Statement of work (SOW)
A statement of work (SOW) is a document that defines one specific project: what will be delivered, by when, how it will be accepted and what it costs.
Updated November 5, 2026 · 1 min read
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What to include
- Deliverables, described specifically enough that both sides can tell when each one is done.
- Timeline and milestones, with dates or durations.
- Acceptance criteria: how, and by when, the client reviews and signs off.
- Fees and payment schedule: a fixed price, payment by milestone, or time and materials.
- Assumptions and exclusions, like what the client must provide and what's out of scope.
SOW and MSA
A SOW usually sits under a master services agreement, which carries the legal terms, so the SOW can focus on the project. Without an MSA, the SOW needs those terms itself. A scope of work is narrower: it describes the work, while a SOW also covers timing, acceptance and money.
In SignMaster
Turn your SOW into a template with text boxes for the project name, deliverables and fee, and fill them in before each send. Sending several at once? Bulk send fills those boxes from a spreadsheet, one envelope per row.