What a Scope of Work Is & How to Write One for Projects
If you’re a small business owner who works with clients on a regular, retainer-based basis, you need to be sending out a scope of work.
But if you’ve never priced out work this way or been in charge of compiling and sending a scope of work, it’s super important to understand what a scope of work is, why it matters, when you should send it, and how to avoid making common mistakes when you’re prepping or sending one.
Here, we’re breaking down all of that so that you feel confident when preparing a scope of work for your own clients. Not only that, but we’re answering common questions that arise when dealing with a scope of work. This way, you’ll be best situated to run your business the best way you know how.
What is a Scope of Work?
Whether you’ve worked in corporate before or you’re working with clients who use the jargon, you’ll probably come across acronyms like SOW.
To best protect yourself (and your team, if you have one) and your clients, you need to understand what a scope of work (SOW) really is.
A scope of work is essentially the game plan you’re going to follow. A scope of work can apply to a one-off project, like building a website, or can apply to a monthly retainer. Either way, it will list everything out in writing: what you’re working on, when you’re working on it, and more.
Although a scope of work might sound like a useless corporate document, a scope of work can make things clearer and easier for everyone involved. The client will know what they’re paying for and when they can expect things to be done. You can point to the scope of work to make it easier to say “no” to a creeping or expanding scope—particularly important when your client isn’t paying you for any of that extra work.
It helps set everyone’s expectations on the same page so that you don’t have to go back and forth about things later on. A good scope of work is an important document that can save time, energy, and money.
Why You Need a Good Scope of Work
You don’t want to start work on a project without having a solid, clearly defined scope of work. It’s like your road map as you navigate your working relationship with your client. A good scope of work is an essential tool that makes sure to define clear expectations so that everyone involved in the work knows exactly what’s included and what’s not, when work should be completed, and the like. That way, you won’t have to go back and forth with your client over who is handling what or why you can’t complete something that’s outside of your scope.
Not only that, but having a solid scope of work agreed to by all parties before you get started can save you (and your client!) time and money. You’re getting things done for them and you’re protected from scope creep, which can happen when clients start to ask you to take on additional work (without a commensurate boost in pay).
Ultimately, a good scope of work can mean peace of mind (and less stress) for both you and your team and your clients.
When Should You Send a Scope of Work?
Now that you’re pretty sure you need to be sending clients a scope of work, you might want to know exactly when you should hit “send” on that email. The basic rule? Make sure to have a signed and agreed upon scope of work in hand before you start doing any actual work. Beyond that? Here’s what you should know:
Send a scope of work before kicking off a project: Make sure you don’t assign out any work (or start on any yourself) until your client has seen, read, reviewed, agreed to, and signed the scope of work. If you get an early start, you might find yourself doing a bit more work than you planned, and it could be work that’s not included. No writing, designing, coding, planning, analyzing, or advising until you’re in agreement on what’s included in your payment.
Send a scope of work when pitching new business: When you’re reaching out to new potential clients (whether you’ve been asked to send over something or you’re sending a cold pitch), it’s a smart idea to send over an initial, preliminary scope of work with your wider proposal. This gives potential clients a better idea of what exactly they’d be paying for—and getting out of the arrangement—when working with you. It makes your proposal look even more polished and professional.
Send a scope of work when the project changes: Sometimes, especially when you’re working with a client on a recurring basis, things can change and priorities and goals can shift. Anytime that happens, it’s a good idea to adjust your scope of work, make updates to it based on new plans, strategy, or information, and have your client sign the updated version. It’s the best way to ensure that you’re both still on the same page.
Send a scope of work for any add-on services or projects: If you want to take on a one-off project for a current client or add on additional (perhaps temporary) services, it’s a good idea to pull together a mini scope of work for each service or project. Again, it ensures that everyone knows the deal, so no one gets surprised later on.
What Should a Scope of Work Include?
What you put in your scope of work matters. It’s how you and your client will both know what’s agreed upon. Here’s what’s most important to include. If there’s anything industry-specific that you feel you need to add to yours, make sure to add it before sending it to your client.
Project Overview, Purposes, & Objectives
Begin your scope of work with a general overview of the work, the reason for the project, and the main goals you’re hoping to accomplish. It’s essentially a skinny elevator pitch of the overall project. It doesn’t need to be super long or super in-depth, just make sure to set the scene to get you started off on the right foot.
Project Deliverables
Once you’ve summarized the project as a whole, it’s time to dive into the work you’ll be doing. This part of the product scope should be a detailed plan for everything you'll be working on. Make sure you clearly spell out all of the actual tasks you’ll be doing and everything you’re going to deliver to the client. List each deliverable on its own so that you can elaborate on various parts of the project if needed. Include quantities of each type of deliverable, formats, rounds of revisions, etc.
Project Schedule and Major Milestones
Divide the project into set phases with the project start date, clear deadlines, deliverables, and milestone checkpoints. A project timeline will give your client a clear understanding of how the project will go. Make sure you include any review dates or periods, revisions, and the like. If you’re working with this client on a recurrent basis, you can break things down month by month or quarter by quarter.
Project Tasks, Roles, and Responsibilities
Make it clear who is in charge of what and who is handling what. You don't have to list individual team members, but it makes project expectations much clearer for all involved, particularly if something ends up falling through the cracks or the client tries to add more work that’s outside of your scope.
Payment Terms
Add a section that dictates the total cost, when various payments are due, how they should be made, as well as how you’ll handle any late or missed payments.
Assumptions, Constraints, and Exclusions
This part of the scope of services acts as a sort of safety net for you and your team. Explain what you’re assuming to be true, what conditions limit your work, and anything that’s definitely not included in your scope.
Your Revision Policy
Sometimes, revision cycles seem endless. Make sure you clarify how many rounds of revisions are included in the scope of work, as well as how you’ll handle things if the client would like additional rounds made.
Approval Process
Explain the process for how you’ll handle any feedback and who is responsible for any final approval (for the sake of clarity). Understanding whose word goes makes it easier to work toward their feedback. You’ll also want to clarify how you’ll handle any mid-project changes. Who gets to decide to request those changes and how will you bill them for the extra work? The clearer you make things, the smoother the work will go.
Our Best Tips for Creating An Effective Scope of Work
Knowing how to create a comprehensive scope of work is the best way to protect yourself, your team, your work, your time, and—let’s be honest—your sanity. Here’s how to craft a clear scope of work:
Get Super Specific
You set yourself up for success by making sure everything is spelled out in very fine detail. Use numbers, names of social platforms, and the like instead of general statements like “create social graphics” or “write blog posts”. The more specific you are, the better off you’ll be.
Avoid Using Jargon or Industry Terms
Do your best to use plain English when crafting your scope of work. Write clearly and concisely using words that everyone can understand, even if they don’t have a lot of experience in your industry. Clarity is always going to go more smoothly than complicated language that your client doesn’t understand.
Make Good Use of Bullets and Headings
Skimming through a long block of text can cause clients or customers to miss things. Make it easier for them to read and understand by breaking things up into smaller chunks. Use clear headings, bullet points, and lists. This will make it easier for your clients to read through it or refer back to things later on if there’s any confusion or conflict.
Include Images and Visuals If Applicable
If you’re working on a primarily creative or visual project, it can help if you add sketches, mock-ups, flowcharts, and the like so that your clients can see what you have in mind. This is especially important if your project is limited in scope. You want to make sure you both understand what’s included and what’s not.
Discuss How You’ll Communicate
It’s a good idea to include some terms about how and when you’ll communicate (or be available). Are you chatting via email? Will you send status reports on a regular basis? Do you only field texts or calls during work hours and during the work week? Will you be adding your client to Slack? Make it easy for everyone to understand how to get in touch and set expectations about when you’ll get back to them.
Explain the Process If Changes Need to Be Made
Sometimes, changes need to be made. Clients may change their minds, your team may need to make adjustments, it happens. Include a section in the scope of work that explains what should happen if things need to change (or added or removed) mid-project.
Make Sure You Get a Signature
Make sure your client signs the scope of work. It’s the best way to make sure that everyone is in agreement about it all. You can request a handwritten signature or use tools like DocuSign, HelloSign, and the like.
Keep Version Histories
You will likely need to update your scope of work at various times, particularly if you’re working on a long-term project. Whenever this happens, make sure you keep drafts of old versions and clearly label the most up-to-date version. This way, you’ll be able to keep track of everything, avoid confusion, and protect you and your team if there’s ever any disagreement over what was agreed to or what your current scope of work looks like.
Make Sure You Review It Together
Before you move forward, make sure you go over the whole scope of work together with the client. That way you can talk through anything you need to further discuss, you can answer questions, and you can make sure that you’re both on the same page when you start your work.
Save a Template
There’s no need to start from scratch every time you sit down to write up a scope of work. Once you have a solid scope of work, you can use it as a starting point, customize it for the specific project you’re working on, and go from there. It’ll save you tons of time and ensure that you’re not forgetting important sections.
After you go through your scope of work with clients a few times, you’ll start to see where they get confused or which terms they don’t like. You’ll be able to make updates to your template to help make the process go a bit more smoothly and save yourself the hassle of hitting the same obstacles each time.
How to Avoid Common Scope of Work Mistakes
Even when you’re super prepared, you can still make little mistakes. Here are some of the most common ones—and how you can avoid making them:
Keeping things vague: The less clear your scope of work is, the easier it will be for a client to ask you to do work that’s not included in your agreement. Not only that, but you’ll have a lot less protection if there are any disagreements or disputes about what is or isn’t included in the scope.
Putting off scope updates: If your client adds or removes something mid-project, or changes their mind about something you’ve already agreed to, make sure you update the scope to reflect the changes you’re agreeing to make. Don’t work for free unless you’ve agreed to do so.
Skipping a signature: Although it can be tempting to start working after just an informal agreement, it’s not the best way to go. Make sure you review the scope of work and get a signature before starting any project work so that you can point to later on if there are any disputes down the road.
Filling the scope of work with jargon: It can be easy to slip up and put a bunch of jargon-y technical terms in your scope, but the best way to avoid any confusion later on is to use simple, clear language that everyone can understand. That way, you can be sure that your client knows exactly what they’re agreeing to.
Never returning to the scope of work: Make sure you regularly review the scope of work to refresh your memory about what’s included and what’s not. It’s the project team's guide as they move forward with their work.
FAQs
Is a signed scope of work a legally binding document?
It can be, particularly when it’s part of a formal, signed contract. That formal agreement can help give you extra protection if you need it later on. That being said, if you’re hoping you can enforce it later on if needed, make sure you have an attorney review everything so that you have the legal advice you need (if you don't have the expertise yourself).
Does every kind of project require a full scope of work?
If you want to best protect yourself and your team, and make your client feel most at-ease, then yes. Even a project that doesn’t take you a lot of time to complete can benefit from a formal scope of work document that stipulates what everyone’s responsible for.
How are a contract and a scope of work different?
A contract usually contains the general terms of your working relationship, while a scope of work includes specific tasks and responsibilities. It goes over what you’ll actually do over the course of the project. If you want to be most protected when you move forward with the project, pair the contract with a scope of work to make sure everything is completely covered and explained clearly before you get started.
Can I use a template for my scope of work or do I need to create them from scratch each time?
You can definitely use a template. Templates can save you tons of time for anything that’s routine and typical, but make sure that you also add the specific details, requirements, and the like for each individual project. Generally speaking, each project will be at least a little bit different, so you shouldn’t completely rely on a template.
Final Thoughts
Writing a scope of work might feel like an unnecessarily tedious task, but it’s well worth the time and effort it takes to pull one together. It's a powerful tool and the best way to protect yourself and your team from scope creep, unpaid overtime, miscommunication, and confusion.
You won’t regret laying out your plan for the project—and getting it signed by the client—so that you and your team will be able to work confidently, knowing that you and the client are on the same exact page.
