Template

Downloaded times
Use template
Legally vetted
E-signature
Track opens & views

Between:


FIRST_NAME
LAST_NAME
Corporation Corp.
‍ Acme LLC.
Client

FIRST_NAME
LAST_NAME
Corporation Corp.

First_name
Last_name
Acme LLC.
Client

First_name
Last_name
Corporation Corp.

Architect Scope Of Work Template

Fully editable with custom branding and templated offering.

Bonsai has helped create 1,023,928 documents and counting.

Trusted by 500,000+
business owners

“My best friend in scaling my business

Like putting my finances on auto-pilot”

Bonsai does the hard work”

Everything is streamlined”

Huge timesaver”

It’s been the most stress-free year of my life!”

I feel more confident”

Backbone of my business”

“So simple”

“Clients love how easy my systems are

A must-have!”

“I do less admin and do more of what I love

“Worry-free contracts and invoices

“It pays for itself”

Great customer service!”

A life-saver!”

Clients take me more seriously”

“I upped my rates and won more clients

Date: March 8th 2023


Between:

Coach:

First_name
Last_name
Acme LLC.
Client:

First_name
Last_name
Corporation Corp.

This Contract is between Client (the "Client") and Acme LLC, a California limited liability company (the "Coach").

The Contract is dated January 23, 2023.

1. WORK AND PAYMENT.

1.1 Project. The Client is hiring the Coach to develop a coaching relationship between the Client and Coach in order to cultivate the Client's personal, professional, or business goals and create a plan to achieve those goals through stimulating and creative interactions with the ultimate result of maximizing the Client's personal or professional potential.

1.2 Schedule. The Coach will begin work on February 1, 2023 and will continue until the work is completed. This Contract can be ended by either Client or Coach at any time, pursuant to the terms of Section 4, Term and Termination.

The Coach and Client will meet by video conference, 4 days per month for 2 hours.

1.3 Payment. The Client will pay the Coach an hourly rate of $150. Of this, the Client will pay the Coach $500.00 (USD) before work begins.

1.4 Expenses. The Client will reimburse the Coach's expenses. Expenses do not need to be pre-approved by the Client.

1.5 Invoices. The Coach will invoice the Client in accordance with the milestones in Section 1.3. The Client agrees to pay the amount owed within 15 days of receiving the invoice. Payment after that date will incur a late fee of 1.0% per month on the outstanding amount.

1.6 Support. The Coach will not be available by telephone, or email in between scheduled sessions.

2.DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.

- A coaching relationship is a partnership between two or more individuals or entities, like a teacher-student or coach-athlete relationship. Both the Client and Coach must uphold their obligations for the relationship to be successful.

- The Coach agrees to maintain the ethics and standards of behavior established by the International Coaching Federation (ICF).

- The Client acknowledges and agrees that coaching is a comprehensive process that may explore different areas of the Client's life, including work, finances, health, and relationships.

- The Client is responsible for implementing the insights and techniques learned from the Coach.

3. REPRESENTATIONS.

3.1 Overview. This section contains important promises between the parties.

3.2 Authority To Sign. Each party promises to the other party that it has the authority to enter into this Contract and to perform all of its obligations under this Contract.

3.3 Coach Has Right To Give Client Work Product. The Coach promises that it owns the work product, that the Coach is able to give the work product to the Client, and that no other party will claim that it owns the work product. If the Coach uses employees or subcontractors, the Coach also promises that these employees and subcontractors have signed contracts with the Coach giving the Coach any rights that the employees or subcontractors have related to the Coach's background IP and work product.

3.4 Coach Will Comply With Laws. The Coach promises that the manner it does this job, its work product, and any background IP it uses comply with applicable U.S. and foreign laws and regulations.

3.5 Work Product Does Not Infringe. The Coach promises that its work product does not and will not infringe on someone else's intellectual property rights, that the Coach has the right to let the Client use the background IP, and that this Contract does not and will not violate any contract that the Coach has entered into or will enter into with someone else.

3.7 Client-Supplied Material Does Not Infringe. If the Client provides the Coach with material to incorporate into the work product, the Client promises that this material does not infringe on someone else's intellectual property rights.

4. TERM AND TERMINATION

This Contract is ongoing until it expires or the work is completed. Either party may end this Contract for any reason by sending an email or letter to the other party, informing the recipient that the sender is ending the Contract and that the Contract will end in 7 days. The Contract officially ends once that time has passed. The party that is ending the Contract must provide notice by taking the steps explained in Section 9.4. The Coach must immediately stop working as soon as it receives this notice unless the notice says otherwise.

If either party ends this Contract before the Contract automatically ends, the Client will pay the Contractor for the work done up until when the Contract ends. The following sections don't end even after the Contract ends: 3 (Representations); 6 (Confidential Information); 7 (Limitation of Liability); 8 (Indemnity); and 9 (General).

3. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR.

The Client is hiring the Coach as an independent contractor. The following statements accurately reflect their relationship:

- The Coach will use its own equipment, tools, and material to do the work.

- The Client will not control how the job is performed on a day-to-day basis. Rather, the Coach is responsible for determining when, where, and how it will carry out the work.

- The Client will not provide the Coach with any training.

- The Client and the Coach do not have a partnership or employer-employee relationship.

- The Coach cannot enter into contracts, make promises, or act on behalf of the Client.

- The Coach is not entitled to the Client's benefits (e.g., group insurance, retirement benefits, retirement plans, vacation days).

- The Coach is responsible for its own taxes.

- The Client will not withhold social security and Medicare taxes or make payments for disability insurance, unemployment insurance, or workers compensation for the Coach or any of the Coach's employees or subcontractors.

6. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.

6.1 Overview. This Contract imposes special restrictions on how the Client and the Coach must handle confidential information. These obligations are explained in this section.

6.2 The Client's Confidential Information. While working for the Client, the Coach may come across, or be given, Client information that is confidential. This is information like customer lists, business strategies, research & development notes, statistics about a website, and other information that is private. The Coach promises to treat this information as if it is the Coach's own confidential information. The Coach may use this information to do its job under this Contract, but not for anything else. For example, if the Client lets the Coach use a customer list to send out a newsletter, the Coach cannot use those email addresses for any other purpose. The one exception to this is if the Client gives the Coach written permission to use the information for another purpose, the Coach may use the information for that purpose, as well. When this Contract ends, the Coach must give back or destroy all confidential information, and confirm that it has done so. The Coach promises that it will not share confidential information with a third party, unless the Client gives the Coach written permission first. The Coach must continue to follow these obligations, even after the Contract ends. The Coach's responsibilities only stop if the Coach can show any of the following: (i) that the information was already public when the Coach came across it; (ii) the information became public after the Coach came across it, but not because of anything the Coach did or didn't do; (iii) the Coach already knew the information when the Coach came across it and the Coach didn't have any obligation to keep it secret; (iv) a third party provided the Coach with the information without requiring that the Coach keep it a secret; or (v) the Coach created the information on its own, without using anything belonging to the Client.

6.3 Third-Party Confidential Information. It's possible the Client and the Coach each have access to confidential information that belongs to third parties. The Client and the Coach each promise that it will not share with the other party confidential information that belongs to third parties, unless it is allowed to do so. If the Client or the Coach is allowed to share confidential information with the other party and does so, the sharing party promises to tell the other party in writing of any special restrictions regarding that information.

7. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.

Neither party is liable for breach-of-contract damages that the breaching party could not reasonably have foreseen when it entered this Contract.

8. INDEMNITY.

8.1 Overview. This section transfers certain risks between the parties if a third party sues or goes after the Client or the Coach or both. For example, if the Client gets sued for something that the Coach did, then the Coach may promise to come to the Client's defense or to reimburse the Client for any losses.

8.2 Client Indemnity. In this Contract, the Coach agrees to indemnify the Client (and its affiliates and their directors, officers, employees, and agents) from and against all liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) related to a third-party claim or proceeding arising out of: (i) the work the Coach has done under this Contract; (ii) a breach by the Coach of its obligations under this Contract; or (iii) a breach by the Coach of the promises it is making in Section 3 (Representations).

8.3 Coach Indemnity. In this Contract, the Client agrees to indemnify the Coach (and its affiliates and their directors, officers, employees, and agents) from and against liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) related to a third-party claim or proceeding arising out of a breach by the Client of its obligations under this Contract.

9. GENERAL.

9.1 Assignment​. This Contract applies only to the Client and the Coach. Neither the Client nor the Coach can assign its rights or delegate its obligations under this Contract to a third-party (other than by will or intestate), without first receiving the other's written permission.

9.2 Arbitration. As the exclusive means of initiating adversarial proceedings to resolve any dispute arising under this Contract, a party may demand that the dispute be resolved by arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association in accordance with its commercial arbitration rules.

9.3 Modification; Waiver. To change anything in this Contract, the Client and the Coach must agree to that change in writing and sign a document showing their contract. Neither party can waive its rights under this Contract or release the other party from its obligations under this Contract, unless the waiving party acknowledges it is doing so in writing and signs a document that says so.

9.4. Noticies.

(a) Over the course of this Contract, one party may need to send a notice to the other party. For the notice to be valid, it must be in writing and delivered in one of the following ways: personal delivery, email, or certified or registered mail (postage prepaid, return receipt requested). The notice must be delivered to the party's address listed at the end of this Contract or to another address that the party has provided in writing as an appropriate address to receive notice.

(b) The timing of when a notice is received can be very important. To avoid confusion, a valid notice is considered received as follows: (i) if delivered personally, it is considered received immediately; (ii) if delivered by email, it is considered received upon acknowledgement of receipt; (iii) if delivered by registered or certified mail (postage prepaid, return receipt requested), it is considered received upon receipt as indicated by the date on the signed receipt. If a party refuses to accept notice or if notice cannot be delivered because of a change in address for which no notice was given, then it is considered received when the notice is rejected or unable to be delivered. If the notice is received after 5:00pm on a business day at the location specified in the address for that party, or on a day that is not a business day, then the notice is considered received at 9:00am on the next business day.

9.5 Severability. This section deals with what happens if a portion of the Contract is found to be unenforceable. If that's the case, the unenforceable portion will be changed to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, unless that change is not permitted by law, in which case the portion will be disregarded. If any portion of the Contract is changed or disregarded because it is unenforceable, the rest of the Contract is still enforceable.

9.6 Signatures. The Client and the Coach must sign this document using Bonsai's e-signing system. These electronic signatures count as originals for all purposes.

9.7 Governing Law. The validity, interpretation, construction and performance of this document shall be governed by the laws of the United States of America.

9.8 Entire Contract. This Contract represents the parties' final and complete understanding of this job and the subject matter discussed in this Contract. This Contract supersedes all other contracts (both written and oral) between the parties.

THE PARTIES HERETO AGREE TO THE FOREGOING AS EVIDENCED BY THEIR SIGNATURES BELOW.

Coach

First_name
Last_name
Acme LLC.
Client

First_name
Last_name
Corporation Corp.
Table of contents

As an architect, you help make other people's lives easier. You help  build the businesses and homes of their dreams, making sure that the final product is both structurally sound and aesthetically pleasing. But what does it take to get to that point?

For starters, you need a comprehensive scope of work contract. This document serves as a blueprint for the entire project, laying out exactly what your responsibilities are and what the client can expect from you. 

In this article, you’ll learn how to create scope of work contracts, so you can be sure that you're always protecting your interests.

Note: If you'd like access to our full suite of templates, try Bonsai today. We have architectural proposal templates as well as invoices so you can focus on growing your business. Claim your 14-day free trial today.

What Is An Architect's Scope Of Work Contract?

A scope of work contract (or SOW contract) is a legally binding agreement between an architect and their client. It outlines the services that the architect will provide, as well as the terms of those services.

The contract should be as specific as possible, so that there is no room for misunderstanding. For example, if you are hired to design a new home, your contract should specify the size of the home, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the style of the home, etc.

Who Gives A Statement Of Work?

In most cases, it is the architect who will give the client a statement of work. This is because the architect is the one who will be responsible for delivering the project. 

However, in some cases, the client may request a scope of work from the architect.

For example, if the project is very complex, the client may want to have a detailed understanding of the architect's roles and responsibilities.

It is also worth noting that a scope of work contract can be used for projects other than construction. For example, if you are hired to write a book, your contract should specify the length of the book, the deadline for completion, and how much you will be paid.

What About AIA Contract Documents?

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. The AIA offers a variety of contract documents -- which are now recognized as the industry standard -- that can be used for both small and large projects.

One of the most popular AIA contract documents is the AIA A201 General Conditions of the Contract for Construction. This document outlines the general terms and conditions of the construction contract, including the roles and responsibilities of the architect and the client.

Another popular AIA contract document is the AIA A107 Standard General Conditions of the Contract for Construction. This document is similar to the A201, but it is specifically for smaller projects.

It's important to note that you are not required to use AIA contract documents. However, many architects find them to be helpful, as they provide a starting point for the negotiation process.

These documents can also be very helpful when creating a scope of work contract, as they provide a template that can be used to create a legally binding agreement.

Elements of an Architectural Scope of Work Contract

Every scope of work contract will be different, but some basic elements should be included in every contract. These include:

Timeline and Deliverables

An important element that should be included in your scope of work contract is a timeline. This will outline when certain tasks need to be completed and when the project will be considered finished.

It's important to be realistic with your timeline. You don't want to set unrealistic expectations for yourself or the client. If you're not sure how long a task will take, it's better to overestimate the amount of time it will take to complete the task. This way, you won't find yourself in a situation where you're rushing to finish a task and end up doing a subpar job.

In addition to a timeline, you'll also want to include deliverables in your contract. Deliverables are the products or services that you will provide to the client. This could include things like design plans, construction documents, or project administration services.

Again, it's important to be specific when outlining the deliverables in your contract. You'll want to make sure that the client knows exactly what they're getting from you and when they can expect to receive it.

Duties and Responsibilities

The next element of your scope of work contract should be a list of your duties and responsibilities. This will outline what you are expected to do during the project.

Some common duties and responsibilities that are typically included in scope of work contracts include:

  • Initial Consultation: This is the first meeting between you and the client. During this meeting, you'll discuss the project goals and objectives and get an idea of what the client is looking for.
  • Site Analysis: A site evaluation is conducted to understand the existing conditions of a site before any design work begins. This helps to inform the design process, confirm project feasibility, and ensure that the final product is responsive to the site conditions.
  • Design Concept: Once the site analysis is complete, you'll begin developing design concepts. This is where you'll start to sketch out your ideas for the project and create initial drawings.
  • Design Development: After the design concept phase is complete, you'll begin to develop the design further. This phase includes creating more detailed drawings and specifications.
  • Construction Documents: This phase includes creating drawings and specifications that will be used by the contractor to build the project.
  • Bidding and Negotiation: This is where you'll solicit bids from contractors and negotiate the terms of the contract.
  • Construction Administration: Once the contractor has been selected and the construction contract has been signed, you'll begin working with mechanical engineers, structural engineers, consultants, and other professionals to oversee the construction process. This includes regular site visits to ensure that the project is progressing as planned and that any issues that arise are addressed.
  • Project Close-Out: Once the project is complete, you'll conduct a final walk-through with the client to ensure that they are satisfied with the results. You'll also address any punch list items and ensure that all warranties and guarantees are in place.

Compensation

This section outlines how much you'll be paid for your services. There are a few different ways that architects are typically compensated. The most common method is by the hour. In this case, you'll want to include your hourly rate in the contract.

Another common method of compensation is a lump sum. With this method, you'll agree to provide all of the services outlined in the architect contract template for a set price. This can be beneficial if you're able to accurately estimate the amount of time that will be needed to complete the entire architectural design project.

Finally, some architects are compensated on a percentage basis. In this case, you'll receive a certain percentage of the total project cost. This method is typically used for larger projects.

Reports

The final element that should be included in your scope of work contract is a reporting requirement. This will outline how often you are expected to provide updates to the client on the project's progress.

Reporting requirements will vary depending on the project, but they typically range from weekly to monthly reports.

Download Bonsai's Free Architect's Scope Of Work Contract Template

Creating a scope of work contract doesn't have to be a daunting task. With Bonsai's free contract template, you can create a professional and legally binding document in minutes. Simply download the template, fill out the necessary information, and have your client sign it. Once you have a signed contract in place, you can focus on what's important – designing and building great projects. Claim your 14-day free trial here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about this template.

What are 5 responsibilities of an architect?

An architect plans, builds, programs, administers, researches, and designs a new project. An architect puts into practice understanding of architectural design, construction detailing, construction methods, zoning and building codes, and building materials and systems.

What are the 3 main functions of an architect?

An architect creates, outlines, lists construction project details, and administers building projects for clients.

What services do architects provide?

Architects typically design, prepare, and administer construction projects. A wide range of other services offered by architects include project management, architectural programming, and feasibility studies.