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Standard operating procedure
| Role | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Version | Date | Change | By |
|---|---|---|---|
Prepared by
Name, date, signature
Approved by
Name, date, signature
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Prefer to write by hand or in Word? Download the blank SOP template:
A standard operating procedure, or SOP, is a written, step-by-step description of how a recurring task is done in your organization, so that everyone who does it works the same way and gets the same result. A good SOP answers three questions: what has to happen, in which order, and who is responsible for each part.
SOPs come from regulated industries. US drug manufacturers, for example, must have written procedures for production and process control (21 CFR 211.100), and a quality management system under ISO 9001 requires documented information that is kept under control. Today, most SOPs describe ordinary work: issuing refunds, onboarding a customer, running payroll, closing the month, restoring a backup. Whenever a task matters, repeats, and is done by more than one person, writing it down pays off:
There is no single mandatory format. The US Environmental Protection Agency says so plainly in its guidance for preparing SOPs (EPA QA/G-6): formats vary by organization and by type of procedure. This template uses eight sections that cover what most business SOPs need:
The header holds the document control data: title, SOP number, department, owner, approver, effective date, version and next review date. That matches what the EPA guidance expects on the first page of an SOP: a title that identifies the activity, an ID number, the date of issue or revision, and who prepared and approved it. Signature lines for both are at the end of the Word and PDF files.
This is the template filled in for a common customer service task. To adapt it for your team, click “Load example” in the editor above and change what differs.
Standard operating procedure
Refunds are issued correctly, within five working days and only once, so customers are treated fairly and the books stay accurate.
Applies to refund requests for orders from the online shop paid by card or PayPal. Does not apply to B2B invoices (see SOP-FIN-011) or to warranty repairs.
| Role | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Customer service agent | Checks the request and issues refunds up to $200. |
| Team lead, customer service | Approves refunds above $200 and all exceptions. |
| Accounting | Reconciles the refund log with the payment dashboard every Friday. |
Open the request in the helpdesk and find the order number.
If the customer did not give one, search the shop system by email address.
Who: Customer service agent
Check the order in the shop system.
Confirm the delivery date, the amount paid and whether the item has the status Returned.
Who: Customer service agent
Check that the refund is allowed.
Within 30 days of delivery and returned: continue. Otherwise go to Exceptions.
Note: An item damaged on arrival counts as returned once the customer has sent a photo.
Get approval for amounts above $200.
Assign the ticket to the team lead with the tag Refund approval and wait for the answer.
Who: Team lead, customer service
Issue the refund in the payment dashboard.
Always to the original payment method, for the amount confirmed in step 2.
Who: Customer service agent
Warning: Search the refund log for the order number first. A refund paid twice cannot be taken back.
Reply to the customer with the macro “Refund issued”.
The macro adds the amount and how long the bank usually takes.
Record the refund in the refund log.
Order number, amount, date and your initials.
Who: Customer service agent
Request more than 30 days after delivery, no return, or a third refund for the same customer within 12 months: do not refund, assign the ticket to the team lead.
The bank has already opened a chargeback: do not refund, forward the ticket to accounting.
| Version | Date | Change | By |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | 3 Mar 2025 | First version | M. Chen |
| 1.1 | 12 Sep 2025 | Approval limit raised from $100 to $200 | M. Chen |
| 1.2 | 1 Nov 2026 | Warning added to step 5 after a double refund | R. Okafor |
Prepared by
Name, date, signature
Approved by
Name, date, signature
The three are often mixed up. The difference is the level of detail and the question each one answers:
| Document | Answers | Covers | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| SOP | What happens, in which order, and who is responsible? | A complete procedure, often across several roles | Processing a customer refund |
| Work instruction | How exactly do I do this one task? | One task at one workstation or in one system, often with screenshots | Issuing a partial refund in the payment dashboard |
| Checklist | Did I do everything? | Items to tick off, without explanation | Daily check of the refund queue |
In practice they work together: the SOP describes the procedure, links to work instructions for the fiddly steps in a system, and may come with a checklist for the daily routine. If you only write one of them, write the SOP. In German-speaking companies the SOP is usually called an Arbeitsanweisung; our German template follows German conventions.
Most SOPs are never written while there is time. They become urgent when the one person who knows how payroll runs, how the month is closed or how the biggest customer is handled hands in their notice. Then there are a few weeks left, a full workload, and dozens of procedures in one head.
That is the moment SkillPass is built for. A SkillPass handover handbook is, at its core, a set of SOPs for one role, captured from one conversation. The departing employee talks with an AI interviewer by voice or text, usually for 60 to 90 minutes. It asks one question at a time and follows up where details are missing: tasks, processes, tools, contacts, exceptions and ongoing projects. The result is a structured handbook for the successor, as a PDF.
What SkillPass does not do: it does not manage a library of SOPs, has no approval workflow or version control, and is not a document control or quality management system for ISO or GMP audits. It does not watch anyone work and has no access to email, files or screens; it only knows what is said in the conversation. If you need controlled SOPs for an audit, write them with this template and keep them in your document system. If you need a departing colleague’s knowledge on paper before their last day, start a handover.
An SOP template is a ready-made structure for a standard operating procedure. This one has a header for document control (title, number, owner, approver, version, dates) and eight sections: purpose, scope, roles, prerequisites, numbered steps with notes and warnings, exceptions, related documents and revision history. You can fill it in online or download it blank as Word or PDF.
Yes. There is no account and no email address required. Your draft is saved only in your browser, and the Word and PDF files are created on your device.
Yes. Download the Word file and upload it to Google Drive, or open it in Google Docs via File and Open. Google Docs converts the .docx file, including the tables and numbered steps.
There is no single required format; the EPA guidance on SOPs says formats vary by organization and type of procedure. What matters is that steps are numbered and in order, written in active voice, and that every SOP in your company follows the same structure. For processes with many branches, add a flowchart.
As long as someone with a basic understanding of the work needs to follow it without supervision, and no longer. If an SOP keeps growing, it probably describes more than one process. Split it, or move the detailed system steps into work instructions.
The person who does the task best should describe it, and someone who has never done it should test it. The owner, usually the team lead, approves the SOP and is responsible for keeping it up to date.
Set a fixed review date for every SOP. The EPA guidance suggests a periodic review, for example every one to two years. Review it straight away whenever the system, the rules or the responsible roles change.
A policy sets the rule and the reason: refunds are possible within 30 days. An SOP describes how the rule is carried out: which system, which steps, who approves what. One policy often has several SOPs.
