Kill fee: what it means for a creative studio.

What a kill fee is

When a client ends a project before it is finished, the studio has often turned away other work and spent real hours already. A kill fee is an agreed sum, written into the terms before work begins, that covers that loss. It is sometimes a percentage of the remaining fee or a fixed amount tied to the stage reached.

This is a general description of common practice, not legal advice. Wording and enforceability depend on your jurisdiction and your contract, so have your terms reviewed.

Why studios include one

Creative projects reserve calendar. If a client cancels in week three of a six-week schedule, the gap is hard to fill at short notice. A kill fee makes cancellation a considered decision for both sides and shows a client that your time is committed.

How to set it up fairly

Tie it to stages: most of the work paid for up to the stage reached, plus a modest sum for the lost schedule. Put it in the quote or proposal rather than raising it later, and link it to the deposit so the first payment already carries part of the cost.

• State the stages and what is owed at each
• Say how notice of cancellation must be given
• Make clear what the client keeps if they cancel (usually work completed and paid for)

Where Viznerve fits

Terms like these belong in the quote. Viznerve drafts the quote from the brief and your studio profile for you to review, so the standard terms you use can be present in every draft you send. See quotes and follow-ups.