The key to quickly writing SOPs is to write them with incrementally increasing detail. This is done with two painfully obvious steps.
- Start with a broad concept
- Add more detail
As a completionist, I used to be shipwrecked by SOP projects where fully accurate processes were difficult or impossible to collect or create. Training myself to work incrementally and forgetting about an immediate need for depth of detail, rescued these projects.
To see this incremental process, below is an example of creating a first draft SOP over three iterations. The whole process can be expected to be produced in a fast session, about 30 to 45 minutes.
Let’s begin!
First Iteration
- Identify the “what”.
The “what” defines the title of the SOP. A good title distills the SOP into a single concept. This is achingly important but if you don’t know of a good title, that’s okay! It can be changed later.
- Define the “why”.
The “why” defines the objective. A good objective quickly gets to the point. Think 1 or 2 sentences. If it’s a bit verbose, that’s okay! We can refine it later.
The prompt: We are writing an example SOP for new employees working the cash register (the what) because we need someone to the run the cash register that’s not you and you want it done well (the why).
Our first draft title could be something like: Standard Operating Procedure for Retail Employees Working the Cash Register
. This isn’t the most compelling title, but it is clear.
The objective could be something like Objective: To ensure smooth operation of the cash register while providing excellent customer service in line with our company mission.
Now that we have the title and objective, let’s incrementally add detail.
Level 1 Detail
Procedure
1. Start shift
2. Handle transactions and issues
3. End shift
Great, that took all of 10 seconds! Let’s add another layer of detail to End shift
. We would normally do this for each step, but for readability I’m only going to add it to one of the steps.
Level 2 Detail
End your shift
1. Close the register
2. Count and confirm accurate cash count
3. Prepare the cash drawer for the next day
4. Prep supplies for next shift
Level 3 Detail
Now we’re getting into the nitty gritty… Let’s adding more detail to Close the register
.
Close the Register
1. Stop transactions
2. Print the end-of-day report
3. Secure and deliver report
Level 4 Detail
In this SOP, now we are getting into the literal button pushing! We may not go into this level of detail in a first draft. In some cases, it is best avoided because this can become a significant time commitment! If we’re lucky, we can use documentation that already exists. In the case of our POS system, it does.
Stop transactions
Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Retail Employees Working the Cash Register - First Iteration
After showing the process of adding details, I filled a few other things out. This can start to feel a bit overwhelming. However, this is a good first draft and starting off point for writing an SOP.
### Objective
To ensure smooth operation of the cash register while providing excellent customer service in line with our company mission.
### Procedure - First Draft
1. Start Your Shift
1. Log in with your assigned ID
2. Count and confirm accurate cash count
3. Check supplies
2. Handle Transactions
1. Greet the customer
2. Run the transaction
3. Thank the customer
3. Handle Issues
- Price discrepancy
- Returns or exchanges
- Transaction error
- Irate customer
1. End Your Shift
1. Close the register
1. Stop transactions
1. Refer to https://stoneedge.com/kb/articles/pos-ending-a-shift/ 
2. Print the end-of-day report
3. Secure and deliver report
2. Count and confirm accurate cash count
1. Remove the cash drawer and count the cash
2. Separate bills and coins
3. Record the totals for each denomination
4. Compare this total with the end-of-day report from the register
5. Identify and report discrepancies
3. Prepare the cash drawer for the next day
1. Set aside the starting amount
2. Prepare the drawer
3. Deposit remaining cash
4. Prep supplies for next shift
1. Double-check that the register is locked and secured
2. Clean and organize
3. Return keys and reports
4. Confirm there are bags and receipt paper
5. Check out with supervisor
Planning the Second Iteration
After the first iteration is completed, we can step back for a minute and think about how we quickly refine it and use it to help make some business decisions.
- “Deposit remaining cash” (step 1.3.3) is mission critical and could highlighted a little better in SOP.
- We do not have the capacity to write the button pushing level of detail into our SOP nor do we have the capacity to train employees who might need that. This can help lead to writing clear job requirements. It may be important for the applicant to have some experience with POS systems or an aptitude for learning. Maybe in the future we would look into writing the button pushing docs. But for now because we’re trying to get this position filled.
- Handling issues could be considered critical. This jumps to the top of the list of SOPs to write.
- We can probably prune the detail from the customer interaction, cash count, and supply check instructions. We’d would hire someone who’s good at this already. In the future, when a more robust training methodology is needed i.e. dutch bros training is consistent well branded and effective, then we could expand this.
Using the above points, the first draft can be tidied up into something like this.
### Procedure - Second Iteration
1. Start shift with a cash count and supply check
2. Handle Transactions
3. Handling Issues
- Price discrepancy
- Returns or exchanges
- Transaction error
- Irate customer
1. End Your Shift
1. Close the register
2. Stop transactions
3. Do cash count and prep cash drawer for tomorrow
1. Remove the cash drawer and count the cash
2. Separate bills and coins
3. Record the totals for each denomination
4. Compare this total with the end-of-day report from the register
5. Identify and report discrepancies
6. Set aside the starting amount
7. Prepare the drawer for next shift
4. Deposit cash by placing it in the cash pouch and going to First Republic Bank, deposit to the Yarns and Things Account. Do this after every shift before 5:30pm.
5. Prep supplies for next shift
1. Double-check that the register is locked and secured
2. Clean and organize
3. Return keys and reports
4. Confirm there are bags and receipt paper
5. Check out with supervisor
Planning the Third Iteration
After organizing, the result is a tidy looking SOP that clearly sets expectations of our new employee. Using these expectations it will sharpen the job positing. It has also helped hight light the things we would need to provide to the new employee and set them up for success.
However, it is a little unwieldy to scan and requires too much reading. There are also some steps that can be made their own SOPs.
There is also a question for the critical cash system of what happens if the employee misses the cash deposit cut off? After a quick think about this system, we can implement an updated version. The square brackets indicate links
to another SOP. In the SOP platform they would look more like this: How to Organize SOPs.
### Procedure
1. Start shift with a cash count and supply check
2. Handle Transactions
3. Handle Customer Issues - Customer Policies
4. Shift End Process
5. Deposit cash by placing it in the cash pouch and going to First Republic Bank, deposit to the Yarns and Things Account. Do this after every shift before 5:30pm. If needed, you can use the night depository for an after hours deposit.
As an architect type planner, I used to be caught in the productivity trap of over designing systems. This was reflected in the SOPs It is helpful to keep in mind Gall’s law and remember that complex systems that work come from simple systems that work.
This 5 step SOP is a great first draft. It is simple, clear, and given us clarity on the next documents that need to be written. Thanks for hanging with this example until now!
After writing 10 to 20 of these documents, we’ll need an organization system. Please have a look at How to Organize SOPs for a quick tour of organization principles.