliverables, schedule, responsibilities and payment terms of a project, and is usually signed by both parties.
• Change order: A change order is a written agreement to alter a project's scope, cost or timeline after work has started, recording what changes and what it costs.
• Discovery call: A discovery call is an early conversation between a studio and a prospective client to understand the project, the goals and the budget before a quote is prepared.
• Lead qualification: Lead qualification is the process of judging whether an inquiry is a good fit for a studio, based on the work wanted, the budget, the timeline and the likelihood of a deal.
• Proposal: A proposal is a document a studio sends a prospective client that sets out its understanding of the project, the proposed approach, the deliverables, the price and the terms.
• Deposit (retainer) invoice: A deposit invoice, sometimes called a retainer invoice, bills a client for an upfront payment before work begins, securing the studio's schedule and covering early costs.
• Studio utilization: Studio utilization is the share of a studio's available delivery time that is booked or spent on client work, used to judge whether the team is overloaded or underused.

Where the terms meet the product

Several of these terms describe work Viznerve takes on. Lead qualification is what inquiry triage does, scope of work and proposal begin with a drafted quote, and studio utilization is the view in Studio Health. Viznerve drafts and you approve; it never sends on its own by default.

For ready-made structure, see the quote and brief templates.