01 / Free agency template
Use the brief at the sales-to-delivery handoff
A proposal explains why the client should buy. A working brief explains what the team should do after the decision. Transfer the agreement into practical delivery language, keeping the accepted scope and commercial terms intact. Link the proposal or source agreement so readers can check the original context.
Use this template before the kickoff, then review it with the delivery lead. The useful test is whether somebody who did not attend the sales calls can explain the project, identify the next step and recognize a request that changes the agreement.
02 / Free agency template
Fill the fields that change decisions
Start with the client problem and intended outcome. List the actual deliverables separately, including format or quantity where relevant. Capture acceptance criteria, constraints and exclusions. A broad objective such as Improve the website cannot tell a designer whether copywriting, photography or a second language is included.
Name the approval owner and identify contributors whose feedback must be consolidated. Record inputs due from the client and what happens to the plan if they are late. Treat an unknown as an open decision with an owner; do not hide it behind a confident date.
03 / Free agency template
Walk through an illustrative example
Imagine a studio redesigning a five-page service website. The client supplies approved copy and photography. The studio provides information structure, page design and an implementation handoff. The brief identifies two review rounds and one client approver. These are sample boundaries, not a recommended package.
Now the client asks for a customer portal. The request may be valuable, but it is outside the named deliverables. The brief gives the lead a basis for discussing additional effort, timing and price before the team absorbs the work. The point is clarity rather than using a document to refuse every change.
04 / Free agency template
Turn the brief into tasks
Translate deliverables into reviewable work with an accountable owner. Keep the brief available from the project and link detailed references rather than duplicating them across tasks. A change to a core assumption should update the brief as well as the task plan.
At kickoff, ask contributors to identify missing inputs and unclear finish conditions. Resolve those questions before expanding the task list. A well-written brief does not need to be long, but it should be specific enough to guide a tradeoff when time, scope or expectations change.
Draft from the agreement
Carry over accepted outcomes, scope and commercial constraints.
Review with delivery
Check dependencies, ownership and realistic acceptance conditions.
Confirm with the client
Resolve open questions and record the agreed decision-maker.
05 / Free agency template
Keep a small decision history
The download includes a change log for material decisions. Record the date, changed assumption, decision owner and effect on the plan. This is more useful than saving several files called final when nobody knows what changed between them.
Do not use the brief as a substitute for a signed agreement or approved scope change. Its role is operational context. If a change affects commitments, follow the agency's commercial process and link the approved change back into the project.
06 / Free agency template
Download and adapt the working document
The Markdown file is editable in a text editor, document tool or project wiki. It includes the core fields, acceptance checklist and decision log. Remove sections that genuinely do not apply, while keeping explicit answers for scope, ownership and client inputs.
The template contains no client data and requires no signup. Store completed briefs according to your agency's access practices. A brief can reference access requirements without becoming a place to paste passwords, tokens or sensitive personal records.
THE PRACTICAL DETAILS
Questions, answered.
Is this a proposal?+
No. It is a working delivery brief. Link the accepted proposal or agreement rather than using the brief to silently change commercial terms.
How long should it be?+
Long enough to establish scope, acceptance and responsibilities. A concise brief with useful links is better than several pages of copied sales language.
Who owns the brief after kickoff?+
Assign the project lead to keep material assumptions and decisions current. Contributors can raise changes without becoming competing owners of the source document.
Can it be used for a retainer?+
Yes. Define the delivery period and recurring boundaries, then connect it to a retainer review so the agreement is revisited when the work changes.
