Scope, delivery and payment
What is a SOW?
SOW or Statement of Work defines the work that is to be done and when. It defines acceptance and cost. SOW is commonly used by freelancers, consultants and contractors to establish the scope of a project.
Pocket Invoice Editorial Team · November 6, 2026
What belongs in a statement of work?
| Part of the SOW | Information to agree |
|---|---|
| Parties and reference | Customer, service provider, project name, SOW number and version. |
| Scope and deliverables | Tasks, outputs, quantities, included revisions and excluded work. |
| Timing and responsibilities | Milestones, dates, customer inputs and the person responsible for each approval. |
| Acceptance | Review criteria, reviewer, feedback period and the completion record. |
| Price and payments | Fixed price or hourly rates, approved expenses, invoice triggers and payment terms. |
| Changes | Who can approve changes and how scope, price and dates are updated. |
SOW, scope of work, quote and invoice
The scope is the description of tasks and the scope boundaries. The full SOW ties this scope to responsibilities, timeline, acceptance and cost. Using reference numbers makes it easier to tie SOW, quote, purchase order and later invoices to the same project.
| Document | Its role in the project |
|---|---|
| Scope of work | The tasks and boundaries within the project description. |
| Statement of work | Scope connected to delivery, acceptance, responsibilities and payment. |
| Quote | The proposed price for a defined scope. |
| Purchase order | The purchase authorized by the buyer. |
| Invoice | A request for the amount due under the agreement. |
Worked example
A three-page website project
| Project reference | SOW-WEB-104, version 1 |
|---|---|
| Pages | Home, services and contact. |
| Customer inputs | Existing logo and approved text, supplied before kickoff. |
| Deliverables | Three working pages and one handover session. |
| Revisions | Two consolidated rounds. |
| Separately agreed work | Ongoing maintenance, paid plugins and additional pages. |
| Acceptance checks | All three pages open, content matches the approved copy, contact form submissions reach the agreed inbox and handover material has been provided. |
| Review period | Agreed before delivery; customer feedback after delivery within that period. |
Connect each invoice to a milestone
| Invoice trigger | Reference | USD amount |
|---|---|---|
| Project kickoff | SOW-WEB-104 · milestone 1 | 900.00 |
| Customer approves page drafts | SOW-WEB-104 · milestone 2 | 1,200.00 |
| Pages completed and accepted | SOW-WEB-104 · milestone 3 | 900.00 |
| Project total | 3,000.00 | |
Record acceptance and scope changes
Agree on scope change before starting the extra work.
- Additional page
- Online booking page, priced and scheduled as an addition.
- Approval record
- Added tasks, price, revised dates, authorized approver and original SOW reference.
Carry the agreed work into your estimate
- Create estimate based on agreed scope.
- You can generate PDF of the priced work using Pocket Invoice estimate tool.
- Then based on the agreed invoice milestone, prepare invoice with the project and SOW reference.