1099.law / Knowledge
What is an SOW?
The statement of work that defines what you're actually doing for a specific project — and why scope creep is a contracting problem, not a client problem.
The plain-English answer
A Statement of Work (SOW) — sometimes called a Scope of Work — is the document that defines what you're doing for a specific project: the scope, deliverables, timeline, price, and acceptance criteria. It's the faster-moving partner to the MSA.
The MSA governs the legal relationship. The SOW governs the specific engagement. One MSA can have many SOWs over time — each project gets its own SOW, but neither party has to renegotiate the legal framework.
A good SOW answers: What are you building or doing? What does the finished thing look like? When is it due? What does it cost? When does the client formally accept it? What's not included?
What it means for your business
Scope creep is a contracting problem
Scope creep — work that expands beyond what was originally agreed, without a change to the price or timeline — is almost always a drafting failure. When scope is vaguely defined, clients reasonably assume the vague things are included. When deliverables are described in general terms ("a website"), there's no shared understanding of what "done" means.
- Define deliverables specifically. "Five web pages" beats "a website."
- Define what is not included. Revisions, hosting setup, copywriting, photography — if you're not doing it, the SOW says so.
- Define acceptance criteria. What does the client have to do to formally accept the work? How many business days do they have? What happens if they don't respond?
- Define the change order process. Additional scope gets a new SOW or a written amendment — not a verbal yes.
Fixed-fee vs. time-and-materials
The billing model fundamentally changes the SOW:
- Fixed-fee: You quote a price for a defined scope. The client knows exactly what they're paying. You bear the risk if the project takes longer than expected. This model works when scope is well-defined and you can accurately estimate the work. Acceptance criteria become critical — without them, the client can keep requesting changes under the "fixed" price.
- Time-and-materials (T&M): You bill for hours or days at a stated rate. The client bears the risk that the project takes longer. The scope can evolve. T&M works when requirements are unclear at the outset, but it creates unpredictability for clients. Most T&M SOWs should include a not-to-exceed (NTE) budget.
- Milestone-based: A hybrid — you define phases with deliverables at each milestone, and payment is tied to milestone completion. This shares risk between the parties and works well for longer engagements where requirements will evolve.
Acceptance windows matter
Without a defined acceptance process, projects can linger indefinitely. Best practice: deliver the work, notify the client formally (email is fine), give them a defined window (10–15 business days is standard), and specify that silence constitutes acceptance after that window. If the client identifies deficiencies, describe the correction process.
Where 1099.law fits
Our SOW workflow guides you through the choices that matter for each project — fixed fee vs. hourly vs. milestone, IP carve-outs, acceptance windows, change order process. The output is an SOW that pairs cleanly with your MSA and gets signed before work starts.
- SMB Customer Contracting ($79/mo) — your MSA and SOW delivered as click-through agreements your clients sign. Replaces DocuSign and the email-PDF-chase cycle.
- SMB Full Suite ($99/mo) — vertical-specific SOW templates, document vault, and both-direction contracting for businesses that issue and receive SOWs.