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A client asks for "one small change" on a carousel. Then another. Then a third round, because the first two "didn't feel right". By Thursday your designer has redone the same post five times, the retainer covers none of it, and the only record of what the client approved is a "yes looks good" somewhere in a WhatsApp group.
A revision limit fixes this, but only if someone counts the rounds and both sides can see the count. Write the limit into the retainer, then record every round on the post itself.
The cost of one more round
Rework rarely shows up on an invoice, so it is easy to underrate. Run the numbers on your own team.
Say a content manager costs your agency ₹40,000 a month for about 160 working hours. That is roughly ₹250 an hour in salary alone, before rent, tools and your own time. If one client averages three extra rounds per post across 20 posts a month, and each round takes an hour, that client is using 60 hours you never priced. That is about ₹15,000 a month of work you did for free, on one account.
These are example figures. Swap in your own salaries and post counts to see what extra rounds cost on each account.
The cost also lands on people. A designer on round six of the same post stops caring about round seven. Timelines slip, the calendar falls behind, and late posts give the client one more reason to ask for changes on the next batch.
A revision limit has two halves
The contract half is the easy part. You write "two feedback rounds per post" into the retainer, and say what happens after that.
Spell out the exceptions in the same clause:
- Fixing an agency error, or something that missed the agreed brief, does not use a client round.
- A new direction from the client, such as a different offer, product or campaign idea, is a scope change, not a revision. Quote it separately.
- Extra rounds beyond the limit are billed at a rate agreed in advance, and the client approves the cost before the work starts.
The operating half is where most agencies fall down. When approvals run through WhatsApp, voice notes and calls, nobody can say which round a post is on. Feedback arrives from three people at the client in three places, someone on your team stitches it together, and the "small change" call after round two always wins because there is nothing to point at.
To hold a limit, you need three things on every post:
- an agreed number of rounds, known before the first share
- a count of which round the post is on, visible to both sides
- a record of every comment and every approval on that post
Count turns, not comments
Decide what a round means before you sell it. If every comment counts as a round, clients who give detailed feedback get penalised for it, and every post turns into an argument about what counted.
A cleaner rule is that a round is one client turn. The client can leave five comments in one go, and that is one round. Your team makes the changes and marks the post as revised. The next turn begins, unless that was the client's last round, in which case the review closes. This also teaches clients to collect their feedback and send it together, which is most of what you wanted in the first place.
This is how Poststack counts feedback rounds. A round is a turn, so five comments in one turn cost one round.
Pick a number per client
Two rounds is a sensible starting point for most retainers: the first for direction and copy, the second for final adjustments. Some clients need more room. A new brand still finding its tone may need three. A client with a single, decisive approver may need one.
Set the number per client rather than once for the whole agency. In Poststack, feedback rounds are set per workspace, so each client gets its own number, from 1 to 10, or unlimited if you choose. A change to the setting applies to posts you share after the change.
You can also tighten the rule by format inside your scope of work. Some agencies ask for a quick structure check on a carousel before the full creative is built, or allow one round on a cover image once the video is locked. Write those into the scope document so the format-level rules are as clear as the post-level ones.
Handle requests after the last round
The hardest moment in a revision policy is round three. The account manager knows the limit. The client is friendly, the change sounds small, and saying no feels like risking the account.
Record the count where the client can see it, so the account manager is pointing at a shared record rather than making a judgement call. In Poststack, when a client has used every feedback round and your team has made the final changes, the review closes and the client sees that their feedback rounds are used up. They are told to contact the agency for further changes. Your account manager can then offer extra rounds as paid work, which is a much easier conversation than refusing.
The 48-hour review window stops rounds being stretched by silence. If it is on and the client does not reply within 48 hours of being notified, the post goes ahead. You can switch the window off per client. The change applies to posts the client is notified about after you switch it, so a 48-hour clock that is already running still finishes.
One caveat for planning: review status never holds a scheduled post back. If a post is still waiting on the client at its scheduled time, your team edits, reschedules or moves it to drafts.
Keep the record on the post
A dispute about what was approved is usually a dispute about evidence. When a client says "I never approved that caption", a timestamped approval on the post ends the conversation quickly. A scroll through a WhatsApp group rarely does.
Poststack keeps a review timeline on every post you share for review, with every client comment and each revision marker numbered. Client feedback and internal team comments sit on separate tabs, so a note between your designer and copywriter never lands in front of the client.
The record helps inside the agency too. When an account changes hands, the next account manager can open a post and see what the client asked for in earlier rounds instead of starting from nothing.
Bring the limit up at onboarding
Revision limits work best when they arrive with everything else on day one. Introduced after a client has already had four rounds, the same limit reads as a penalty.
Add it to your onboarding:
- Show the client the review link they will receive, and how to approve or leave feedback on it. They do not need an account or a login.
- Explain that a round is one turn, so they should send all their feedback at once.
- Confirm the number of rounds in the retainer, what does not use a round, and what extra rounds cost.
A simple way to frame it: "Every post comes to you on a link. Send us everything you want changed in one go, that's one round. Your retainer includes two rounds per post, and we bill anything after that at our hourly rate."
For the full onboarding sequence, see how to onboard a new social media client in under a week.
Moving existing clients over
For clients already used to unlimited rounds on WhatsApp, present the change as a new way to review posts, then let the limit come with it. "From next month, every post comes to you on a link, so you can see it exactly as it will publish and approve it right there" is an easier message than "we're introducing a revision policy".
Agree the included rounds and the price of extra rounds with the client before you apply a limit. Put it in writing, and if you are adding new contract wording, have it reviewed by whoever drafts your contracts. Once it is agreed, set the rounds for that client's workspace and the count starts with the next posts you share.
If a client will not agree, keep their current terms and raise it at renewal with the cost of extra rounds in front of you.
If you want a step-by-step process for the client-facing side of approvals, read the social media post approval process template. For untangling feedback that is already spread across WhatsApp, calls and email, read how to stop client feedback chaos.
Set feedback rounds for each client and see the count on every post. Start a 7-day free trial, no card needed.
Frequently asked questions
What is a revision limit in a social media retainer? A revision limit is the number of feedback rounds a client gets on each post before further changes are billed as extra work. Two rounds per post is a sensible starting point.
How many revision rounds should a social media retainer include? Two rounds is a sensible start for most clients: one for direction and copy, one for final adjustments. Raise it for new brands still settling their tone, and lower it for clients with one decisive approver. Set the number per client rather than once for the agency.
What counts as one revision round? Agree this in writing. The rule that holds up best is one round per client turn, so five comments sent together count as one round. Counting each comment as a round penalises detailed feedback and leads to disputes about what counted.
Can I enforce revision limits if my clients approve on WhatsApp? It is hard. WhatsApp gives you no count of which round a post is on and no clear record of which version was approved. A tool that keeps a review record per post and counts the rounds makes the limit something both sides can see.
How does Poststack handle revision limits? Each client workspace has a feedback rounds setting: 1 to 10 rounds, or unlimited. A round is one client turn. When the client has used every round and your team has made the final changes, the review closes and the client is asked to contact the agency for anything further.
