A standard operating procedure (SOP) is a written description of how a task gets done. It sounds like corporate paperwork, but for a small business it's the single most useful thing you can do before automating anything. If you can't describe the process, no person or AI system can run it reliably.
Why it matters for AI
AI tools and automations follow instructions. A good SOP is those instructions. It also:
- Shows you which steps are repetitive (good to automate) and which need judgment (keep a human)
- Makes training new staff faster
- Keeps the business running when someone is out sick
- Protects you from depending on one tool or one person
Pick the right first process
Choose something that:
- Happens at least weekly
- Is done roughly the same way each time
- Causes problems when it's done wrong or forgotten
Good examples: handling a new lead, booking an appointment, sending an invoice, onboarding a new customer, closing out a job.
How to write it
1. Watch it being done
Sit with the person who does the task, or record your screen while you do it. Don't write from memory. You'll skip steps you do without thinking.
2. Write the trigger
What starts the process? "A new lead submits the website form." "A job is marked complete."
3. List the steps in order
Write each step as one action, starting with a verb. "Open the CRM." "Create a new contact." "Copy the phone number from the form."
4. Note the decisions
Wherever someone has to make a choice, write the rule. "If the job is over $5,000, send to the owner for review. Otherwise, send the standard quote."
5. List the tools and information needed
Which systems does the person use? What information do they need, and where do they find it?
6. Define done
What does finished look like? "The customer has a confirmation email and the job is on the calendar."
7. Note what goes wrong
What are the common mistakes or exceptions, and how should they be handled?
A simple SOP template
- Name: Handling a new web lead
- Owner: Office manager
- Trigger: New form submission
- Steps: numbered list of actions
- Decisions: the if-this-then-that rules
- Tools: CRM, email, calendar
- Done when: lead has a reply and a next step
- Common problems: duplicate leads, missing phone numbers
Mark what to automate
Go through your steps and mark each one:
- A for steps that could be automated (copying, sending, reminding)
- AI for steps that need reading or writing but follow clear rules (drafting a reply, sorting a request)
- H for steps that need a human (judgment calls, relationships, exceptions)
That marked-up SOP is the start of an automation plan.
Keep it alive
Review each SOP every few months, or whenever the process changes. A stale SOP is worse than none.
Next step
Take your marked-up SOP to monthly office hours and ask what tools fit. See Joining the Community.