Writing a proposal and statement of work
You will be able to: List the sections of a proposal and a statement of work; Set payment milestones tied to deliverables; Protect both sides with assumptions, responsibilities and acceptance criteria.
- Read not done yet
- Self-check: not taken not done yet
- Lesson complete not done yet
A proposal wins the work. A statement of work (SOW) fixes what you will deliver, for what price and under what conditions. In small projects they are often one document. Whatever you call it, it must be specific enough that a stranger could tell whether the project was delivered.
Sections of a good SOW
- Background and objectives, in the client's words.
- Scope: modules, sites, users, processes, data to migrate.
- Deliverables with acceptance criteria: blueprint signed, system configured, migration reconciled, UAT passed, training given.
- Out of scope, stated plainly.
- Assumptions and client responsibilities: named key users, data files by dates, access to the server and printers.
- Timeline with milestones.
- Fees, payment milestones, expenses, and VAT.
- Change control: how a change is requested, estimated and approved.
- Warranty, post go-live support, and how support is priced.
- Validity of the offer and signatures.
Fees tied to deliverables
Pay on deliverables, not on dates. This protects the client and keeps you honest about progress. Software licences and subscriptions are separate from services and should be listed separately.
| Milestone | Share | Amount (AED) |
|---|---|---|
| Blueprint signed | 30% | 11,592 |
| Configuration complete and migration rehearsal reconciled | 30% | 11,592 |
| UAT signed off | 30% | 11,592 |
| Go-live plus 14 days hypercare | 10% | 3,864 |
| Total services, excluding VAT | 100% | 38,640 |
Check the arithmetic: 11,592 x 3 = 34,776, plus 3,864 = 38,640. VAT at 5% is 1,932, so the invoiced total is AED 40,572.
Protect both sides
- Client responsibilities: if they do not supply data on time, the timeline moves and the delay may be charged.
- Acceptance criteria: each deliverable is accepted after a stated number of working days, or by use in live operation.
- Limits: describe what you do not warrant, such as the client's own tax decisions or third-party systems.
- Confidentiality and data protection terms, covered in the delivery module.
Practise in the demo
- Draft the scope and out-of-scope paragraphs for a 10-user trading company.
- Compute your own milestone table for a price of AED 30,000 using 40/40/20 and check that it adds up.
- Open https://demo.zeyto.app/demo-app/ and sign in with the demo login. This is a public demo with sample data, so nothing you do there affects a real business.
Public demo company, sign in as admin / demoAdmin123. Data refreshes nightly.
- A SOW states scope, deliverables, exclusions, assumptions, price and change control.
- Tie payments to accepted deliverables.
- Precision in scope words prevents most disputes.
Check yourself
4 questions on this lesson. Not timed, not the exam, and you can try again. Score 60% or more, and read the lesson, to complete it.