A good SOP example shows one real task from trigger to finish: its purpose, what it covers, each step with who does it, the systems it touches and the checks that prove it was done. Below are five short examples from everyday operations: closing out a job in construction, receiving stock in a wholesale warehouse, closing a production job in manufacturing, turning a proof of delivery into an invoice in transport, and a month-end close in finance. Each one is a made-up example, written to be realistic, so you can see what "good" looks like and adapt it. If you want a blank layout to fill in, use our SOP template. This post is about what filled-in SOPs look like in different industries, and the place they most often break: the steps where work jumps from one system to another.
How to read these examples
Each example follows the same short shape:
- Purpose: what the task achieves.
- Scope: where it starts and where it ends.
- Steps: one action per step, with the role that does it.
- Systems touched: every system, spreadsheet or inbox involved.
- Checks: how someone can tell it was done right.
They are deliberately short. A real SOP adds an owner, a review date, exceptions and related documents, as set out in the SOP template. If you're writing your first one, our guide on how to write a standard operating procedure covers the method: watch the person who does it best, write it down, then test it on someone new.
Pay attention to the "Systems touched" line in each example. It's the most useful line in the whole SOP, and we come back to it at the end.
Example 1: Construction and trades, closing out a job
Purpose: Make sure every finished job is fully costed, invoiced and closed, so no labour, materials or variations are left unbilled.
Scope: Starts when the supervisor marks the job complete. Ends when the final invoice is sent and the job is closed in the job system.
Steps:
- Supervisor marks the job complete in the job app and uploads completion photos and the signed sign-off sheet.
- Project administrator checks that every timesheet for the job is approved, and chases any that are missing.
- Project administrator checks that every supplier bill and subcontractor invoice against the job's purchase orders has arrived.
- Project administrator confirms every approved variation has been added to the job.
- Project manager reviews the job cost against the quote and notes the reason for any overrun.
- Accounts officer raises the final invoice in the accounting software, including variations, less any amounts already claimed.
- Project administrator closes the job in the job system so no more costs can be booked to it.
Systems touched: job app, timesheet app, purchase order register (often a spreadsheet), accounting software, email.
Checks: job cost report shows no open purchase orders; final invoice total matches quote plus variations less previous claims; job status is "Closed".
On high-risk construction work there's also a separate legal document, the safe work method statement (SWMS). It's a safety requirement, not a business process SOP, and Safe Work Australia's interactive SWMS tool explains what goes in one.
Example 2: Wholesale and warehouse, receiving stock
Purpose: Record exactly what arrived, against what was ordered, so stock levels are right and the supplier's bill can be checked.
Scope: Starts when a delivery arrives at the dock. Ends when the goods are put away and the receipt is recorded.
Steps:
- Storeperson checks the delivery docket against the purchase order number and counts the cartons before signing.
- Storeperson notes any damaged or short items on the docket and photographs them.
- Storeperson records the quantities received against the purchase order in the stock system.
- Storeperson puts the goods away and scans or records the bin location.
- Warehouse supervisor reviews any short or damaged items and emails the buyer.
- Buyer contacts the supplier about any differences and records the agreed outcome on the purchase order.
Systems touched: stock system, delivery docket (paper), phone camera, email.
Checks: quantities received match the docket; every difference has a note and an agreed outcome; stock on hand shows the new quantities by the end of the day.
This SOP feeds straight into the supplier invoice SOP in our template post, where accounts checks the bill against what was received. When the receipt is late or wrong, that next SOP fails too. That's the start of the goods received but not invoiced problem.
Example 3: Manufacturing, closing a production job
Purpose: Capture the real materials and labour used on a job before it ships, so the job cost is known while it can still be acted on.
Scope: Starts when the last operation on the job card is finished. Ends when the job is costed and marked complete.
Steps:
- Leading hand confirms all operations on the job card are signed off and records the finished quantity.
- Leading hand records any scrap or rework, with the reason.
- Production administrator enters the labour hours from the job card into the production or stock system.
- Storeperson records the actual materials issued, including any extra material drawn after the original issue.
- Production administrator closes the job, which moves the finished goods into stock.
- Production manager reviews actual cost against estimate for jobs over the agreed tolerance.
Systems touched: paper job card, production or stock system, timesheet or clock-on system, spreadsheet of estimates.
Checks: finished quantity matches the order; labour hours match the clock-on records; jobs over tolerance have a note explaining why.
If you only find out what a job really cost after it has shipped, our post on why the job cost is a guess until it ships explains where the gap usually is.
Example 4: Transport, proof of delivery to invoice
Purpose: Turn every completed delivery into an accurate invoice quickly, including waiting time and surcharges.
Scope: Starts when the driver completes a delivery. Ends when the customer has been invoiced for the run.
Steps:
- Driver captures the signed proof of delivery (POD) in the driver app, plus any waiting time and the reason.
- Allocator checks that every job on the run has a POD by the end of the day and follows up any that don't.
- Allocator adds approved extras to the job: waiting time, extra drops, tail-lift and similar.
- Accounts officer checks the rate applied against the customer's rate card and current fuel levy.
- Accounts officer raises the invoice in the accounting software with the PODs attached.
- Accounts officer sends the invoice in the customer's required format, through their portal if they use one.
Systems touched: driver app, transport management or dispatch system, rate cards (often a spreadsheet), accounting software, customer portals.
Checks: every delivered job has a POD and an invoice; extras on the invoice match what the driver recorded; no job is more than a set number of days old without an invoice.
Fatigue records and other safety duties sit under the Heavy Vehicle National Law and the Chain of Responsibility rules from the NHVR. Those have their own procedures. This SOP is about getting paid for the work.
Example 5: Finance and admin, month-end close
Purpose: Close the month so the figures are complete and the management report can go out on time.
Scope: Starts on the first working day of the new month. Ends when the management report is sent.
Steps:
- Accounts officer reconciles every bank account in the accounting software.
- Accounts officer chases any supplier bills for goods or services received but not yet billed, and posts accruals for the rest.
- Payroll officer confirms the last pay run of the month is posted, including super.
- Operations administrator sends the stock and work-in-progress figures from the operations system.
- Finance manager posts the stock and work-in-progress adjustments and reviews the profit and loss against budget.
- Finance manager locks the period in the accounting software.
- Finance manager updates the management report spreadsheet and sends it to the owners.
Systems touched: bank feeds, accounting software, payroll, operations or job system, management report spreadsheet, email.
Checks: all bank accounts reconciled to the statement; period locked; the stock figure in the accounts matches the stock system report.
If this takes much longer than it should, see what a slow, manual month-end really costs.
Where these SOPs break: the steps between systems
Look back at the "Systems touched" lines. Every example has four to six systems, and most of the steps that go wrong are the ones where information moves from one to another:
- The job closes in the job app, but the variation lives in an email, so it never reaches the invoice.
- The storeperson records the receipt late, so accounts can't match the supplier's bill.
- Labour hours sit on a paper job card until someone types them in, so the job cost is a guess for days.
- The driver records waiting time, but nobody carries it into the invoice.
- Month-end waits on a stock figure someone exports and emails.
This is the same pattern every time. Information gets typed in again (double data entry: the same details keyed into more than one system), information stops before it reaches the person who needs it, or two systems disagree about the same number. An SOP can tell people to do the retyping carefully. It can't stop the retyping.
That's why we treat SOPs as the first step, not the finish line. Writing the SOP shows you every hand-off. Then you can decide which hand-offs should be done by a person with a checklist, and which should happen on their own, because the systems are connected. When it's fixed, the SOP gets shorter: "Driver captures the POD" is followed by "Accounts officer reviews the invoice the system has drafted", not three steps of copying.
To see the hand-offs for a whole process on one page, draw a process map first. Our business process mapping service does this with your team. If you already know which retyping step is costing you most, business process automation is where to start.
Frequently asked questions
What is an example of an SOP?
A step-by-step procedure for one repeated task, such as receiving stock: check the docket against the order, count and inspect, record quantities in the stock system, put away, report differences to the buyer. Each step names who does it and where it is recorded.
How long should an SOP be?
As short as it can be while still letting someone new do the task correctly. Most operational SOPs fit on one or two pages. If the steps need their own sub-headings, it's probably two or three SOPs.
What's the difference between an SOP and a work instruction?
An SOP covers a whole task across roles: who does what and in what order. A work instruction goes deeper into one step for one person, often with screenshots or photos. Process maps sit above both, showing how the whole process flows. Our work instruction template shows the difference with a filled-in example.
Should every process have an SOP?
No. Write SOPs first for tasks that are frequent, that touch money or customers, that only one person knows how to do, or that new staff get wrong. A task done twice a year can usually live with a short checklist.
Can software replace SOPs?
Software can take over steps, especially the copying between systems, but someone still needs to know what the process is, who decides, and what to do when something unusual happens. The SOP gets shorter; it doesn't disappear.
If your SOPs keep describing the same retyping between systems, and you'd like to talk through which hand-offs are worth fixing first, book a free initial chat. If you'd rather have every process and system mapped with a written report, see the Process & Systems Audit.