Pick the right processes first
You do not need an SOP for everything. Start with tasks that are done often, done by more than one person, costly when done wrong, or known by only one person.
What every SOP needs
- Purpose: one sentence on what this is for.
- Owner: the role responsible for keeping it current.
- When it applies: the trigger that starts the process.
- What you need: the systems, access and information required.
- The steps: in order, one action each.
- What done looks like: how to know it was completed correctly.
- Who to ask: where to go when something doesn't fit.
How to write it
- Watch the task being done and write down what actually happens, not what should happen.
- Use plain commands: "Open the invoice. Check the amount against the contract."
- Name the exact system, menu and field.
- Add a screenshot where the screen is confusing.
- Note the decisions: if this, do that.
- Keep it to a page or two. Split longer processes.
Test it
Give the draft to someone who has never done the task and watch them follow it. Every question they ask is a gap in the document. Fix those and it is ready.
Keep it alive
- Store every SOP in one place that everyone can find.
- Put a last-reviewed date at the top.
- Review each one at least once a year and whenever the system or process changes.
- Make updating the SOP part of changing the process.
Where to start
Good first candidates are onboarding and offboarding, invoicing and collections and vendor renewals.
We document how your company runs, fix the steps that break and write procedures your team can follow. See fractional operations management.