A kill fee is what a client owes you if they cancel a project after you've already started, without it, cancellation can mean weeks of work for nothing.
A kill fee (sometimes called a cancellation fee) compensates you for time already spent and, often, for the opportunity cost of turning down other work to make room for the project. It's standard in publishing, design, and consulting, and it's just as reasonable for any freelancer whose income depends on a client not walking away mid-project without consequence.
| Stage of project | Typical kill fee |
|---|---|
| Cancelled before work starts | 0–10% (covers admin/scheduling time) |
| Cancelled mid-project | 25–50% of the remaining contract value |
| Cancelled after final delivery is nearly done | 75–100%, the work is essentially complete |
Some freelancers simplify this to a flat rule: any work completed is billed at the full rate, plus a flat percentage (often 25%) of the unbilled remainder as compensation for the lost booking.
Something like: "If Client cancels this project after work has begun, Client agrees to pay for all work completed to date, plus 25% of the remaining contract value as a cancellation fee." State it in plain terms and put a number on it, a vague "reasonable fee" clause is much harder to enforce than a specific percentage agreed to upfront.
At the proposal stage, not after a client asks to cancel. Framing it as standard practice ("this is how I structure all my contracts") rather than something aimed at them specifically keeps the conversation from feeling adversarial.
The Ledgerline contract builder lets you add custom clauses like this directly to the agreement before you send it.
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