How do you write standard operating procedures for a small business?
Write one procedure for one task. Say what starts it, list the steps in order, name who does each, describe what done looks like, note the usual exceptions, and give it an owner and a date. Sketch the task on one page first, then have someone who has not done it try to follow the page, and fix what they trip on. This usually comes before automating a task or handing it to an AI assistant.
What one procedure holds
The example column moves a customer's visit. If the title needs the word "and", it is probably two tasks and two procedures.
| Part | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Title | One task, named by what is done | Reschedule a customer's visit |
| Trigger | What starts it | A customer asks to move a visit |
| Steps | In order, one action each, starting with a verb | Open the job. Offer two open times. Send the confirmation. |
| Who | The role that does each step | Office, then the crew lead |
| Done looks like | A check anyone can make | The new time is in the calendar and the customer has a confirmation |
| Exceptions | The usual ways it goes off the path, and what to do | No time works this week: pass it to the owner |
| Owner and date | One named person, and when it was last checked | The office manager, with a date at the top |
Map the task on one page first
Before writing, draw the task as a row of boxes from the trigger to done, with the person who acts on each box and a mark wherever work passes from one person to another. Where the path can split, write the question and both answers.
Draw it from watching the work, because the way a task is done often differs from the way it is described. Mark where work waits and any step that different people do differently, then settle on one way. If the map will not fit on one page, it is probably more than one task.
Test it with someone new to the task
- Hand them only the page and stay quiet.
- Note every place they stop, ask a question or guess.
- Fix the page, not the person: the step, a term only your team knows, or a missing photo or screenshot.
Keep it current
Put the last-checked date at the top, keep every procedure in one place everyone can find, and give staff an easy way to tell the owner a step is wrong. Review it when prices, tools or people change. The related answer on keeping an AI assistant up to date covers a routine of one owner, update triggers and a dated change log and can work for written procedures too.
Why it comes before automating
Software and AI assistants usually follow the steps they are given, including unclear ones. A procedure that a new person can follow without asking you is often a sign the task is clear enough to hand over. The related answer on whether a task is worth automating covers which tasks to hand over, and the related answer on training new staff describes an assistant as only as good as your documents.
Related answers
- How do you tell if a task is worth automating?
- Can an AI assistant help train new staff?
- How do you keep an AI chatbot or receptionist up to date as your business changes?
Business systems and integrations
Many businesses already pay for the right tools. They just do not talk to each other, so details get typed twice and things fall through. We set them up properly and connect them.