How to document processes with SOPs and checklists people actually use.

A standard operating procedure (SOP) is a written description of how a recurring task is done. A checklist is its shortest form. Together they move knowledge out of individual heads and into the company. That means faster onboarding of new people, fewer mistakes, easier delegation and a business that keeps running when someone is on holiday or leaves.

What to document first

Do not try to document everything. Score your recurring tasks on two questions: how often is this done, and how bad is it if it goes wrong? Start with tasks that score high on either.

• Frequent tasks: onboarding a customer, raising invoices, publishing a release, handling a support escalation.
• High-risk tasks: starter and leaver access changes, month-end close, responding to a data breach, restoring from backup.
• Tasks only one person knows: anything where you would be stuck if that person were unavailable for a month.

Step by step

1. Watch it being done. Ask the person who does the task to do it while you take notes or record the screen. Written-from-memory processes miss steps.
2. Use a consistent template. Title; purpose in one line; owner; when it is triggered; tools and access needed; numbered steps; what “done” looks like; who to ask if stuck; date last reviewed.
3. Write steps as actions. Start each step with a verb: “Open”, “Check”, “Send”. One action per step. Add screenshots only where they save confusion, since they date quickly.
4. Test it. Ask someone who has never done the task to follow it. Every question they ask is a gap to fill.
5. Turn the critical parts into a checklist. For high-risk tasks, a short tick list used every time catches the steps people skip when they are busy.
6. Store it where the task happens. Link SOPs from the tool, the ticket template or the calendar reminder that triggers the task.
7. Set a review date. Every SOP has an owner and a review date, typically every six or twelve months, or whenever the tool or process changes.

What a good leaver checklist includes

A good leaver checklist lists every system the person had access to, with a tick for removal on their last day; transfers ownership of documents, shared inboxes and code repositories; collects or wipes company equipment; updates the website, supplier contacts and authorised signatories; arranges any final pay and records with your payroll provider; and confirms who now owns each of their regular tasks. Missing one item can leave a former team member with access to customer data.

A worked example

Northvane, a fictional Edinburgh tech startup building route planning software for couriers, relied on its CTO to release software. When he was ill for two weeks, a critical fix waited.

The team recorded him doing a release and turned it into a 14-step SOP with a pre-release checklist. Two other engineers followed it under supervision, then alone. Releases no longer depended on one person, and the checklist caught a missed database backup step that had occasionally been skipped.

Common mistakes

• Writing essays. If an SOP is longer than two pages, split it or cut it.
• Documenting the ideal, not the reality. Write what actually happens, then improve it.
• No owner, no review. Out-of-date SOPs are worse than none, because people trust them.
• Hiding them away. A process wiki nobody can find will not be used.

What to measure

• Share of your top 20 recurring tasks with a current SOP.
• SOPs past their review date.
• Errors or incidents caused by a missed step.
• Time for a new team member to complete a task unaided.