Professional Services SOW Acceptance Kit

If you sign SOWs without a control system, you are pre-approving future leakage.

This starter kit gives you a beginner-safe process to accept SOWs with:

clear scope and deliverables
acceptance criteria that protect you
rate card and billing rules that match your controls
change control rules that prevent scope creep
invoice requirements that AP can enforce

Not legal advice.

What you will produce

SOW intake form (what must be provided before review)
SOW acceptance checklist (go/no-go gates)
Minimum invoice standard for services SOWs
Change control rules (when a change order is required)
Kickoff agenda to align expectations

Beginner-safe definitions

Deliverable: A thing you can point to that is produced (report, implementation, model, training, configuration).

Acceptance criteria: What must be true for a deliverable to be considered done.

Milestone: A checkpoint tied to deliverables and payment.

Change order: A written change to scope, timeline, or price.

SOW acceptance principles

If you cannot explain the deliverables to a new hire, the SOW is not clear enough.
If the SOW allows billing without evidence, expect billing disputes.
If the SOW has no change control, scope creep is guaranteed.
If the SOW has no owner, success is accidental.

Step-by-step SOW acceptance

Step 1: Require a complete intake packet

Before you review, require:

SOW draft
rate card (if T&M)
timeline and milestones
billing format example (how invoices will look)
roles and staffing plan
data access requirements and dependencies
subcontractors (if any)

Use the intake template below.

Step 2: Confirm ownership and decision rights

Assign:

business owner (accountable for outcomes and budget)
delivery owner (accountable for day-to-day governance)
finance/AP contact (invoice controls)
procurement/legal reviewer (as needed)

If no one owns it, do not sign.

Step 3: Define deliverables and acceptance criteria

For each deliverable, define:

what is included
what is excluded
the acceptance test (how you confirm it is complete)
what evidence must be provided

If the SOW is vague, add a deliverables table. Do not rely on verbal agreements.

Step 4: Set payment structure that matches deliverables

Best practice for fixed fee:

tie payments to deliverables and acceptance
avoid "paid on time elapsed" without deliverables

For T&M:

set weekly reporting expectations
cap hours by role per week
require approval for overruns

Step 5: Install change control

Define triggers that require a change order:

new deliverable
timeline extension beyond X weeks
hours forecast exceeds plan by X percent
new role or seniority tier added
material change in assumptions or dependencies

If change control is not explicit, add it.

Step 6: Define invoice requirements (so AP can enforce)

Minimum invoice standard should include:

SOW reference
period of service
role, rate, hours (for T&M)
deliverables completed (for fixed fee)
expenses with receipts and pre-approval reference (if allowed)

If you do not enforce invoice standards, vendors will invoice in whatever format is easiest for them.

Use to align with your global rules.

Step 7: Confirm data access and dependencies

Most project overruns come from unclear dependencies.

In the SOW or an attached appendix, define:

what you provide (data, access, people)
what the vendor provides
what happens if dependencies slip

Step 8: Run a kickoff with the controls visible

Use the kickoff agenda below and explicitly review:

scope boundaries
reporting cadence
change control triggers
invoice format and submission process

Templates

A) SOW Intake Form (copy and paste)

Copyable template (TEXT)
SOW Intake Form

Vendor:
Project name:
Business owner:
Delivery owner:
Budget (estimate):
Contract type: Fixed fee / Time and materials / Hybrid
Start date:
Target end date:

Deliverables summary (one sentence each):
1)
2)
3)

Staffing plan:
- Roles and seniority:
- Expected hours per week (T&M):
- Subcontractors (yes/no; list):

Dependencies and access:
- Data needed:
- Systems access needed:
- People needed (internal SMEs):

Billing:
- Billing frequency:
- Invoice format sample attached: yes/no
- Expenses allowed: yes/no
- Expense pre-approval rule defined: yes/no

Change control:
- Triggers defined: yes/no

Approvals:
- Business owner:
- Finance/AP:
- Procurement:
- Legal (if needed):

B) SOW Acceptance Checklist (copy and paste)

Copyable template (TEXT)
SOW Acceptance Checklist

Scope and deliverables
- Deliverables are listed and unambiguous
- Exclusions are stated (what is not included)
- Acceptance criteria exists for each deliverable
- Timeline is realistic and dependencies are identified

Commercial terms
- Fixed fee: payments tied to deliverables and acceptance
- T&M: role-rate-hours breakdown exists
- Rate card is attached and agreed
- Weekly reporting requirement is included
- Not-to-exceed (NTE) or budget guardrails exist (if applicable)

Invoice and evidence
- Invoice must reference SOW + period of service
- T&M invoices must include role, rate, hours, amount
- Fixed fee invoices must reference completed deliverables
- Expenses require pre-approval and receipts (if allowed)

Change control
- Change order triggers defined
- Who approves changes defined
- Changes must be written before work proceeds

Risk and delivery
- Owners assigned (business + delivery)
- Dependencies documented
- Data access expectations documented
- Subcontractors disclosed (if any)

C) Deliverables and acceptance table (copy and paste)

Deliverable	Included	Excluded	Acceptance criteria	Evidence required	Due date

D) Kickoff agenda (30 minutes)

scope boundaries and exclusions
deliverables and acceptance criteria
weekly reporting cadence
invoice format and submission rules
change control triggers and approvals
risks and dependencies
next steps and owners

Common pitfalls (avoid)

"Strategic advisory" without defined outputs
T&M with no weekly reporting expectation
expenses allowed with no pre-approval or receipts
change orders handled verbally
milestones paid without acceptance criteria