Pillars and departments explained
How pillars decide where an SOP lives, how departments decide who sees it first, and why both are fixed.
On this page
SOPCompass organizes every workspace in two directions. Pillars say where an SOP lives. Departments say who it is for.
The six areas
Every workspace has the same six boards, in the same order:
| Area | What goes there |
|---|---|
| Company | Who you are, how you work, your tools and onboarding |
| Lead Acquisition | Getting new leads in the door |
| Lead Nurture | Warming leads up until they are ready to buy |
| Sales Execution | Turning opportunities into signed deals |
| Fulfillment & Delivery | Delivering what you sold, and doing it well |
| Retention | Keeping customers happy, renewing and growing |
The five pillars follow the path a customer takes through a business. Company holds what serves the whole business, like the handbook, tools and onboarding.
These names are fixed. You cannot rename, reorder, add or delete them. Inside each one you create libraries with any names you like, such as “Payroll” or “Event day checklists”.
Departments
The five departments are:
- HR & People
- Operations
- Finance
- Sales
- Marketing
Departments cut across pillars. A payroll SOP and a day-of event checklist might both sit under Fulfillment & Delivery, but they matter to different people. Tag the first with Finance and the second with Operations.
Every SOP needs at least one department. When you create an SOP, SOPCompass asks which departments it is for. If an SOP has none of its own yet, it goes by its library’s default departments and shows “(from library)”.
Library default departments
Each library can have default departments. New SOPs in that library start with them selected.
- Open the pillar.
- Under the library’s name, click Set departments (or Change).
- Toggle the departments. The line reads “New SOPs here start in”.
- Click Done.
An SOP in more than one pillar
Some SOPs belong in two places. A referral request, for example, is part of both Retention and Lead Acquisition. An SOP always lives in its library’s pillar, and editors can make it also show in other pillars:
- When creating it, use Does it belong in any other pillar too?
- Later, click Edit on the SOP and use Also shows in.
The other pillars list it under Also relevant here. There is still only one copy of the SOP.
Who sees what
Admins set which departments each person works in (on the People page). When that person opens SOPCompass, the department switcher starts on their departments, and SOPs tagged only for other departments are hidden until they choose Everything.
Note: Departments filter what people see first. They are not a permission. Anyone in the workspace can switch to Everything and open any SOP there.
Organizing existing SOPs
- Editors can move a library to another pillar, or an SOP to another library or pillar, at any time. See Moving SOPs and libraries.
- On the Business plan, admins can have the AI propose a pillar and departments for everything at once. See AI sort.
Common questions
Can I rename, add or reorder pillars?
No. The six areas are the same in every workspace, in the same order. A shared structure is what makes SOPs easy to find. Inside each pillar you add and name libraries however you like.
Can I add my own departments?
No. The five departments are HR & People, Operations, Finance, Sales and Marketing. An SOP can be tagged with as many of them as apply.
What if my business has no sales team?
Pillars describe what every business does, not who does it. A pillar with nothing in it simply stays out of the way.