Free SOP template
An SOP template your team will actually follow.
A free standard operating procedure template built around the parts most SOPs leave out: the trigger, the decisions, the exceptions and who to ask. It comes with a filled-in example and an AI prompt that turns a screen recording into a first draft.
What should an SOP template include?
A good SOP template covers the purpose, an owner, what triggers the procedure, what done looks like, numbered steps with who does each one, the decision points, a review date and the exceptions, with who to ask about each. According to KPI’s process team, the decisions and exceptions are what most templates leave out, and they’re why SOPs go unused.
What’s inside.
A Google Doc. Make a copy and it’s yours, or download it as a Word file. No email needed.
Part 1: the template
Purpose, owner, trigger, done looks like, steps, decisions, exceptions, related procedures and a change log.
Part 2: a filled-in example
A complete SOP for processing a customer refund, so you can see what good looks like before you start.
Part 3: an AI prompt
Paste a transcript of someone doing the task into Claude or ChatGPT and get a first draft, plus a list of questions to answer.
Part 4: make it stick
A short checklist for whether the SOP will get used: an owner, a review date and a place your team already looks.
How to write an SOP with this template.
01 RECORD
Capture the real task
Have the person who does the job record their screen on a normal day, talking through it. Cmd+Shift+5 on a Mac, the Snipping Tool on Windows.
02 DRAFT
Fill in the template
Work from the recording, or use the AI prompt in Part 3 for a first draft. Start each step with a verb and name who does it.
03 VERIFY
Check it with the team
Walk the people who do the work through the draft and fix anything wrong, missing or out of order. Answer every open question.
04 SHARE
Put it where people look
A shared drive, your project tool or your training platform. Put the review date on someone’s calendar.
Questions
Questions.
Does Microsoft Word have an SOP template?
Word has generic templates, but most are a heading and a numbered list. This one is a Google Doc you can copy, or download as a Word file. It includes the owner, decision and exception fields the generic ones skip.
Can ChatGPT write an SOP?
It can write a first draft, and Part 3 of the template gives you a prompt for it. What it can’t do is know your exceptions and judgment calls. The prompt tells it not to guess and to list questions instead, and answering those with the person who does the job is the important part.
How long should an SOP be?
Long enough that someone new can follow it, and no longer. Most single-task SOPs fit on one or two pages. If it runs much longer, it’s usually several procedures that should be split, each with its own trigger and owner.
What is the difference between an SOP and a work instruction?
An SOP covers a whole procedure: who does what, when and why. A work instruction goes deep on a single step, like exactly how to run one report. Most small businesses only need SOPs, with a screenshot or a short video where a step is fiddly.
Rather not write them yourself?
We write SOPs your team will use.
We document how your team really does the work, then walk your people through it. See our SOP Documentation service, or turn your SOPs into onboarding with Training Programs.
What keeps going wrong?
Tell us about the process or task that needs fixing. We’ll tell you honestly whether it’s a project, and roughly what it would take.
No long-term contracts. If we’re not adding value, you stop paying us.