A flat fee covers a specified scope for a fixed price. Scope definition is essential, along with a mechanism addressing work falling outside it and events that materially change the matter.
Fees may be payable at engagement, on milestones, or on completion.
Alternative Names:
Fixed Fee, Flat Fee
Why it Matters?
Scope creep destroys these arrangements, and the protection is defining not just what is included but what triggers renegotiation: removal, consolidation, addition of parties, or a trial setting. Flat fees work best across a portfolio of similar matters where variance averages out, and poorly on individual cases where a single outlier consumes the margin from many. Clients benefit most from cost certainty on high-volume routine work.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What makes a flat fee arrangement work?
What events should trigger renegotiation?
