Glossary
Statement of work (SOW)
A document defining a specific engagement's deliverables, timeline, revision limits, and exclusions.
A statement of work is the operational companion to a master service agreement: where the MSA sets the legal terms that govern the relationship, the SOW spells out what's actually being built or delivered on a specific engagement — deliverables, milestones, revision limits, and what's explicitly excluded.
Example
An SEO retainer SOW might specify: monthly content output (4 articles), two rounds of client revisions per article, reporting cadence (monthly), and an explicit exclusion list (no paid media management, no website development).
Why it matters for agencies
A vague or missing SOW is the single biggest driver of scope disputes — if deliverables and exclusions were never written down precisely, there's no shared reference point to point to when a client asks for something extra.