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SOP Template (Standard Operating Procedure) in Markdown

A standard operating procedure template in plain Markdown. It forces the parts most SOPs skip: who owns the document, what "done" looks like for every step, what to do when something goes wrong, and when the procedure must be reviewed. Copy it, download the .md file, or open it in a wiki.

Free to use, no attribution required (CC0).

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SOP: {{Procedure name}}
SOP ID {{SOP-001}}
Version {{1.0}}
Owner {{Name, role}}
Approved by {{Name, role}}
Effective date {{YYYY-MM-DD}}
Next review {{YYYY-MM-DD}}
Applies to {{Team, department, system}}

1. Purpose

One or two sentences: what this procedure achieves and why it exists.

{{This procedure describes how to ... so that ...}}

2. Scope

Say where it starts, where it ends and what it does NOT cover.

  • Covers: {{...}}
  • Does not cover: {{... (see SOP-002)}}
  • Trigger: {{What starts this procedure: a request, a date, an alert}}

3. Roles and responsibilities

Role Person or team Responsibility
Executor {{Role}} Carries out steps 1–{{N}}
Approver {{Role}} Approves at step {{N}}
Owner {{Role}} Keeps this document correct

4. Before you start

Access, tools, inputs and anything that must be true before step 1.

  • {{Access to ...}}
  • {{Input document or data ...}}
  • {{Tool installed or open ...}}

5. Procedure

One action per step. After each step, say what the person should see when it worked.

  1. {{Action}}. Expected result: {{what you see or get}}.
  2. {{Action}}. Expected result: {{...}}.
  3. {{Decision step: if X, do A; otherwise do B}}.
  4. {{Action}}. Expected result: {{...}}.
  5. Record the outcome in {{system or document}}.
flowchart TD
    %% Edit the labels to match your steps. Keep the shape of the decisions.
    A[Trigger: request received] --> B[Step 1: check inputs]
    B --> C{Inputs complete?}
    C -- Yes --> D[Step 2: do the work]
    C -- No --> E[Ask requester for missing data]
    E --> B
    D --> F{Approval needed?}
    F -- Yes --> G[Approver signs off]
    F -- No --> H[Record the outcome]
    G --> H

6. Exceptions and escalation

Situation What to do Who to ask
{{Step 3 fails}} {{Retry once, then ...}} {{Name or channel}}
{{Approver unavailable}} {{Use the delegate ...}} {{Name}}
{{Anything not listed here}} Stop and escalate {{Owner}}

7. Quality check (definition of done)

  • {{The outcome is recorded in ...}}
  • {{The requester has been notified}}
  • {{No open items remain}}

8. Records

What evidence this procedure leaves behind, where it lives, how long it is kept.

Record Location Retention
{{Record}} {{Link or system}} {{Period}}

9. Related documents

  • {{Link to policy}}
  • {{Link to related SOP}}

10. Revision history

Version Date Author Change
1.0 {{YYYY-MM-DD}} {{Name}} First version

Want to see it as a real wiki page? Open this template in the Folio demo, where it is a normal Markdown page.

How to use it

  1. Step 1: Pick one procedure and one reader. An SOP describes a single repeatable task for a person who has not done it before. If you need "and then also", write a second SOP and link them.

  2. Step 2: Do the task while you write the steps. Fill in the numbered steps by performing the procedure, ideally with the person who does it every week. Add the expected result after each step.

  3. Step 3: Test it on a newcomer, then set the review date. Ask someone who has never done the task to follow the document without help. Fix every question they ask, then record the owner and the next review date.

What makes a good SOP

One action per step, with a visible result. "Prepare the invoice" is a goal. "Open the billing tool, click New invoice, choose the client" is a step. Add what the person should see afterwards, so they know whether the step worked.

Owner, version and review date at the top. An SOP without an owner rots. Stale instructions are worse than none because people trust them. A review date turns "someone should update this" into a calendar fact.

Exceptions and escalation are part of the procedure. Real work has failed payments, missing approvals and locked accounts. Write down what to do, who to ask, and when to stop and escalate.

A diagram when there are branches. A linear list is enough for a linear task. When the process forks, a small flowchart shows the decision points faster than a paragraph.

More templates

RunbookTrigger, triage flowchart, exact commands with expected output, rollback and escalation.Onboarding checklistFrom the week before day one to day 90, an owner for every task and a knowledge check.Meeting notesDecisions and action items first, raw discussion below. One owner and a date per action.
All templates

Questions

What is the difference between an SOP, a policy and a work instruction?
A policy says what must be true and why. An SOP says how a process is carried out, step by step, and who does what. A work instruction goes one level deeper for a single task or tool. Most small teams need only policies and SOPs.
How detailed should an SOP be?
Detailed enough that a competent newcomer can complete the task without asking you, and no more. If steps need screenshots to be unambiguous, add them; if a step is obvious to the reader, merge it with its neighbour.
How often should an SOP be reviewed?
At least once a year, and any time the tool, the team or the regulation behind it changes. Put the next review date in the document header and nowhere else, so there is one place to look.
Should an SOP be a Word file, a PDF or a wiki page?
A page in a versioned wiki or repository is easier to keep correct: the history shows who changed a step and when, and the link never points to an outdated attachment. Export to PDF only when an auditor asks for a snapshot.
Can I use this template for compliance work?
It covers the structure auditors usually look for: ownership, scope, responsibilities, steps, records and revision history. It is not a guarantee of compliance with a specific standard. Check your standard's requirements and add the sections it demands.

Updated 11 October 2026.

Keep SOPs where the team already works

In Folio an SOP is a Markdown page in a Git repository, so every change has an author, a date and a diff, and the procedure can sit next to the code or the contracts it describes. The Mermaid flowchart in this template can be edited visually in Folio's editor, and the built-in assistant answers "how do I do X?" from the SOP pages themselves.

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