ENGAGEMENT

SoW

Statement of Work

A signed contract that names a deliverable, a price, and a deadline, and legally binds the vendor to all three.

Last reviewed: 2026-05-24 byKevin Riedl wiki β†—

A Statement of Work is the document that turns a verbal agreement into a contract. It lists the deliverable in concrete terms ("feature X live on production, passing acceptance criteria A, B, C"), the price, the deadline, and the conditions for sign-off.

In Austrian and German law the corresponding instrument is the Werkvertrag, which is stronger than the English-language SoW: the vendor is legally bound to deliver the work, not just to provide effort. A Time & Material contract under the same legal framework is a Dienstvertrag, which only obliges effort. Wavect’s fixed-price engagements are Werkvertrag contracts.

The SoW is also the document that prevents scope creep. Anything not in it is by definition out of scope and gets handled with a change request. This is not legalism; it is the only way both sides can agree on what "done" means without arguing six months in.

// FAQ

FAQs

FAQs

An MSA (Master Services Agreement) covers the legal frame: IP, liability, payment terms, jurisdiction. An SoW lives under it and names the specific deliverable, price, and deadline. You sign the MSA once and many SoWs over time. Mixing the two into one document is a red flag.
Vague acceptance criteria. ‘The feature should work well’ is not enforceable; ’endpoint X returns Y for input Z within 200ms under load A’ is. If a vendor resists writing precise acceptance criteria, they are protecting their right to argue about ‘done’ later.
Under AT/DE law, yes. A Werkvertrag legally binds the vendor to deliver the work, not just to provide effort, and the customer can withhold payment until the work is accepted. An English-language ‘SoW’ without that legal grounding is closer to a strongly-worded promise.