On this page
Before you fill it in
Walk the process once before you write a single step.
The most common mistake with any SOP template is writing down what you think happens. Watch the person who does the job, or do it yourself with the template open, and write what really happens, shortcuts included. Improve it once it is on paper.
The template has the six parts every procedure I write has (purpose, trigger, steps, outcome, owner and exceptions) plus four lines that make it usable on a busy day: a title, the time it takes, the tools it needs and a review date.
The SOP template
Copy it into a document, or download the PDF. Everything in brackets is yours to replace.
Title [What the procedure does, starting with a verb: "Handle a customer complaint", not "Complaint SOP"]
Purpose [One sentence on why it exists: "So that every [event] ends with [result], every time."]
Starts when [The event that starts it, said exactly: "When a new customer books", not "For customers"]
Owner [One role, written as a job title. One person makes sure it runs, never a whole team]
Time [About how long it takes from start to finish]
Tools [Every account, file or system the person needs open before step 1, one per line]
Steps Number them in the order they happen, in the words your team uses.
- [The first action, exactly as it is done]. Who: [role]. Tool: [tool or note].
- [The next action]. Who: [role]. Tool: [tool or note].
- [A decision point, with both paths]: if [this], do [that]. If not, go to step [number].
- [Add a line for every action until the job is finished].
Done when [What is true when it was done right, in a form someone else can check]
Exceptions The odd cases, and who they go to.
- If [situation]: [what to do]. Escalate to [role] by [how].
- If [situation]: [what to do]. Escalate to [role] by [how].
Review Review by [date]. Reviewed by [role].
A filled-in example: the weekly invoicing run
Here is the template filled in for a job most businesses have. Times and tools stay in brackets, because yours will differ.
Purpose So that every finished job is invoiced correctly the same week, without the owner starting the run or checking each invoice.
Starts when Every [Friday afternoon], once the week's jobs are marked complete in [your job or accounting tool].
Owner [Office coordinator]
Time About [45 minutes].
Tools [Job or accounting tool], [the weekly revenue sheet], [the email templates folder].
- Pull every job marked complete this week that has no invoice.
- Check each one: the right service, the right rate, and any extras noted on the job.
- Create each invoice from the job record. Never type one from memory. Apply only discounts on the approved list; anything else goes to the owner first.
- Send the invoices and log each number and amount in [the weekly revenue sheet].
- Check the open invoices. Anything past [two weeks] gets one reminder from the past-due template, and the date goes in the sheet.
- Send the owner a short Friday summary: what was invoiced, what is still open, and anything that needs a decision.
Done when Every finished job has an invoice sent by [end of day Friday], the sheet is current, and the owner has the summary.
Exceptions
- If a job's notes are unclear: hold that invoice, ask the person who did the job, and if there is no answer by [end of day], ask the owner.
- If a customer disputes an amount: acknowledge it the same day, log it, and pass it to the owner. No credit or change goes out without the owner's OK.
Review Every quarter, by the office coordinator.
Five rules that make an SOP template work
- Name the owner by role. A procedure owned by the whole team gets skipped, and a person's name goes stale the week they leave.
- Use the team's words. If they call it "the board", the procedure says "the board".
- Write both paths at every decision. "If the customer says yes, book it. If not, go to step 6."
- Put the exceptions in. Nobody opens a procedure for the normal case. They open it when something odd happens.
- Set the review date now. Without one, the procedure is out of date the first time a tool or a price changes.
The longer version, with the accountability layer that makes procedures hold once they are written, is in how to write SOPs and accountability systems.
Fill it in with AI
If you already have notes, a voice memo or an old document, AI can write the first draft. Paste the template and your notes into Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini with this prompt:
PromptFill in this SOP template from my notes below. Keep my words where you can. Write every step as an action a new hire could follow. Where my notes do not answer a field, write [CHECK] instead of guessing. Then list the questions I still need to answer.
Then read the draft with the person who does the job and fix what is wrong. The AI writes the first version, and the two of you decide what the procedure says. Every system I build runs on that split. The human in the loop AI guide shows where the person goes.
When you need more than one
One written procedure is a start. A business with a team needs a set of them before the owner stops being the answer to every question.
If you would rather not start each one from a blank page, the AI-Ready Procedure Pack has twelve SOP templates already written for a service business, from the first inquiry to the weekly review, with one AI prompt that fills the brackets for yours. The cleaning business SOP template page shows two of them in full, free.
Questions
Is this SOP template really free?
Yes. The whole template is on this page, and the PDF downloads without an email. Use it in your business, change it and share it with your team.
What is the difference between an SOP and an SOP template?
An SOP is one written procedure for one job. The template is the blank structure you write it in, so every procedure in the business has the same parts in the same order and your team always knows where to look.
How long should an SOP be?
As long as the job needs. Most fit on one page. When a procedure runs much longer than that, it is usually two procedures.
Who should write the SOP?
The person who does the job, with someone who writes clearly. The owner should read it and sign it off, but not write it from memory, because the owner's memory of a job is usually older than the way it is done now.
Does it work for any industry?
Yes. The fields are the same whether the job is a customer complaint, a month-end close or a new hire's first day. Only the words in the brackets change.
Can I fill it in with AI?
Yes. Use the prompt on this page to turn your notes into a first draft, and keep [CHECK] on anything the AI could not answer from your notes. The person who does the job signs it off before anyone follows it.
The same work, in any business
I build AI systems and automations for growing businesses in any industry, and I work beside founders as their fractional COO. Every system I build starts as a written procedure with a named owner, because a system nobody owns stops being checked.
