Set the ground rules for a project with a clear statement of work

This service is commonly used by consultants, agencies, developers, designers, specialist contractors and businesses buying project-based services. It is especially useful where the deal involves staged work, technical deliverables, milestones, acceptance criteria or changing requirements over time. A short email chain or quote often leaves too much open to interpretation once the project is underway. A proper SOW records the practical detail in one place, so both sides can see what is included, what is excluded and how changes are meant to be handled.

The main issues are usually scope creep, unclear deliverables, payment triggers, ownership of work product, responsibility for delays, and what happens if assumptions turn out to be wrong. A well-structured SOW can also deal with dependencies, client approvals, service levels, acceptance testing, variation requests, and termination consequences. Those points matter because many project disagreements are really disagreements about expectations. We help shape the SOW so the commercial arrangement is recorded more precisely, rather than leaving key project terms to informal messages or broad proposal wording.

The fixed-fee includes legal work on one statement of work, whether that means drafting a new document or reviewing an existing one. We can help with scope descriptions, deliverables, payment structure, liability wording, intellectual property treatment, service levels and exit mechanics. If your SOW is meant to sit under a broader contract, we can also flag obvious consistency issues between the two documents. The service includes one round of amendments, but it does not automatically include a full rewrite of related agreements or ongoing negotiation with the other side.

Yes. In many commercial arrangements, the master agreement sets the general legal framework while each SOW records the project-specific detail. That can work well, but only if the documents line up properly. For example, the SOW should not accidentally contradict the main contract on payment timing, IP ownership, acceptance, liability caps or termination rights. If you already have a broader services agreement in place, we can review the SOW against it and flag where the project wording may create tension or uncertainty.

The most useful materials are the proposal or quote, any master services agreement, emails recording the deal, the project brief, pricing information, milestone details, and notes on deliverables or acceptance criteria. If the project involves software, creative work or confidential information, it also helps to explain who is supplying inputs and who should own the outputs. The clearer the commercial background, the easier it is to draft or review an SOW that reflects the actual project rather than a generic template.

Submit an enquiry on this page or click 'Get started'. One of our legal consultants will review it within 1 business day and get in touch to understand what you need.

Your consultant will then email you a fixed-fee quote setting out the cost, scope and timing. If you're happy with it, you can accept the quote and sign our engagement letter online.

Once you've accepted, one of our Australian-qualified lawyers will work with you to complete your project. They'll contact you by email or phone if they need anything.

Sprintlaw works on fixed-fee pricing wherever possible, so you can review the scope and cost before you decide whether to proceed. For the Statement Of Work Pack service, pricing starts from $900.00.

After you enquire, a legal consultant will confirm what is included, the expected timing and whether any extra work is needed before you engage us.

We work online, so we can help wherever you are in New Zealand. Our team works remotely, mainly from Australia.

Your work is done by our Australian-qualified lawyers, who hold Australian practising certificates and specialise in business law. None of them are New Zealand lawyers or hold a New Zealand practising certificate.

Sprintlaw NZ Limited is a legal consultancy, not a law firm, and is not regulated by the New Zealand Law Society. We don't act in court or tribunal matters, conveyancing (including leases and business sales) or other reserved areas of work. Communications with Sprintlaw are unlikely to be protected by legal professional privilege. We still keep everything confidential under our engagement letter.