# SOP Examples: 4 Procedures with Steps and Completed Records

These four standard operating procedure examples show how to turn a recurring task into instructions someone can follow and check. Each includes a trigger, owner, steps, exception path and completed sample record. Start with the example closest to your work, then replace its roles and acceptance checks.

All organizations, IDs and results below are fictional teaching examples. They illustrate administrative work; they are not customer outcomes or ready-approved procedures.

## 1. Customer handoff SOP example

Use this when sales or implementation hands an account to customer success. The handoff ends when the receiver accepts the record; sending a message alone does not complete it.

**Document and owner:** CS-001 · example revision 1 · Customer Success lead maintains the instructions.

**Trigger and prerequisites:** Implementation marks the agreed setup tasks complete. The sender needs the approved account record, customer contact, open issues and a named receiving teammate.

**Completion check:** The receiver has acknowledged the account, next action, due date and any unresolved issue in the approved system.

### Procedure

1. Sender: confirm the account ID and approved contact against the setup record. Link to the source rather than copying private details into the SOP.
2. Sender: summarize the agreed outcome, outstanding items and next customer action. Assign a due date and a proposed receiver.
3. Receiver: open the linked record and check that the information and required access are available. Ask the sender to resolve anything missing.
4. Receiver: accept ownership of the next action and record the acceptance. If the action needs another team, name that team and agree the handoff.
5. Sender: mark the handoff complete only after acceptance. Retain the reference to the completed record and the procedure revision used.

**If something goes wrong:** If there is no receiver or the contact cannot be verified, keep the handoff open and ask the Customer Success lead to resolve it. Do not treat an unacknowledged message as acceptance.

**Completion record:** Account reference, sender, receiver, next action, due date, unresolved items, acceptance time and procedure reference. Keep customer data in the authorized record.

**Filled-in example:** Demo account AC-104 · sender: Implementation · receiver: Customer Success coordinator · next action: arrange a kickoff · due: next agreed business day · missing contact corrected before acceptance · status: accepted under CS-001 revision 1.

## 2. Employee onboarding SOP example

This example covers the first customer-handoff task for a new coordinator. Keep employment paperwork, equipment provisioning and other HR activities in their own approved procedures.

**Document and owner:** HR-002 · example revision 1 · Hiring manager maintains the task-readiness procedure.

**Trigger and prerequisites:** A start date is confirmed and the manager has selected CS-001 as a first task. Approved access, a practice account and a named reviewer must be available.

**Completion check:** The manager records a readiness decision after reviewing both an ordinary handoff and a missing-contact example.

### Procedure

1. Manager: choose the current published handoff procedure and confirm the learner can access it. Ask the access owner to resolve permission issues.
2. Manager: assign the relevant reading and training. Explain the expected outcome and where to ask questions.
3. Learner: read the instructions and complete the knowledge check. Record questions that the material does not answer.
4. Learner: perform the handoff with the fictional practice record. Explain when to stop if the contact is missing.
5. Reviewer: observe the result, discuss mistakes and record whether another practice task is needed. Agree which work the learner may take on next.

**If something goes wrong:** If access, instructions or understanding are incomplete, keep the readiness decision pending. Give the unresolved item an owner and another review point.

**Completion record:** Role, reviewer, procedure revision, training result, practice task, unresolved questions and readiness decision. A page view or quiz pass alone is insufficient for this example.

**Filled-in example:** Demo learner N-07 · CS-001 revision 1 · knowledge check completed · ordinary handoff accepted · missing-contact path explained · reviewer decision: ready for a supervised customer handoff.

## 3. Recurring shift handover SOP example

Use this administrative handover between support shifts. It excludes emergency response and technical recovery instructions, which require their own task-specific procedures.

**Document and owner:** OPS-003 · example revision 1 · Support Operations lead maintains the handover.

**Trigger and prerequisites:** An agreed shift-change window begins. The outgoing lead has the current work queue, open escalations and the incoming lead’s contact.

**Completion check:** Every open priority item has an acknowledged receiver and next action; the incoming lead accepts the handover.

### Procedure

1. Outgoing lead: review the open queue and identify items that need attention during the next shift.
2. Outgoing lead: record each item’s reference, status, next action, due time and responsible role. Link to approved ticket records.
3. Both leads: discuss blocked items and escalation conditions. Confirm what must happen before the next handover.
4. Incoming lead: check access to the records, confirm ownership and acknowledge the open items.
5. Outgoing lead: save the handover record with the procedure reference. Mark the handover complete after acknowledgment.

**If something goes wrong:** If the incoming lead is unavailable or an urgent item has no owner, follow the agreed supervisor escalation route and leave that item visibly open.

**Completion record:** Shift references, queue items, assigned roles, blockers, escalation decisions and acceptance time. Each shift creates its own record rather than editing an earlier shift’s result.

**Filled-in example:** Demo shift B · queue Q-18 · ticket T-42: awaiting customer reply, incoming lead owns the next check · ticket T-49: supervisor notified · both items acknowledged · handover accepted.

## 4. SOP change and review example

Use this when an application change makes a step in CS-001 inaccurate. It separates editing a draft from approving the instructions people will use.

**Document and owner:** DOC-004 · example revision 1 · Operations lead maintains the change-review procedure.

**Trigger and prerequisites:** A user reports a changed field or decision. The owner needs the current published procedure, change request and a reviewer authorized by the organization.

**Completion check:** The reviewer has accepted the tested change, the approved version is published and the owner has decided who needs updated training.

### Procedure

1. Owner: record what changed, the affected step and the reason for review. Check whether current work needs an interim instruction.
2. Author: edit a draft and update the affected text, screenshots and exception handling. Preserve the earlier published reference.
3. Reviewer: test the ordinary path and one relevant exception using example data. Record corrections and the review decision.
4. Authorized publisher: publish the accepted version through the configured workflow. Confirm that the intended readers can find it.
5. Owner: record the effective change and decide whether existing training needs to be reassigned. Keep earlier training and run records associated with the content they used.

**If something goes wrong:** If the test fails or approval is missing, leave the revision in review. Escalate an inaccurate live instruction to its owner; do not label a draft approved.

**Completion record:** Change request, affected procedure, draft revision, test result, review decision, publication reference and training follow-up.

**Filled-in example:** Demo change CR-12 · CS-001 contact-field label corrected · ordinary and missing-contact paths checked · revision 2 approved and published · coordinator training update assigned.

## Adapt and test an example before publishing

A useful SOP example needs your actual tools, roles and decision rules. Copying the wording does not establish that the work is correct. Use the downloadable examples as editable drafts and keep the completed records separate from the instructions.

1. Choose one result and name the owner. Replace the example IDs, approval route and timing with your team’s actual rules.
2. Walk through the task with someone who does it. Add the missing prerequisite, decision or screenshot where it helps the next reader.
3. Ask a teammate to try the ordinary path and one exception with sample data. Record where they need help and revise the draft.
4. Review and publish the accepted version. Decide what training is needed and when a change should trigger another review.

SOPFlow · https://sopflow.io/blog/sop-examples/