Statement of work template, with a filled example

What is a statement of work?

A statement of work (SOW) is the document that pins down one piece of work: what you'll deliver, what isn't included, when each part lands, what it costs and how it's paid. A proposal persuades; a statement of work is precise, so that "is this included?" has an answer. You write it once the client has said yes in principle.

Scope is hard to fix in advance. A consultant with more than 15 years of client work put it this way on Hacker News: "clients often don't know scope until they have tangibles in hand." A statement of work can't change that, but it puts what's in, what's out and what you're assuming in writing before the work starts, so a new request becomes a conversation about price rather than about memory.

How is a statement of work different from a proposal and a contract?

A proposal sells the work, a statement of work defines it, and a contract sets the legal terms around it. You can send all three in that order, or put the scope inside the contract. In Aventide your client accepts a proposal or a statement of work in their client portal, and e-signs a contract.

• Proposal: wins the work. Their situation in their words, the outcome, your approach and the price. It comes before they decide. Our guide to writing a sales proposal has the six parts.

• Statement of work: defines the work. Deliverables, exclusions, milestones, fees and payment terms. It comes after a yes in principle and before the work starts.

• Contract: sets the legal terms. Payment, ownership of the work, confidentiality, cancellation, liability and disputes. It's signed before the work starts.

If you work with the same client again and again, one set of terms with a statement of work for each project saves rewriting the contract every time. Aventide's built-in Master Service Agreement is written that way, and its text counts a client's Accept in your client portal as agreeing to a statement of work in writing. Like any template, it's a starting point, not legal advice.

What goes in a statement of work?

Six sections, in this order: a cover with both parties and the effective date, what's in scope, what's out of scope (with your assumptions), the schedule, the fees and terms, and how the client accepts it. This is the order Aventide's Scope of work document follows, and each section answers one question the client would otherwise ask later.

1. Cover. Name both parties and the effective date, then say in one line what this covers.

2. What is in scope. List each deliverable as one measurable line: what it is, in what form and how many, and how you'll both know it's done.

3. What is out of scope. Name what the work doesn't include, then the assumptions you're relying on, such as how quickly the client replies and who approves the work.

4. Schedule. The milestones and their dates, in the order they happen. Where a date isn't set yet, say so plainly ("Agreed together at kickoff") rather than inventing one.

5. Fees and terms. The fees with a total, then the payment terms and what would change them, including how a change request works: agreed in writing, re-scoped and re-priced before the work continues.

6. Accept this statement of work. One short paragraph: accepting confirms the scope and terms above, and here is what happens next, such as the agreement, the deposit invoice and the kickoff date.

Tip

Write the out-of-scope list from the client's side: three to five things a reasonable client might assume are included but aren't. A one-person web business owner in the UK described the risk on Hacker News: "With fixed bid the risk and management of scope creep is on me. With hourly, on the client." On a fixed price, that list is how you hand some of the risk back.

For a designer's take on the same problem, see How do I prevent scope creep with design clients?

The statement of work template

Copy this into any document and replace everything in square brackets. It follows the same six sections, in the same order, as Aventide's Scope of work document. The line in italics under each heading says what goes there; delete it once that section is filled in.

Statement of Work: [Project name]

Name both parties and the effective date, then say in one line what this covers.

Between [Your business name] and [Client's business name]. Effective [date].

This statement of work covers [the project and its result, in one line].

What is in scope

List each deliverable as one measurable line: what it is, in what form and how many, and how you'll both know it's done.

• [Deliverable]: [what it is, its format, how many]. Done when [what the client receives or approves].

• [Deliverable]: [what it is, its format, how many]. Done when [...].

• [Deliverable]: [what it is, its format, how many]. Done when [...].

What is out of scope

Name what this work doesn't include, then the assumptions you're relying on.

Not included:

• [Something a reasonable client might assume is included]

• [...]

• [...]

Assumptions:

• [Client] replies to drafts within [five] business days.

• [One named person] approves each stage.

• [Access, materials or decisions you need, and by when.]

Schedule

List the milestones and their dates, in the order they happen.

1. [Milestone]: [date or week]

2. [Milestone]: [date]

3. [Milestone]: [date, or "Agreed together at kickoff"]

Fees and terms

List the fees, then the payment terms and anything that would change them.

• [Item]: [$0,000]

• [Item]: [$0,000]

• Total: [$0,000]

[A 50% deposit ($0,000) is due to start.] [When the balance is due.] Plus applicable taxes.

Changes: anything outside this scope is agreed in writing, re-scoped and re-priced before the work continues.

Accept this statement of work

Say that accepting confirms the scope and terms, and what happens once it's accepted.

Accepting this statement of work confirms the scope, schedule and fees above. Once it's accepted, [what happens next: for example, we send the agreement and the deposit invoice, and book the kickoff for the week of (date)].

A filled example: a brand sprint for a cafe

Here is a statement of work that Lumen & Oak Studio, a brand and web design studio in Portland, could send its client Riverbend Cafe for a six-week brand sprint at $4,800. Both names come from our demo business, and the figures are examples, so set your own.

Statement of Work: Riverbend Cafe Brand Sprint

Between Lumen & Oak Studio and Riverbend Cafe. Effective on the date Riverbend Cafe accepts it.

This covers a six-week brand sprint: a new logo suite, brand guidelines and social templates for the cafe.

What is in scope

• Brand workshop: one 90-minute video call with the owners, then a one-page summary of what we agreed. Done when the summary is approved.

• Logo suite: a primary logo, a secondary mark and an icon, in full color and one color, as vector and PNG files. Done when the final files are delivered.

• Brand guidelines: a 12-page PDF covering logo use, colors, type and photo style. Done when the PDF is delivered.

• Social templates: six editable post templates. Done when they're shared with the cafe.

What is out of scope

Not included:

• Menu, signage and packaging design

• Changes to the cafe's website

• Photography

• Printing and print costs

• More than two rounds of changes on the chosen logo

Assumptions:

• Riverbend Cafe replies to drafts within five business days.

• One person, the owner, approves each stage.

• The cafe sends its current logo files and photos before the workshop.

Schedule

1. Brand workshop: week of November 2, 2026

2. Two logo directions: November 13

3. Chosen logo, with up to two rounds of changes: November 16 to December 4

4. Final logo files, brand guidelines and social templates: December 11

Fees and terms

• Brand Sprint (workshop and strategy summary): $3,000

• Logo suite: $1,200

• Brand guidelines: $600

• Social templates: included

• Total: $4,800

A 50% deposit ($2,400) is due to start. The balance of $2,400 is due when the final files are delivered. Plus applicable taxes.

Changes: work outside this scope is agreed in writing and priced before it starts. An extra round of logo changes is $300.

Accept this statement of work

Accepting this statement of work confirms the deliverables, schedule and fees above. Once it's accepted, Lumen & Oak Studio sends the agreement to sign and the deposit invoice, and books the workshop for the week of November 2.

How do you make a statement of work in Aventide?

Open the client's room, choose New document under Portal controls, pick the Scope of work template and choose how to price it: From an offer, Custom or Decide later. Add a short brief, check the outline Aventide reads back, and it writes the document. Your client reads it in their portal and accepts it by typing their name.

1. Pick the template. In the client's room, open Portal controls and choose New document, then pick Scope of work. Aventide never picks a template for you.

2. Choose how to price it. From an offer builds the fees from the offer's own lines. Custom takes your own figures and what the price covers. Decide later shows "Pricing to be confirmed".

3. Add a brief. In your own words: the deliverables, what's excluded, the milestones and any add-ons with their prices. It's optional, and it's where the details only you know go.

4. Check the outline. Before it writes, Aventide reads the outline back and asks, "Does this look right? In this order?" Change any section, then choose Looks right, create.

5. Read and edit the draft. The fees table is written by the software from your pricing, never typed by the AI. It ends with the total, then the deposit if there is one, and "Plus applicable taxes." To change a price, use Edit price.

6. Send it. Choose Send on the document in the client's room. Your client gets an email with a personal link that opens it in their client portal, sent from your own Gmail if you've connected it. There they choose Accept scope of work and type their name, or decline.

7. Then the agreement. When they accept, a card lists your agreement templates for you to tick, and the price carries over. If you change the statement of work after they accept, their portal asks them to review and accept it again, and the earlier acceptance stays on record.

You can also ask in Think: "Write a scope of work for Riverbend Cafe from these notes." Sidekick asks which template and how to price it, reads the outline back and waits for your approval before Aventide creates the document. Anything Aventide drafts for a client waits for your approval; automations you switch on run on their own. Doing things yourself never uses credits. Only the AI's work does.

For the full path from first call to signed agreement, see client onboarding in Aventide and Aventide for consultants.