Statement of work template
A statement of work that makes the work clear
Set out the services, deliverables, timing and commercial assumptions before work begins. Fill in the fields, make the document yours and send the agreed version for signature.
- Free to start
- Your colors and fonts
- Ready for signature
STATEMENT OF WORK
Packaging refresh
Services and deliverables
- 1.Scope A refreshed packaging system for the core coffee range, with final artwork for three SKUs.
- 2.Timeline Eight weeks from receipt of approved copy, product specifications and source files.
- 3.Fee £4,800, payable 50% on approval and 50% on final delivery.
- 4.Changes Material changes to timing or deliverables require written agreement.
An example, with your branding applied
A statement of work, often called an SOW, turns an agreed direction into an operational document. It names the parties, describes the work, records key deliverables and explains the assumptions that keep a project from becoming an open-ended promise.
What belongs in a statement of work?
The parts that let both sides recognize the same job. A statement of work should be specific enough that a client can see what will be delivered and a team can see what it is responsible for, without trying to repeat every discussion that happened before the agreement.
- The parties and the project or service the statement covers.
- A short background explaining why the work is being commissioned.
- The scope, deliverables and milestones that define the work.
- Timing, dependencies and what the client needs to provide.
- Payment terms, assumptions and how out-of-scope work will be handled.
- A change-control clause and the signature block for the agreed version.
A strong SOW is concrete without becoming a production plan. It says what the client is buying and what must happen for delivery, then leaves the day-to-day execution to the team doing the work.
Statement of work or client contract?
They can work together, but they answer different questions. A client contract normally establishes the wider relationship: payment obligations, ownership, confidentiality, liability and termination. A statement of work describes a particular project, service period or phase of work inside that relationship.
For a small, one-off engagement, one agreement can include both the commercial terms and the project scope. For ongoing work, it is often clearer to keep the master terms stable and create a new SOW for each project. That lets the team agree a new scope without renegotiating the entire client relationship every time.
This template provides a practical structure, not jurisdiction-specific legal advice. Have a qualified adviser review any template that will carry material risk or be reused across client engagements.
How does an SOW help with scope changes?
It gives the change a starting point. When a client asks for another deliverable, a later date or a different outcome, the existing SOW explains what was included before the change. The response can then be a clear addition to scope, timing or price, rather than a debate over what someone remembers being promised.
That does not mean an SOW should make ordinary collaboration difficult. It simply makes the meaningful decisions visible: what is included, what requires approval and what changes the commercial arrangement. The goal is a more useful client conversation, not a more defensive one.
Keep the agreed scope with the client record
A statement of work is most useful when it remains close to the proposal, brief, review copy and final agreement that explain the engagement. EveryTask lets you create the document in a client project, revise it with a visible version trail and request signature from the agreed copy.
The result is not only a signed PDF. It is a recoverable record of the project scope and the document history that led to it, which helps when a client asks for a change, a colleague takes over or the work is revisited months later.
What you fill in
- Type and title
- Statement of work, project name and a clear title.
- Both parties
- The legal names and addresses of the client and service provider.
- Effective date and term
- When the work begins and the relevant project or service period.
- Background
- The context for the engagement and the intended outcome.
- Clauses
- Scope, deliverables, timing, payment, assumptions and change control.
- Governing law
- The jurisdiction that applies to the agreement.
What happens after you fill it in
Your branding, applied
Set colors and fonts once. Every document you generate uses them, including ones you made months ago.
Sent for signature
Request a signature from the same place. The signed copy comes back with a record of who signed and when.
Every version kept
Each save keeps the one before it. Restoring an earlier version does not lose the newer ones.
Questions
- What is the difference between a statement of work and a proposal?
- A proposal is usually used to win or define the work. A statement of work records the agreed operational scope, deliverables and assumptions once the engagement is ready to proceed.
- Can a statement of work be used with a master services agreement?
- Yes. A master agreement can hold the wider legal and commercial terms, while an SOW covers the particular project or service period. Seek legal advice for the terms that apply to your jurisdiction and engagement.
- Can I add my own deliverables and clauses?
- Yes. The template supplies the agreement structure; you can add and edit the clauses so the scope and assumptions reflect the actual work.
- Can the client sign the finished SOW in EveryTask?
- Yes. Once the document is final, request signature from the document record and retain the completed agreement in the client project.
- Should an SOW include payment terms?
- Usually, yes. It should make clear what is being paid for, when payments are due and how an agreed scope change affects the commercial arrangement.
Use this template
Free to start. One project, no card needed.