• SOP Template: Standard Operating Procedure Template (Word)
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SOP Template: Standard Operating Procedure Template (Word)

SOP Template: Standard Operating Procedure Template (Word)

$29

A ready-written document you adapt to your business. Instant download.

An SOP template built so your staff will actually want to use it. You add the task; the layout does the rest.

Used properly, this is what it does for your business:

  • ✓More customers: the job is done the same way every time, so customers get the same good result and come back.
  • ✓More profit: fewer mistakes, less rework, and new starters up to speed faster.
  • ✓Less stress: the job gets done properly whether you are there or not.
  • ✓Look the part: written procedures, signed off and in order, for any customer or inspector who asks.
  • ✓Free extras included: the SOP interview sheet, with the questions to ask the person who does the job, their manager and the owner, plus a checklist so nothing gets missed.

Why not a free SOP template? Many are too generic, pitched at the wrong level, or missing the parts that stop mistakes. This one is laid out the way a good SOP should be, by a former company director who has written procedures for over 30 years.

Director-built, not auditor-built
Director-built, not auditor-built
Plain English, no jargon
Plain English, no jargon
Instant download, yours to keep
Instant download, yours to keep

"Plain Standards have continually under-promised and over-delivered. Outstanding service." Paul J, ATM Security

When I set up my online shop, I needed SOPs my remote assistants could follow without phoning me every ten minutes. Most of the SOP templates I found online were no use: too generic, pitched at the wrong level, steps out of order, or so full of detail nobody would read them.

So I wrote my own, the way I had learned to write procedures over 30 years of running businesses. This is that layout, ready to use. Open it, write one task, and anyone in your business can do that task the same way, every time.

Who this is for

Any business with a job that keeps getting done differently depending on who does it: an online shop, a dental practice, a café, a workshop, a warehouse or an office. If you are training new staff, handing work to a remote assistant, or simply tired of explaining the same task twice, this is for you. You do not need any experience of writing procedures, and you do not need to be working towards a certificate.

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This is a ready-made standard operating procedure template in Microsoft Word, laid out the way a good SOP should be. You fill in your own task; the structure is already done for you.

It covers every part a working SOP needs: a cover with number, title, sign-off and amendment record; the SOP owner and next review date; related documents; a warning box at the top; what the SOP does; when it applies and when it does not; who does it; what you need; the steps in order, with a "Must do" column and a column for any warning, law or rule at that step; check and record; who to ask if you are stuck or spot a mistake; and background and unusual words at the back.

It also comes with a removable Start here page, a short note on how to write a good SOP, a worked example you can copy (adding a new product to an online shop), and a free fillable SOP interview sheet and SOP-writing checklist. One template, as many SOPs as you need: make a fresh copy for each task.

Laid out the way a good SOP should be

A good SOP reads in the order the job is done. It tells the person why the task matters, when to use it and when not to, what to have ready, then takes them through the steps one line at a time. This template follows that order, so the person doing the job is never hunting for the next instruction.

The parts most SOP templates leave out

Most templates stop at a list of steps. The mistakes happen in the gaps. This one builds in the parts that stop them: a warning at the top and at the exact step where it matters, the law or rule that applies at that step, the steps that must never be skipped, a check that the job was done right, and a named person to go to when someone is stuck or spots something wrong.

Written by someone who has written a lot of them

I learned what a good procedure looks like in the Royal Navy, spent two years as a curriculum developer for Lockheed Martin, and have written procedures for every business I have run since, from a factory floor to an online shop staffed by remote assistants. The note inside the template shares the method that works: explain why you are writing it, watch the person who does the job, one task per SOP, then test it with that person before the manager and the SOP owner sign it off.

A worked example to copy

Inside you will find a finished example for adding a new product to an online shop, showing a warning, a step that must not be skipped, a rule at the step where it applies, and the final check. Copy the pattern for your own task, then delete the example.

Ready if you ever go for certification

The template carries proper sign-off, an amendment record, a revision number and a review date, the same document control used across our complete ISO 9001 system. You do not need any of that to get value from it today, but if you ever go for certification to a standard such as ISO 9001, your SOPs will already be in good order.

Where this leads

Why buy from us

  • ✓Built by a company director, not an auditor. Written by someone who ran real businesses before building management systems, so what you get works in the real world, not just on paper.
  • ✓Written in plain English. No jargon, no clause-speak. If you are new to ISO 9001, it will make sense on day one.
  • ✓The Operator's Take, in every document. Look inside any Plain Standards document and you will find a boxed note called The Operator's Take: a short, plain comment from someone who has run businesses, explaining why this document actually matters to yours, and how to get real value from it, not just tick a box for an auditor. No other provider gives you this, because it comes from having sat in the chair.
  • ✓Honest, unaccredited, and clear about it. A genuine route to a working system, with no false claims and nothing hidden.

What is an SOP template?

An SOP template is a ready-made layout for a standard operating procedure: the written, step-by-step way your business does one task. Instead of starting from a blank page, you fill in your own task under headings that are already in the right order, so every SOP in your business looks and works the same way.

Is this SOP template in Word?

Yes, this SOP template is a Microsoft Word file (.docx) that you download instantly and edit like any other Word document. You can add your own logo and company name, and make a fresh copy for each task you want to write down.

Can I use this SOP template in Google Docs?

Yes, the Word file opens and edits in Google Docs, as well as in Word and other word processors that read .docx files. A few layout details may shift slightly outside Word, but every section and table works.

Does the SOP template include an example?

Yes, it includes a worked example for adding a new product to an online shop, showing a warning, a must-do step, a rule at the step where it applies and the final check. It sits in a removable box, so you copy the pattern and then delete it.

How do I write an SOP using this template?

Start by telling the person who does the job why you are writing it down, then watch them do it and write the steps as they really happen, one step per line. Fill in each section of the template, then hand it back to that person to check a new starter could follow it, before the manager and the SOP owner sign it off. The template includes a short note on this method.

Is there a free SOP template?

Yes, there are many free SOP templates online, and some are fine for a simple task. Many, though, are too generic, pitched at the wrong level, or leave out the parts that stop mistakes, such as warnings at the step, must-do steps and a final check. This template is built around those parts, with a worked example and a method note from someone who has written procedures for over 30 years.

Can I use this SOP template for ISO 9001?

Yes, it carries the sign-off, amendment record, revision and review date that ISO 9001 assessors expect to see on a controlled document. It is written for any business, so you do not need to be working towards certification to use it. If you are, our complete ISO 9001 system includes the procedures the standard covers.

Written by Mike Armstrong, senior ISO consultant, former company director, and founder of Plain Standards. In over 30 years running companies at director level, Mike built his own management systems to drive profit long before he adopted ISO 9001, so he comes at this from the owner's side, not the auditor's. Plain Standards helps small and medium sized businesses get ISO certified without a consultant.

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Samuel Graves

Excellent value for money. Designing these from scratch would have cost thousands!

W
William Turner

Fantastic template. Very user friendly

J
James Hargreaves

absolutely spot-on!

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Simone Williams

been looking for something as good as this for a long, long time