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Out of Scope

are stock photo costs included in my fee?

Yes — unless your agreement says otherwise, stock photos, fonts, and software licenses are client-owned costs you pass through rather than fees your labor rate covers. The exception is an all-in quote that explicitly bundled assets into the number.

Why this answer

There's a clean line between the work you do and the materials the work is built from. Your fee buys your time, judgment, and craft — the labor of designing, building, and delivering. Third-party assets are different in kind: a stock photo, a licensed typeface, a paid plugin, or a font webfont subscription is a thing the client's project consumes, and it carries a cost that exists whether or not you're the one buying it. Bundling those costs silently into your labor rate creates two problems. It hides a variable expense inside a fixed number, so a project that needs ten licensed images quietly eats your margin while one that needs none doesn't. And it muddies ownership, because many licenses must be registered to the end user to be valid. The cleaner model treats assets as pass-through: the client pays for what their project uses, ideally under licenses in their name, and your fee stays focused on your labor. State this in the proposal so the first license invoice isn't a surprise.

When the answer flips

The verdict moves toward In Scope when you quoted an all-in or turnkey number and the brief made clear it covered everything needed to ship, assets included — then absorbing reasonable license costs is what you signed up for. It softens for trivial amounts: a single low-cost stock image is rarely worth itemizing, and many designers carry their own font and tool subscriptions as a cost of doing business rather than billing them per project. It turns ambiguous when the proposal mentioned 'final assets' without saying who pays for licensed inputs, since the client may have read that as inclusive. The sharpest flip toward Out of Scope is anything with a recurring or per-seat cost — a font subscription, an annual plugin license, a per-impression image plan — because those obligations outlive the project and clearly belong to the client.

What to do next

Decide your model before the project starts and write it into the proposal in one line: third-party assets are billed to the client at cost, licensed in their name. When a paid asset comes up mid-project, flag it before you buy — a quick note with the item, the cost, and the license type lets the client approve or pick a cheaper route. Where you can, have the client purchase the license directly through their own account so ownership is unambiguous and you're not fronting money or holding their rights. If you do front costs, pass them through at actuals with receipts, not marked up, unless you've agreed a handling fee. Keep a short list of what was licensed and to whom, and hand it over at delivery so the client can prove their rights later.

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Frequently asked questions

Should I mark up the stock and license costs I pass through?+

Only if you've agreed it. Many designers pass third-party costs through at actuals and keep their margin in the labor fee, which reads as transparent and avoids disputes. Others add a modest handling fee for the time spent sourcing and managing licenses, which is fair if disclosed. What you shouldn't do is quietly mark up assets, because a client who later sees the original price feels misled even when the markup was small.

Who should the license actually be registered to?+

The client, in almost every case. Stock and font licenses are usually tied to the end user, and if you register an asset to yourself and then hand off the project, the client may be using it without valid rights. Buying licenses in the client's name — or having them purchase directly — keeps ownership clean and protects them if the asset's terms are ever questioned. It also keeps you out of the chain if they reuse the asset elsewhere.

What if the client assumed assets were included in the price?+

That's an expectation gap to close calmly, not a fight to win. Point to how the quote was built — your fee covers labor, assets are project costs — and offer to keep this batch modest by choosing free or low-cost alternatives where they work. Then add a clear line to your terms so the next project states it plainly. Most clients accept the model immediately once it's explained; they just hadn't thought about it.

Do my own fonts and tools count as a billable asset?+

Generally no. A font you license for your own studio use, or a tool subscription you'd hold regardless of any single client, is a cost of running your business and lives in your overhead, not a per-project line item. The pass-through model applies to assets a specific project consumes — a photo bought for this campaign, a font licensed for this brand, a plugin needed for this build — not to your standing toolkit.

Can I refuse to buy assets on the client's behalf at all?+

Yes, and sometimes it's the cleanest path. Asking the client to purchase licenses directly through their own account avoids you fronting money, keeps ownership in their name, and removes any question of markup. Provide a shortlist of exactly what to buy and where, and you've made it easy for them while keeping your books simple. Buying on their behalf is a convenience you can offer, not an obligation you carry.

How do I handle recurring license costs like font subscriptions?+

Hand those to the client from the start, because they outlast your involvement. A webfont subscription or an annual plugin license is an ongoing obligation tied to the live product, and the client should own and renew it directly. Set it up in their account during the project, document the renewal date and cost, and make clear at handoff that maintaining the subscription is theirs. Carrying a recurring third-party bill for a finished project is a liability you don't want.

Related reading

Answer scope creep from your actual contract — not a template.

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