What's in a typical AV scope of works?

A typical AV scope of works (SoW) defines exactly what the integrator will deliver, what the client supplies and what is excluded, broken into roughly eleven sections covering rooms, equipment, programming, network, acoustics, commissioning, handover, training, warranty, support transition and exclusions. A good SoW removes ambiguity before contract; a vague SoW is where most disputes start.

Standard sections you should expect to see:

• Room schedule. Every room listed by name, purpose (huddle, standard meeting, boardroom, training, broadcast), capacity and required functions (one-touch join, recording, BYOD).
• Equipment list (Bill of Quantities, BOQ). Manufacturer, model number, quantity and unit cost per room. No "TBC" lines at sign-off stage.
• Programming specification. Touch panel UI flows, automation rules, scheduled events, integrations with calendar, lighting and shades.
• Network requirements. VLAN structure, bandwidth per room, PoE ports, IP ranges, firewall rules, AVoIP multicast settings if used.
• Acoustic and structural requirements. Microphone and speaker positioning, cable runs, containment, structural fixings for displays and video walls.
• Commissioning plan. Per-room sign-off criteria, test scripts, acceptance certificates.
• Handover documentation. As-built drawings, equipment register, network diagram, programming source files held in escrow or delivered to client.
• End-user training. Typically one to two sessions per room type, recorded for new joiners and refreshes.
• Warranty. Manufacturer warranty pass-through plus integrator workmanship warranty (commonly 12 months).
• Support transition. Move into SLA, named technical contact, response and fix targets.
• Exclusions. Usually data cabling, building works, FFE (furniture, fixtures and equipment), platform licences (Teams, Zoom, Webex), main power circuits.

Strong SoWs also list assumptions and dependencies: site access windows, power availability, network readiness, who owns programme slippage costs. These are the items that quietly drift on every project and the SoW is where they get nailed down.

When the SoW is produced as part of consultation and design rather than written retrospectively against an existing build, it doubles as the design intent document and feeds straight into project management for delivery tracking.

Quick reference: typical AV SoW = room schedule + BOQ + programming spec + network requirements + acoustic and structural needs + commissioning plan + handover docs + training + warranty + support transition + exclusions; assumptions and dependencies kill more projects than missing line items.