10 SOP Examples Across Common Business Functions

Seeing a finished SOP makes writing your own much easier. Below are ten condensed examples from the functions almost every business runs: HR, finance, sales, operations, marketing and customer support. They are illustrations, not documents taken from any real company, and the tools are described generically so you can swap in whatever you use.

Each example keeps the parts that matter: a trigger, an owner, the steps and a “done when” line. Your real versions will be more specific, with exact tool names, fields and screenshots.

What makes a good SOP example

An SOP (standard operating procedure) is a written set of steps for completing a recurring task the same way every time, so anyone with the right access can do it without relying on the person who usually does it. The strongest examples share four traits: a single task with a clear start, steps that each begin with a verb, decision points written as plain if/then rules, and an end state someone could check.

If you want the method for writing your own from scratch, read how to write an SOP for your business. If you want a blank structure, start from the standard operating procedure template.

HR and people SOP examples

1. Prepare a new hire’s first week

Trigger: Offer accepted. Performed by: Office or people manager. Owner: Head of people.

1. Add the start date to the team calendar and notify the hiring manager.
2. Send the new hire paperwork packet and set a return deadline two days before the start date.
3. Request a laptop and accounts for email, chat and the role’s core tools.
4. Assign a buddy from the same team and put a 30-minute intro on both calendars for day one.
5. Build the first-week schedule: welcome meeting, handbook walkthrough, tool setup, role training.
6. Assign the SOPs the role needs to read in week one, with due dates.
7. Book a check-in with the manager at the end of week one.

Done when: Paperwork is back, accounts work on day one and the week-one schedule is shared.

Why it works: it starts before day one, which is where a lot of onboarding goes wrong. A full version lives in our employee onboarding SOP template.

2. Offboard a departing employee

Trigger: Resignation or termination confirmed. Performed by: People manager with IT. Owner: Head of people.

1. Confirm the last working day in writing and add it to the calendar.
2. List every system the person has access to, from the access register.
3. Schedule a handover: open tasks, client relationships and any process only they know.
4. Reassign ownership of their documents, SOPs and recurring tasks.
5. On the last day, disable logins at end of business and collect equipment.
6. Send final pay details to whoever runs payroll.
7. Hold an exit conversation and record useful feedback.

Done when: All access is removed, equipment is returned and every owned item has a new owner.

Why it works: step 4 catches the quiet loss of knowledge that happens when someone leaves.

Finance SOP examples

3. Run payroll

Trigger: Two business days before each pay date. Performed by: Bookkeeper. Owner: Finance lead.

1. Export approved hours and time-off for the pay period from the time-tracking tool.
2. Check for new hires, leavers, pay changes and bonuses logged since the last run.
3. Enter or import hours into the payroll system.
4. Run the preview report and compare total gross pay to the previous period.
5. If the total differs by more than you would expect from the changes in step 2, stop and investigate before continuing.
6. Get sign-off from the finance lead on the preview.
7. Submit payroll and save the confirmation in the payroll folder.

Done when: Payroll is submitted and the confirmation is filed before the cut-off.

Why it works: the comparison and stop rule in steps 4 and 5 catch data-entry mistakes before money moves. See the payroll processing SOP template for the full version.

4. Chase an overdue invoice

Trigger: An invoice is past its due date. Performed by: Accounts receivable. Owner: Finance lead.

1. Confirm in the accounting system that no payment has arrived, including partial payments.
2. Day 1 overdue: send a friendly reminder with the invoice attached.
3. Day 7 overdue: send a second reminder and copy the client’s main contact.
4. Day 14 overdue: call the billing contact and log the call notes.
5. If the client disputes the invoice, stop chasing and follow the disputes SOP.
6. Day 30 overdue: escalate to the finance lead, who decides on next steps.

Done when: Payment is received, a payment date is agreed, or the account is escalated.

Why it works: fixed timings remove the awkward “should I chase yet?” judgment call.

Sales SOP examples

5. Run a discovery call

Trigger: A qualified lead books a first call. Performed by: Account executive. Owner: Sales lead.

1. Before the call, review the lead’s form answers and website and note two questions specific to them.
2. Open with the agenda and time check.
3. Ask about the current situation, what prompted them to look now, and what happens if nothing changes.
4. Confirm who else is involved in the decision and the timeline.
5. Summarize what you heard and check it with the prospect.
6. Agree the next step and book it before hanging up.
7. Log notes and the next step in the CRM within an hour.

Done when: The CRM record has notes, a stage and a booked next step.

Why it works: it makes the next step part of the call, not an afterthought. A longer version is in the sales discovery call SOP template.

6. Send a proposal

Trigger: Discovery complete and the prospect asks for pricing. Performed by: Account executive. Owner: Sales lead.

1. Duplicate the proposal template that matches the service.
2. Fill in the prospect’s goals using their own words from discovery notes.
3. Select the package and price from the current price sheet. Do not edit prices by hand.
4. If a discount is needed, get written approval from the sales lead first.
5. Send through the proposal tool so opens are tracked.
6. Book a review call within three business days.

Done when: The proposal is sent, logged in the CRM, and a review call is booked.

Operations SOP examples

7. Onboard a new client

Trigger: Signed contract and first payment received. Performed by: Client success manager. Owner: Operations lead.

1. Create the client record, project folder and shared channel from the templates.
2. Send the welcome email with the kickoff booking link and intake form.
3. Review the intake form and flag anything missing before kickoff.
4. Run the kickoff call: introductions, goals, timeline, how to reach the team.
5. Share the kickoff summary and first-month plan within one business day.
6. Hand off to the delivery team with the sales notes attached.

Done when: Kickoff is complete and the delivery team has everything they need to start.

Why it works: step 6 stops the classic gap between what sales promised and what delivery knows. The client onboarding SOP template has the complete version.

8. Reorder supplies

Trigger: Weekly stock check, every Monday. Performed by: Office coordinator. Owner: Operations lead.

1. Count stock for each item on the supplies list.
2. Mark any item at or below its reorder level.
3. Order from the approved supplier for each item, using the saved cart.
4. If an order would exceed the monthly supplies budget, get approval first.
5. Record the order and expected delivery date in the supplies sheet.
6. On delivery, check items against the order and note any shortages.

Done when: Every item at its reorder level has an order logged.

Marketing SOP examples

9. Publish a blog post

Trigger: Draft approved by the editor. Performed by: Content coordinator. Owner: Marketing lead.

1. Paste the approved draft into the website editor using the post template.
2. Add headings, internal links and the featured image with alt text.
3. Write the SEO title and meta description.
4. Preview on desktop and mobile and fix formatting.
5. Publish or schedule, then add the live link to the content calendar.
6. Share the post on the planned channels and in the internal team channel.

Done when: The post is live, logged and shared.

Why it works: the post is not “done” until it is logged and shared, which is the part that usually gets skipped. The content publishing SOP template adds the review and approval stages.

Customer support SOP example

10. Escalate a support ticket

Trigger: Front-line support cannot resolve a ticket. Performed by: Support agent. Owner: Support lead.

1. Check the knowledge base and past tickets for an existing answer.
2. If the customer’s service is down, mark the ticket urgent and alert the on-call lead immediately.
3. Otherwise, write an escalation note: what the customer reported, what you tried, and what they need.
4. Assign the ticket to tier two and tell the customer when to expect an update.
5. Follow up if tier two has not responded by the promised time.
6. After resolution, suggest a knowledge base article if the issue could come up again.

Done when: The ticket is with the right person and the customer knows what happens next.

Why it works: step 3 means the next person never has to ask the customer to repeat themselves. See the customer support escalation SOP template.

How to turn these examples into your own SOPs

Use these as scaffolding, not finished documents:

1. Pick the one closest to a task you do. Start with whatever causes the most repeated questions.
2. Replace the generic parts. Tool names, role names, timings and approval limits.
3. Walk through it with the person who does the task. Add the steps they do but did not think to mention.
4. Test it with someone new. Every question they ask is a missing step.
5. Give it an owner and a review date.

If you would rather talk than type, SOPCompass’s AI assistant can interview you about a process by text or voice and draft the SOP for you to review and approve. It proposes where each one belongs in Company plus five business pillars, for you to approve, so the examples above would land under Company, Sales Execution, Fulfillment & Delivery and so on, tagged by department.

Whichever route you take, the test is the same: a person who has never done the task follows your SOP and reaches the “done when” line without asking for help.