# SOP template (standard operating procedure)

From Dryvn AI resources: https://www.dryvn.ca/resources/create-business-sop-template

## How to use it

One task per copy of this template. Write for someone doing the task on their first day, using only this page. Have the person who does the task dictate a rough note first, then fill in the nine parts from it. Anything the note leaves vague ("sometimes", "depends", "usually") goes into "Needs a human answer" as a direct question; do not turn it into a rule until someone with authority has decided. Review on the date you write at the bottom.

## Blank template

**Task name:**

**Outcome** (what is true when this is done):

**Trigger** (what starts it, through which channels):

**Prerequisites** (what must be in hand or true before starting):

**Responsibility** (who does it; who is accountable):

**Steps** (numbered, in order, one action each):

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

**Approvals** (which steps need whose yes, and any limits):

**Exceptions** (what happens off the normal path, and who handles it):

**Completion evidence** (what proves it is done; "I sent it" is not evidence):

**Review date:**

**Needs a human answer** (open questions surfaced while writing):

-
-

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## Fictional worked example (illustrative only)

A made-up home services company. Names and rules are invented to show the level of detail; they are not recommendations for your business.

**Task name:** Reschedule a customer appointment

**Outcome:** The appointment is moved to a time the customer and the assigned technician have both confirmed, the job record shows the new time, and the customer has written confirmation.

**Trigger:** A customer asks to move an appointment by text, call or email.

**Prerequisites:** The job number; the customer's requested date or window; whether the visit is a standard or warranty visit (shown on the job record).

**Responsibility:** Whoever receives the request handles it to completion the same day. The office manager is accountable that no request is left open overnight.

**Steps:**

1. Find the job record and note the current appointment and technician.
2. Check the calendar for an open slot in the customer's window.
3. If the new time is today, confirm with the assigned technician before offering it.
4. Offer the time to the customer and wait for a yes.
5. Update the job record with the new time and who confirmed it.
6. Send the customer the confirmation text using the standard wording.
7. Mark the request closed.

**Approvals:** Warranty visits: the warranty coordinator (Mark) approves the new time before it is offered. Same-day changes: the assigned technician confirms before the time is offered.

**Exceptions:** Customer has moved the same appointment twice before: see "Needs a human answer". Technician declines a same-day move: offer the next available slot; do not argue the technician's reason with the customer. No slot in the customer's window: offer the two nearest and note the customer's preference on the job.

**Completion evidence:** The job record shows the new time and the confirmer's name, and the customer's confirmation text appears in the message log. A verbal "okay" on the phone is not evidence; send the text.

**Review date:** Three months from adoption, or sooner if the booking tool changes.

**Needs a human answer:**

- Is there a rescheduling fee after the second move? If yes, how much, and who decides when it is waived?
- Does the deposit always stay in place, including when the business moves the appointment?
- May a technician refuse a same-day move for distance alone, and is there a limit that makes the refusal automatic?
- Why do warranty visits go through Mark? If it is about parts or coverage, what does he check, so the office can prepare it?