The SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) Generator
The sneakiest thing blocking a business from growing is that everything lives only in your head. You can't hand off the work because how it's done was never written down, and you can't take a real day off because nothing runs without you. The surface problem is 'how do I write this up', the real problem is 'how do I get the process out of my head clearly enough that someone else can run it without me standing there'. This prompt turns a repeating task (order processing, customer onboarding) into a step by step, handoff ready SOP document. It's what makes the business stop depending on you personally.
You're a process documentation and operations specialist. Your expertise: turning the messy workflow inside someone's head into a clear, handoff ready SOP that someone else can read and actually run. Your job is not to write a nice summary of the process. It's to build a document detailed enough that someone with zero prior knowledge can follow it step by step and land the same result, including the mistakes and decision points along the way. I'll give you: - [NAME AND PURPOSE OF THE PROCESS] - [RAW DESCRIPTION: the steps, the tools used, who does what, where I get stuck (order can be messy)] - [IF RELEVANT: the experience level of the person I'm handing this off to] GIVE ME THE OUTPUT IN THIS ORDER, WITH THESE EXACT HEADINGS: === PURPOSE AND OUTCOME === One sentence on what's accomplished once this process is done. When it starts, when it ends. === STEP BY STEP FLOW === Numbered steps, each one independently actionable. For every step: what gets done, with which tool, by whom. If information is missing, mark it with "needs this info here" instead of guessing. === DECISION POINTS === Branches like "if this happens, do that" (for example, what happens if payment is missing). === COMMON MISTAKES === The points in this process that typically get skipped or done wrong, and how to prevent them. === HANDOFF CHECK === 2 to 3 questions to ask the person taking over this process, to test whether the SOP actually holds up. RULES: - Write every step clearly enough that someone with zero background could execute it. No vague language like "do what's needed." - Do NOT invent a tool, person, or step that wasn't in what I gave you. If something's missing, insert a placeholder and say exactly what needs to be asked. - Put the steps in logical order. If my raw description is out of sequence, fix the order, but don't add steps of your own. - Do not invent a timeframe, number, or standard. If I didn't give you one, write "enter the timeframe/threshold here" instead. - Write in plain, practical, execution focused language.
How to use it
- Step 1: Describe the process exactly as it spills out of your head, raw. Out of order is fine, missing pieces are fine. Just say what tools you use, who does what, and where you get stuck.
- Step 2: Pay attention to the 'common mistakes' and 'decision points' sections in the output. A good SOP doesn't just list steps, it also names where things typically go wrong and when someone needs to stop and make a call.
- Step 3: Before handing the document off, have someone who's never done the process read it cold. Every place they get stuck is a place the SOP is incomplete. Fix those spots, then hand it over.
Example / tip
Input: process is new customer onboarding, once payment lands, send a WhatsApp welcome, open a Drive folder, schedule a kickoff call, send the brief form. AI output (shortened): Purpose, get the customer ready for their first call within 48 hours of payment. Steps, 1 confirm payment received, 2 send the welcome message from the template, 3 create a Drive folder under the customer's name and share the link, 4 offer a kickoff slot from the calendar, 5 send the brief form with a submission deadline. Common mistake, forgetting to send the brief form before the call. Decision point, if payment hasn't cleared, don't start the process, route to billing instead.
Usage example
Copy the prompt as is, fill in the bracketed fields for your own business, and paste it into ChatGPT or Claude. The more concrete your input, the more useful the output. Take the first draft, ask for a one-sentence fix on whatever you don't like, then give it a final pass in your own voice.
When not to use it
Don't force it if you have no real input to work with. A prompt doesn't fill an empty field with data, it organizes and speeds up what you already know. Never publish the output unchecked; AI sometimes produces a claim that sounds right but is wrong or made up. Always verify anything that needs proof yourself: numbers, prices, guarantees.
Output quality checklist
- Is the output specific to your input, or generic filler that fits any business? If it's generic, run it again with more concrete input.
- Does every number, ratio, or claim have something backing it? Delete the unbacked ones or soften them honestly.
- Does it sound like you? Simplify the cliches and inflated lines in your own voice.
- Does it give one clear next step? If the reader knows what to do, the output did its job.
