How to write a standard operating procedure

An SOP lays out step-by-step instructions for completing a task correctly every time. It helps businesses onboard faster, scale smoother, and reduce dependency on tribal knowledge. Whether you're documenting a monthly close process or an employee onboarding flow, writing a usable SOP requires structure, clarity, and relevance.

What is a standard operating procedure (SOP)?

SOPs help teams stay aligned, reduce errors, and speed up training. Instead of relying on word-of-mouth or guesswork, employees have clear, repeatable instructions they can follow. Employees believe that confusion around processes wastes time every week. SOPs solve that by making expectations visible and consistent.

When to create an SOP vs. a one-off guide

Use an SOP document when a process happens regularly and needs to be followed the same way every time. It needs structure if it's repeatable, high-impact, or tied to compliance.

One-off guides work best for temporary or specific tasks, rare situations, or short-term projects. These do not require long-term maintenance or strict consistency.

Take vendor onboarding as an example. This process often involves multiple steps, like collecting tax forms, setting up payment terms, verifying banking info, and touching several teams. Because it recurs and requires accuracy, it should be documented as a standard SOP.

On the other hand, setting up a one-time vendor integration or custom payment workflow may only need a simple guide. It’s not part of your routine, and it’s unlikely to be repeated.

SOPs also make sense when more than one person performs the task. Inconsistent execution leads to errors, especially in finance, where mistakes cost time and money. If the task supports scaling, handoffs, or compliance, document it as an SOP. A lightweight checklist or walkthrough is enough if it’s a unique, one-time effort.

Preparations before writing an SOP

Preparing an SOP template usually takes less than an hour. But skipping this step often leads to documents that are incomplete, quickly outdated, or unused by the team. Taking time upfront prevents rework and helps your SOP stay relevant and effective.

Define the purpose and scope

Every high-quality SOP should solve a specific problem or support a defined business need. Before you start SOP writing, clarify why the SOP exists. Maybe it’s meant to reduce mistakes, help new team members onboard faster, or meet regulatory requirements. Knowing the “why” keeps the document focused and ensures you’re including the right level of detail.

Next, establish what the SOP will cover and what it will not. This is the scope. A clearly defined scope keeps the content targeted and prevents it from drifting into unrelated processes. For example, if you're documenting how to submit monthly expense reimbursements, you do not need to include corporate card usage policies unless they directly impact the same workflow.

Without a defined purpose and scope, your SOP risks becoming too broad or too vague, making it harder for teams to follow or maintain.

Identify your audience and stakeholders

Your audience determines how you write. If your SOP is for experienced team members, you can assume familiarity with systems or tools. But if it’s meant for new hires or external vendors, you’ll need to explain terms, give more context, and keep the instructions simple and direct.

Stakeholders are just as important. These include the people who carry out the process, manage it, or rely on its outcomes. Involving them early ensures the SOP reflects how things actually happen and not just how they’re supposed to happen. You’ll also surface potential gaps or missed requirements before finalizing the SOP.

If you skip this step, you risk publishing something that looks good but doesn’t work in practice. Involving the right people upfront leads to better accuracy, stronger adoption, and fewer updates later.

Gather existing resources and inputs

Don’t start from a blank page. Take time to find existing materials that relate to the process. These might include older SOPs, checklists, onboarding documents, training decks, or email templates. Even if they’re outdated, they can give you a head start and help identify what needs to change.

Talk to the people who actually do the work. Ask them to explain the process in their own words. You’ll likely uncover steps, exceptions, or pain points that aren’t captured anywhere else. These are critical to creating an SOP that’s practical and easy to follow.

The more accurate your inputs, the better your final SOP will be. Strong preparation helps you write a document reflecting real workflows, not assumptions.

Structuring your SOP for clarity and efficiency

A clear structure turns a standard operating procedure template from a basic checklist into a tool your team can rely on. Without the right format, even the most accurate SOP will create confusion or slow people down.

Choose the right SOP format for the job

Not every SOP needs to look the same. The best format depends on the type of process you’re documenting. A step-by-step list works for simple tasks with a clear start and end. A flowchart format makes sense for processes with decision points or exceptions. Use a structured document with sections and reference links for recurring procedures with many dependencies, like monthly closes.

Choosing the wrong format leads to missed steps, wasted time, or errors. Poor documentation practices cost companies 21% in productivity losses. Picking the right format helps teams move faster and work with more confidence.

Break down the process into clear, actionable steps

Each step in your SOP should be specific, ordered, and easy to follow. Avoid cramming too much into a single instruction. If someone has to stop and figure out what to do next, the step needs rewriting.

Use numbered steps for sequential tasks. Make sure the flow is logical and matches how the work actually gets done. Include any tools, systems, or approvals required at each stage.

When steps are vague, employees create their own workarounds. That leads to inconsistencies and missed outcomes, especially when the process involves multiple people or handoffs.

Use simple language and consistent terminology

Clarity matters more than polish. Use plain language that any team member can understand, even if they’re new. Avoid jargon unless it’s common across your company, and define any technical terms the first time they appear.

Stay consistent with how you name tools, teams, or steps. Someone will get confused if you call it “monthly close” in one section and “month-end reconciliation” in another. Consistency saves time and reduces support questions. Clear, concise writing improves usability by up to 124%. Simpler language does not just read better. It also works better.

If your SOP involves financial processes, like expense management or month-end close tools like Ramp can help reinforce consistency by applying standardized accounting rules across your systems. This ensures your SOP aligns with how transactions are actually recorded in your ERP.

How to build a SOP that teams will actually use

The SOPs that teams actually use are the ones that are clear, accessible, and built for real workflows. These are the documents employees open during onboarding, reference during critical handoffs, or use when fixing recurring issues.

Make it visual

Visual elements reduce confusion and speed up understanding. Use tables to organize repetitive steps. Add flowcharts for branching decisions. Screenshots work well when documenting software or system steps.

Visuals improve comprehension by up to 400% compared to text alone. That matters when your team is trying to follow a process in real-time. Visuals also reduce the need for long explanations. A process map or annotated screenshot can replace entire paragraphs, making the SOP easier to scan and apply.

Add context without overloading the reader

Context helps the reader understand why each step matters. However, too much detail makes the document harder to use. Focus on information that directly impacts execution. That might include timelines, system dependencies, or team responsibilities.

Avoid padding the SOP with background or theory. Instead, answer the questions someone would ask while doing the task. If a step needs a reason, give it in a short, clear sentence. Balancing context with clarity keeps the SOP actionable without being overwhelming. It helps end users follow the process while understanding the bigger picture.

Include versioning and ownership info

An effective SOP needs a clear owner and a version history. Without that, updates get lost, and teams use outdated instructions. Add the document owner’s name, the last updated date, and the version number at the top or bottom of the file.

This information makes it easy to flag issues, request changes, or confirm accuracy. It also builds trust. People are more likely to follow a document when they know it’s current. Teams are more likely to adopt documentation when it’s maintained and clearly owned. Ownership isn’t just operational. It also drives adoption.

Review and test before rolling out

The review should include the process owner and at least one person actively performing the task. If the SOP covers cross-functional work, you should pull in reviewers from each team involved. Their input helps confirm the accuracy of each step, uncover missing details, and ensure the document reflects how the process works in practice.

Collaborate with team members for accuracy

Loop in the people who perform the process daily. Ask them to read through the SOP and flag anything that’s unclear, missing, or unnecessary. Their input helps catch blind spots and real-world scenarios you might not see from a documentation standpoint.

Even small tweaks, like fixing tool names, can be the difference between confusion and clarity. Teams trust SOPs more when they have had a hand in shaping them.

Run a pilot to catch gaps or confusion

Assign a few people to follow the SOP exactly as written, without extra help or explanation. Watch where they hesitate, ask questions, or go off track. These moments reveal where your SOP needs improvement.

If multiple people struggle at the same point, the issue is with the documentation, not the user. A pilot run gives you clear, real-time data to strengthen the SOP before rolling it out company-wide.

Incorporate feedback and finalize

Once the test is complete, update the SOP with the feedback you have collected. Remove unclear steps, clarify vague language, and confirm the final process with the team. Document the changes, lock the version, and make sure it’s saved in the right location. A finalized SOP should be easy to find, easy to follow up, and easy to update later.

Why clear SOPs set your team up to scale

A clear SOP strengthens your entire operation. It reduces handoff errors, shortens ramp-up time, and frees teams from repeatedly answering the same questions.

Businesses with standardized processes are much more likely to hit performance goals, both for their team and external vendors. That’s because consistency improves execution, and that’s what drives growth. Well-structured SOPs also lower training costs, support compliance, and make scaling easier. As your team grows, documented processes make sure quality does not drop.

Platforms like Ramp support this kind of scalability by automating the workflows on which your SOPs are built. Whether you're managing multi-entity accounting, syncing transactions to NetSuite, or onboarding new vendors through HRIS integrations, Ramp helps simplify and streamline the process. The stronger your processes, the more value you can unlock from tools like these.