How to Write an SOP Your Team Will Actually Follow (With Template)
By Gaurav Sharma · 15 October 2026 · 7 min read
In short
- To write an SOP people follow, pick one task that is repeated often, write it as short numbered steps from start to finish, say who owns it and what "done" looks like, test it with someone new, and keep it where the work happens. Review it whenever the process changes.
Every agency has that one person. The one who knows how to set up a new client's social accounts, which folder the brand files go in, and why the invoice has to go out before the 25th.
Then that person goes on leave for two weeks, and everyone realises none of it was ever written down.
Most teams do have some documentation. It is just scattered across old emails, a Google Doc from 2023 and someone's personal notes app. When a new hire asks "how do we do this?", the answer is usually "ask Priya".
Learning how to write an SOP properly fixes this. Not a forty-page manual, but short, clear procedures for the tasks your team repeats every week. Here is how to write one, a template you can copy, and how to keep it from going stale.
What Is an SOP?
A standard operating procedure (SOP) is a written set of steps that explains how to complete a task the same way every time. It covers who does it, when it happens, the steps involved and what the finished result should look like.
In an agency or small business, SOPs usually cover things like onboarding a new client, publishing a social post, closing a project, processing an expense claim or handing over work when someone goes on leave.
Why Most SOPs Never Get Used
Plenty of teams have tried writing SOPs. The documents get written, saved in a shared drive and quietly forgotten. Usually for one of these reasons.
They Are Too Long
A twelve-page document for publishing an Instagram post is not going to be read during a busy Tuesday. People skim it once, decide it is easier to ask someone, and never open it again.
They Describe the Ideal, Not the Reality
SOPs written by a manager who has not done the task in a year tend to miss the small, real steps. "Get client approval" sounds simple until you remember the client only approves on WhatsApp and the account manager has to copy it into the tracker.
Nobody Knows Where They Are
If finding the SOP takes longer than doing the task, people will skip it. Procedures stored in a folder nobody visits might as well not exist.
They Go Out of Date
The process changes, the tool changes, the client changes. The SOP does not. After the first time someone follows an outdated step and gets it wrong, the whole team stops trusting the documents.
How to Write an SOP, Step by Step
1. Pick One Task That Repeats Often
Do not try to document the whole agency in one go. Start with a single task that happens every week and causes problems when it is done differently. Client onboarding, monthly reporting and social media publishing are good first choices.
A useful test: if two people on your team would do this task in two different ways, it needs an SOP.
2. Ask the Person Who Does It Best
The best first draft comes from whoever does the task most often and does it well. Ask them to do it once while you note every step, including the ones they do without thinking.
Those small steps, like "rename the file with the client code first" or "check the posting time is IST, not the client's time zone", are exactly what new people miss.
3. Write It as Numbered Steps
Each step should be one action, starting with a verb. "Upload the final files to the client folder" is a step. "Files should ideally be organised and shared appropriately" is not.
If a step needs more explanation, add a short note under it or link to an example. Keep the main list readable at a glance.
4. Say Who Owns It and What "Done" Looks Like
Every SOP needs a clear owner, the person responsible for the task and for keeping the document current. It also needs an end point, so people know when the task is actually finished.
"Done" might be "the client has the login details and the kickoff call is booked", or "the post is live and the link is added to the monthly report".
5. Add Links, Templates and Examples
A good SOP points to the things people need: the email template, the folder structure, the brand guidelines, a finished example of the deliverable. That saves another round of "where is the template?" messages.
6. Test It With Someone New
Give the SOP to someone who has never done the task and watch them follow it without help. Every time they stop to ask a question, you have found a missing step.
This is the single most useful thing you can do before publishing, and the one most teams skip.
7. Keep It Where the Work Happens
Store SOPs in the same place your team plans and tracks work, ideally linked to the projects that use them. If the onboarding SOP opens from the onboarding project, it gets used. If it lives in a drive folder three levels deep, it does not.
A Simple SOP Template
Copy this structure for every new procedure. It works for almost any repeated task in an agency or small business.
Title: what the procedure is for, such as "Onboarding a new retainer client".
Category: onboarding, creative, operations, finance and so on, so it is easy to find.
Owner: the person responsible for the task and for updating the SOP.
When to use it: the trigger, such as "as soon as a deal is marked won".
Steps: numbered, one action each.
Done when: the clear finishing point.
Links and files: templates, examples and reference material.
Last reviewed: the date someone last checked it still matches reality.
Example: Publishing a Client Social Post
Owner: Social media executive. When: once a post has client approval. Steps: 1. Download the approved creative and caption from the task. 2. Check the caption against the brand's banned-words list. 3. Schedule the post for the agreed time in IST. 4. Add the post link to the task and mark it done. 5. Add the link to the client's monthly report sheet. Done when: the post is live and the link is recorded in both places.
Five steps, one owner, a clear finish. Anyone on the team can follow it, including the intern who joined on Monday.
Which SOPs Should a Small Agency Write First?
Once you know how to write an SOP, the next question is where to start. A good rule is to begin with the tasks that are repeated most often and cause the most damage when they go wrong. For most agencies, that list looks something like this:
Client onboarding: what happens between a signed deal and the first deliverable.
Publishing and delivery: how finished work reaches the client or goes live.
Monthly reporting: where the numbers come from, who checks them and when the report goes out.
Invoicing and expenses: when invoices are raised and how team expenses are claimed.
Leave handover: what someone must update before they go on leave, so their clients are covered.
Five short SOPs covering these tasks will remove more confusion than fifty documents nobody reads. Write one a week and you will have the basics covered within a month.
Common SOP Mistakes to Avoid
Writing for auditors instead of the team. Plain language beats formal language every time.
Documenting tasks that change every week. SOPs work for repeatable tasks. One-off projects need a brief, not a procedure. Our creative brief template is a better fit there.
Having no owner. If nobody owns the SOP, nobody updates it.
Hiding SOPs from the people who need them. If someone has to request access every time, they will just ask a colleague instead.
How to Keep SOPs Up to Date
Treat SOPs as living documents. Whenever someone finds a step that is wrong or missing, they should tell the owner, and the owner should fix it the same week.
For your most-used procedures, put a quick review in the calendar every few months. Ask the people who use it: is anything here out of date? The whole check rarely takes more than ten minutes.
It also helps to connect SOPs to your wider process. If you are working on agency workflow management, SOPs are the detail behind each stage of the workflow.
How OnGrid Helps Teams Manage SOPs
OnGrid has a built-in knowledge base for SOPs. Each SOP has a title, a category (such as Onboarding, Creative, Social, Strategy, Servicing or Operations), a department, the written procedure, reference links and attachments.
You can make an SOP visible to the whole department or only to specific members, and the team can search SOPs by title, content or department when they need one. People are notified when a new SOP is published, so procedures do not sit unnoticed.
SOPs also connect to projects. Each project has an SOP tab where you can link the relevant SOP article and write a step-by-step playbook for that project, so the procedure sits right next to the tasks it describes.
Final Thoughts
Knowing how to write an SOP is less about writing skill and more about discipline. Pick one repeated task, write it as short numbered steps, name an owner and a finish line, and test it with someone new.
Then keep it where the work happens and review it when things change.
Start with one SOP this week. By the time the next person goes on leave, your team will not need to message them on holiday.
Frequently asked questions
1. What is an SOP?
An SOP, or standard operating procedure, is a written set of steps for completing a task the same way every time. It says who does the task, when, how, and what the finished result should look like.
2. How long should an SOP be?
As short as possible while still being complete. Most SOPs for agency and small-team work fit on one page, with links to templates or examples for anything longer.
3. Who should write an SOP?
The person who does the task most often and does it well. A manager can review it, but the first draft should come from someone who knows the real steps, including the small ones that get forgotten.
4. How often should SOPs be updated?
Whenever the process changes, and at least every few months for the ones you use most. An outdated SOP is worse than none, because people stop trusting the rest.
5. What is the difference between an SOP and a checklist?
A checklist lists what needs to be done. An SOP explains how to do it, who is responsible and what good looks like. Many SOPs end with a short checklist that summarises the steps.