Time-and-Materials Statement of Work Template for Contract IT and NetSuite Resources
Roles, hourly rates, a not-to-exceed cap and weekly approval, written as a Word file you can fill in today.
Free Word file for a work email. Or read the whole template on this page.
A time-and-materials SOW for contract IT and NetSuite resources names each role and hourly bill rate, sets a not-to-exceed cap, requires weekly timesheet approval, defines acceptance per deliverable and states conversion terms. It is hourly, not fixed-fee.
Last updated: October 22, 2026
You need a contract developer or a NetSuite admin for the next few months. You have a budget, a manager and a start date. Sound familiar? What you don’t have is the paperwork that says what the person is for, what an hour costs, who approves the hours each week and who gets to say the work is done.
That paperwork is a time-and-materials SOW, and it’s shorter than you’d guess. Eight clauses cover it. Each one answers a question somebody will ask in week six, usually at a bad moment.
I wrote this one for hourly work on purpose. If you searched for a software development statement of work, this is the version for developers and admins you direct yourself, billed under contract staffing and approved every week. Hourly, start to finish. Sizing the team comes first, and our ERP contract team calculator does that part, inside the IT staffing services KORE1 has run since 2005.
Download the Time-and-Materials SOW Template
One work email and the Word file is yours. It carries the same eight clauses as the template below, with every blank shaded so nothing slips through when you fill it in.
Eight clauses
Parties and term, roles and rates, the cap, weekly approval, acceptance, exclusions, conversion and notice, written to paste into your own paper.
The rate table
Blank hourly-rate rows next to a KORE1 Contract Rate Index reference table that you delete before you send it.
Blanks you will change
Hours, days and percentages sit in shaded brackets, like the 75% cap alert and the three-day approval window.
Where should we send it?
Work email, please. We use your details to respond to this request. See our privacy policy.
Your template is ready
Download it, fill the shaded blanks and send it to your approver.
Download the Word File ↓Next
Want real numbers in the rate table? Tell us the roles, start date, length and not-to-exceed budget and a KORE1 recruiter sends bill rates for your metro. The 2026 Contract Rate Card has all 1,365 cells.
Watch the Time-and-Materials SOW Template Explained
Video chapters
- 0:00 — What Goes in a Time-and-Materials SOW
- 0:57 — How a Not-to-Exceed Works on Hourly Billing
- 1:42 — What Belongs in Assumptions and Exclusions
- 2:18 — How to Fill In the Template
- 2:45 — What the SOW Does and Does Not Promise
Read full transcript
You’re hiring a contract developer or a NetSuite admin. You’ve got a budget, a manager and a start date. What you don’t have is the paperwork that says what the person is for, what an hour costs, who approves the hours each week and who gets to say the work is done. That paperwork is a time-and-materials statement of work. It’s shorter than you’d guess. 8 clauses cover it, and each one answers a question somebody’s going to ask in week 6. Parties and term. Roles and hourly bill rates. A not-to-exceed cap. Weekly timesheet approval. Acceptance for each deliverable. Then assumptions and exclusions, conversion terms and a termination notice. It’s built for hourly work on purpose. This isn’t a fixed-fee template, it’s for developers and admins you direct yourself and bill under contract staffing, and every blank is shaded in the Word file so nothing slips through when you fill it in. For the rate table, start from real numbers. KORE1’s median bill rate for a software engineer is $105 an hour. For an ERP, NetSuite or Salesforce consultant, it’s $91. Then set your own.
A not-to-exceed is a ceiling on the bill, not a price for the work. You still pay for approved hours at the rate in the statement of work. The cap just says nobody bills past a number you both signed, so set it from the hours you expect and then add a cushion you can defend when somebody asks. Take one software engineer for one quarter. That’s 13 weeks at 40 hours, so 520 hours at $105. The bill comes to $54,600. Sign a $60,000 cap and you’ve bought about 51 hours of cushion. Then watch it. The template asks for an alert when billing reaches 75% of the cap, which gives you time to choose. Raise the cap in writing, cut hours or let the work end, because all three are fine, and finding out on the invoice is the one choice that really isn’t a choice at all.
The part nobody wants to write is the part that saves the project. Assumptions are what you’ll provide. Exclusions are what you aren’t buying. A cheaper quote is usually cheaper by exclusion, not by efficiency, so compare the exclusions before you compare the totals, and make your own list as long as it needs to be, even if the paperwork runs a page longer than your last vendor’s. Software licences. Hardware and travel. End-user training. Data cleanup past a row count you name. Support after the end date. Write every one of them down. On an ERP or NetSuite engagement, the seats that go missing are usually the project manager, user acceptance testing and data cleanup, so put them on paper now, not in week 9.
Fill it in order. Teams usually get the basics done in an afternoon, and the exclusions take longer than the rest. They should. Name the parties and the dates. Write each role and its hourly rate. Set the cap. Name an approver and a backup. Give every deliverable a test for done. Then add assumptions, conversion and notice. A timesheet nobody opens is the same as no approval at all, so name a backup approver, and keep the 1,040-hour conversion if you might hire the person down the line.
Three promises from KORE1 go in writing. Contractors show up on time. They’re paid every Friday. And they can become your employee with no conversion fee. The conversion comes after 1,040 hours, about 26 weeks full time. Before that, a hire follows the conversion terms in your master services agreement. One promise is left out on purpose. Contract hours carry no replacement guarantee. You direct the person, so the fit is yours to manage. You might be wondering if this is a fixed-fee template. It isn’t. It’s hourly only, and the cap limits the total without turning it into a fixed price, though directing hourly contractors also has a classification side, so have your own counsel and procurement review the template before anyone signs. Get the Word file at KORE1.com. Then tell us the roles, the start date and your budget, and a KORE1 recruiter sends bill rates for your metro.
What Goes in a Time-and-Materials SOW?
Eight clauses, in this order. The left column tells you how often a person has to act on each one, so you can see who touches the SOW after it’s signed. Replace every shaded blank.
KORE1 · Statement of Work
Time-and-Materials Statement of Work
Reading the left column
- Once Signed when the SOW is signed.
- Weekly Every week, on a timesheet.
- Per deliverable Each time a deliverable lands.
- On change Only when a change is put in writing.
- At 1,040 hours Once, if you may hire the person.
- On notice Only if someone ends it.
- Hatched Not in scope.
Once
Both parties sign
1 Parties and term
1.1
This Statement of Work is between [Client legal name] (“Client”) and [Provider legal name] (“Provider”) under the Master Services Agreement dated [MSA date]. If this SOW and the MSA disagree, the MSA controls unless this SOW names the section it replaces.
1.2
The term runs from [start date] to [end date]. Either party can extend it in writing, and section 8 ends it early.
1.3
Provider supplies the contract resources in section 2 to work on [one sentence describing the work]. Client directs the day-to-day work of each resource.
Once
Both parties sign
2 Roles and hourly bill rates
2.1
Provider bills each role for the hours worked, at the hourly bill rate in the table. Rates hold for the term and change only by a written amendment.
Rate table for 2.1, with the KORE1 Contract Rate Index 2026-Q4 beside your blanks
| Role | Your rate | Low | Median | High | KORE1 cell |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ERP / NetSuite / Salesforce consultant | [$ per hour] | $73 | $91 | $123 | Multi-staten=15 |
| Software engineer / developer | [$ per hour] | $91 | $105 | $120 | Primarily Southern Californian=16 |
| Business analyst | [$ per hour] | $90 | $116 | $120 | Primarily Southern Californian=10 |
| Business systems analyst | [$ per hour] | $99 | $99 | $103 | Primarily Southern Californian=6 |
Reference rates are the 25th percentile, median and 75th percentile of KORE1 bill rates in each cell of the KORE1 Contract Rate Index 2026-Q4, effective October 16, 2026. Cells come from KORE1 W2 contract placements started 2023 to 2026, with five or more in each. Delete the reference table before you send the SOW. The Word file adds Level, Hours per week and Start date columns.
2.2
Hours over [40] in a week bill at [overtime rate] and only when Client approves them before they are worked.
2.3
Travel and other expenses are billed at cost only when Client approves them in advance. [Or write “No expenses apply.”]
On change
Client signs
3 Not-to-exceed budget cap
3.1
Total fees under this SOW will not exceed $[cap amount] (the “Cap”) unless Client signs a written change that raises it.
3.2
Provider tells Client in writing when billed fees reach [75]% of the Cap, with a forecast of the hours left to the end date.
3.3
Provider will not work or bill past the Cap until Client signs that change.
3.4
The Cap is a ceiling on what Client can be billed. It is not a price. Client pays for approved hours worked, up to the Cap.
Weekly
Client approves
4 Weekly timesheet approval
4.1
Each resource submits a timesheet for the week by [Friday, 5:00 p.m. Pacific].
4.2
Client’s approver, [name and title], approves or disputes each timesheet within [3] business days. Approved hours are billable. [Backup approver, name and title]
4.3
A dispute names the hours and the reason in writing. Hours that are not disputed stay approved.
4.4
Provider pays its resources every Friday and invoices Client [weekly] on [net 30] terms.
Per deliverable
Client accepts
5 Deliverables and acceptance
5.1
Each deliverable, its due date and the test for done are listed in the table.
| Deliverable | Due date | Test for done | Accepted by |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Deliverable 1] | [Date] | [What a stranger could check] | [Name] |
| [Deliverable 2] | [Date] | [What a stranger could check] | [Name] |
5.2
Client reviews a deliverable within [5] business days of delivery and either accepts it or lists what is missing against the criteria. [A deliverable Client does not reject in that window is accepted.]
5.3
Acceptance confirms the work meets the criteria. It does not release payment. Hours are billed every week under section 4.
On change
Both parties sign
6 Assumptions and exclusions
6.1
Assumptions. Client will provide [system access by day 3], [a named product owner], [a test environment with sample data] and [decision-makers in the meetings that need them]. If an assumption fails, the parties update the schedule and the Cap by written change.
6.2
Exclusions. The following is not part of this SOW.
- [Software licences and subscriptions]
- [Hardware and travel]
- [End-user training]
- [Data cleanup beyond a row count you name]
- [Production support after the end date]
- [Add your own]
6.3
Anything this SOW does not describe is out of scope. Adding it takes a written change signed by both parties before the work starts.
At 1,040 hours
Client decides
7 Conversion terms
7.1
Client may hire any resource placed under this SOW as an employee, with no conversion fee from Provider, once that resource has worked 1,040 hours for Client.
7.2
[Approved timesheet hours under this SOW count toward the 1,040.] Client gives Provider [10] business days’ written notice before the start date.
7.3
A hire before 1,040 hours follows the conversion terms in the MSA.
On notice
Either party
8 Termination notice
8.1
Either party can end this SOW, or remove a resource, with [10] business days’ written notice.
8.2
Hours worked through the end date are billable and payable under section 4.
8.3
Client closes the resource’s access to its systems on the last day.
Signatures
- Client
- [Name] [Title] [Date]
- Provider
- [Name] [Title] [Date]
Shaded numbers are starting points, not KORE1 terms. The only KORE1 terms in this template are Friday pay and conversion with no fee after 1,040 hours. This is a template, not legal advice. Have your own counsel and procurement review it before anyone signs.
Where KORE1 has fewer than five placements in a cell, the index models the rate from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, with a 24% employer burden and the bill range KORE1 observes. All four cells in the table are observed. The full method is public, and the 2026 Contract Rate Card lists 1,365 cells by role, level and city, and the IT contractor rates by city board puts the same index on one page for 22 cities.
How Does a Not-to-Exceed Work on Hourly Billing?
A not-to-exceed is a ceiling on the bill, not a price for the work. You still pay for approved hours at the rate in section 2. The cap just says nobody bills past a number you both signed. That’s it.
“Hourly, which we prefer. It’s really more of a staffing model to do the hourly billing and you manage the person.”
Devin Hornick, KORE1 partner
Set the cap from the hours you expect, then add a cushion you can defend. The example beside this shows one software engineer for one quarter. A $60,000 cap on a $54,600 quarter buys about 51 extra hours, a week and a bit, which covers the sick day or the deliverable that slips without anybody having to reopen the SOW.
Then watch it. Section 3 asks for an alert at 75% of the cap, which gives you time to choose. Raise the cap in writing, cut hours or let the SOW end. All three are fine. Finding out on the invoice is the one that isn’t.
Overtime counts against the cap too, so decide in section 2 whether you’ll approve it at all, and remember that for W2 contractors the rules come from the U.S. Department of Labor and your state.
- Median bill rate, software engineer$105 an hour
- 13 weeks at 40 hours520 hours
- 520 hours at $105$54,600
- The cap you sign$60,000
- Cushion, $60,000 less $54,600$5,400
- Cushion in hours, $5,400 over $10551 hours
- Last billable hour at the capHour 571
Median bill rate of 16 KORE1 software engineer placements, primarily Southern California (KORE1 Contract Rate Index 2026-Q4). Use your own rate and hours, or run them through the contract staffing cost calculator.
17 weeks
typical length of a KORE1 contract, 116 days across 1,887 assignments
1,040
hours before a KORE1 contractor can convert with no fee, about 26 weeks full time
$91
an hour, the median bill rate for an ERP, NetSuite or Salesforce consultant (n=15, multi-state)
$105
an hour, the median bill rate for a software engineer (n=16, primarily Southern California)
Figures come from KORE1 W2 contract placements dated 2019 to 2026, the same records behind the Contract Rate Index 2026-Q4. Rates are bill rates for placements started 2023 to 2026.
What Belongs in Assumptions and Exclusions?
The part of a SOW nobody wants to write is the part that saves the project. Assumptions are what you’ll provide. Exclusions are what you aren’t buying. Write both down. Boring, and worth it.
A cheaper quote is usually cheaper by exclusion, not by efficiency. So compare the exclusions before you compare the totals, and make your own list as long as it needs to be, even if that means the SOW runs a page longer than the one your last vendor sent over.
Assume
- System access by day 3.
- One named product owner who can say yes.
- A test environment with data that looks real.
Exclude
- Software licences and subscriptions.
- Hardware and travel.
- End-user training.
- Data cleanup past a row count you name.
- Production support after the end date.
On an ERP or NetSuite engagement the seats that go missing are usually the project manager, user acceptance testing and data cleanup. The calculator prices them so they show up in the SOW instead of in week nine. Cheap insurance. Hand the list to your contract NetSuite developers on day one, along with the system access and the named product owner it assumes, and they stay on the work you hired them for.
How Do You Fill In the Template?
Seven moves, in order. Most teams finish the first five in an afternoon. Nice.
Name the parties and the dates.
Client, Provider, the MSA date, the start and the end. Check the MSA reference first, because it decides which paper wins.
Write each role and its hourly rate.
One row per person. Start from the index range in the table, then set your own number.
Set the cap.
Hours times rate, plus a cushion you can defend. Write the total.
Name the approver and a backup.
A timesheet nobody opens is the same as no approval at all.
Give every deliverable a test for done.
A due date, plus criteria a stranger could check.
Write the assumptions and the exclusions.
Say what you’ll provide, then what you aren’t buying.
Add conversion and notice.
Keep the 1,040-hour conversion if you might hire the person. Pick a notice period you can live with.
The exclusions take longer than the rest. They should. If you’d rather hand over the whole project than the hours, that’s IT project staffing, and our SOW staffing services page lines up the options.
What the SOW Does and Does Not Promise
This part is KORE1 talking, not me. Three promises go in writing. One is left out on purpose.
Promised
Contractors show up on time
Each contractor starts on the date in section 1 and works the hours on the timesheet.
How contract staffing worksPromised
Paid every Friday
KORE1 pays every contractor on Friday, so your people are paid on schedule while you manage the work.
What the burden pays forPromised
Convert after 1,040 hours
A contractor can become your employee with no conversion fee once they’ve worked 1,040 hours.
What contract staffing isNot promised
No replacement guarantee
Contract hours carry no replacement guarantee. You direct the person, so the fit is yours to manage.
Contract staffing at KORE1
KORE1 contractors are paid every Friday and can convert to full-time with no fee after 1,040 hours. Those are the terms in the template that come from us, together with the on-time start, and everything else in brackets, from the notice period to the overtime rate, is yours to set. For the money side of conversion, see how contract-to-hire compares with direct hire on cost.
Directing hourly contractors has a classification side, and it’s worth ten minutes before you sign. Start with how SOW spend gets misclassified and the wider contractor misclassification risk. Then hit me up.
Common Questions
What should a time-and-materials SOW include?
A time-and-materials SOW should include the parties and term, each role with its hourly bill rate, a not-to-exceed cap, weekly timesheet approval, deliverables with acceptance criteria, assumptions and exclusions, conversion terms and a termination notice. The template has all eight. Don’t skip the exclusions or the approver’s name, because both are cheap to write now and expensive to argue about later.
What does not-to-exceed mean in a SOW?
Not-to-exceed is a ceiling on total billing under the SOW, and nobody bills past it unless the client signs a written change, which is why the alert in section 3 matters so much. You still pay hourly for approved hours, so a project that finishes under the cap costs less than the cap. It’s a budget guard, not a price.
Is this a fixed-fee SOW template?
No, this template is hourly only. KORE1 bills contract IT and NetSuite resources by the hour, and the cap limits the total without turning it into a fixed price. Fixed-fee work is a consulting-firm model, and staffing firms generally don’t take it on.
How often should the client approve timesheets?
Every week, because weekly approval keeps the running total close to the cap and catches a wrong entry while the work is still fresh, before anyone has forgotten what the hours were for. Set a deadline, like three business days, and name a backup approver, because a timesheet nobody opens can stall an invoice.
Can a contractor convert to full-time under a T&M SOW?
Yes, a KORE1 contractor can convert to a full-time employee of the client with no fee after 1,040 hours, about 26 weeks at 40 hours a week. Say so in section 7 and decide which hours count. A hire before that follows the conversion terms in your MSA.
Hit Me Up With the Roles and the Budget
Tell us the roles, the start date, the length and your not-to-exceed budget. A KORE1 recruiter takes it from there and sends bill rates for your metro.
Send Us the Roles →Not yet? Download the template first, or browse the 2026 Contract Rate Card.
