The product was already built around a font the client had never been told they would need to license. The previous brand designer had selected it, then left before sorting out the details. When I took over and checked the licence, the cost came as a surprise to the client. It was affordable for many brands, but this client had never agreed to it or planned for it. We swapped the font, which changed text widths and broke parts of the finished product. Luckily, the fixes were easy. That was luck. Font licensing belongs in the original design decision, before the entire product depends on it.