SOP Examples for Small Business

Purpose: Capture every qualified inquiry and make sure it receives a clear next action.

Trigger: A new call, form, email, chat, referral, or manually entered lead.

Owner: Sales coordinator or assigned sales representative.

1. Create or locate the lead record.
2. Confirm name, phone, email, service/location, and source.
3. Check for duplicates.
4. Assign an owner.
5. Record the next action and due time.
6. Send the approved acknowledgement or booking message.

Quality check: Required fields are complete, no duplicate exists, and an owner plus next action are assigned.

Purpose: Give every new customer a consistent start and prevent handoff gaps.

Trigger: Signed agreement, accepted proposal, or first payment.

Owner: Account manager or operations coordinator.

1. Confirm the agreement and payment status.
2. Create the customer folder and internal project record.
3. Send the approved welcome message with next steps.
4. Collect any missing information or documents.
5. Schedule the first delivery, kickoff, or production milestone.
6. Confirm all responsible team members can access the record.

Completion standard: The customer knows what happens next and the internal owner has everything needed to proceed.

Purpose: Send accurate invoices on time and make payment status easy to track.

Trigger: Billing date, completed milestone, delivery, or approved change.

Owner: Bookkeeper, finance lead, or business owner.

1. Verify the billable amount against the agreement or approved work.
2. Create the invoice using the approved customer and tax information.
3. Check amount, date, terms, and description.
4. Send the invoice through the approved billing system.
5. Record the due date and follow-up date.

Exception: Hold and escalate any invoice that conflicts with the contract, approved work, or prior payment record.

Purpose: Make sure a new employee can begin work safely and productively.

Trigger: Confirmed start date.

Owner: Hiring manager.

1. Prepare required accounts, equipment, and workspace.
2. Confirm required employment paperwork is ready.
3. Provide the first-day schedule and key contacts.
4. Review role expectations, communication norms, and required policies.
5. Confirm access to the systems needed for the role.
6. Assign the first training task and follow-up check-in.

Quality check: The employee has the required access, knows who to ask for help, and has a defined first task.

Purpose: Respond consistently without improvising refunds, promises, or escalation.

Trigger: A customer communicates dissatisfaction or reports a service/product problem.

Owner: Customer service lead or manager.

1. Record the complaint in the customer record.
2. Acknowledge receipt and set an expected response time.
3. Verify the relevant order, service, communication, and policy facts.
4. Determine whether the issue can be resolved within normal authority.
5. Escalate exceptions before making non-standard commitments.
6. Document the resolution and any follow-up action.

Purpose: Ask satisfied customers for feedback at a consistent point in the customer journey.

Trigger: Successful completion, delivery, or confirmed satisfaction.

Owner: Customer success, sales, or operations.

1. Confirm the work is complete and there is no unresolved issue.
2. Send the approved review request using the preferred channel.
3. Include the correct review link.
4. Record that the request was sent.
5. Follow the approved rule for one reminder, if applicable.

Purpose: Run a consistent meeting that surfaces decisions, blockers, and ownership.

Trigger: Scheduled weekly meeting time.

Owner: Meeting leader.

1. Publish or open the standard agenda.
2. Review the prior week's open commitments.
3. Review the few metrics that matter to the team.
4. Identify blockers and decisions needed.
5. Assign each action item to one owner with a due date.
6. Record decisions before the meeting ends.

Completion standard: Every open action has one owner and one due date.