The Agency SOP Checklist: Which Processes to Document First

Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are how an agency stops depending on the owner's memory. The trick is order: document the processes that repeat most often and cause the most rework first.

The first SOPs to write

1. Client onboarding — contract, invoice, access requests, kickoff.
2. Weekly or monthly client reporting — what goes in, who builds it, when it is sent.
3. Scope change requests — how extra work is quoted and approved before it starts.
4. Invoicing and collections — when invoices go out and the follow-up schedule for late payers.
5. Project kickoff and handoff — how work moves from sales to delivery.
6. Quality check before delivery — the checklist every deliverable passes.
7. Hiring and contractor onboarding — accounts, tools, expectations.
8. Client offboarding — access removal, final files, testimonial request.

How to write an SOP that gets used

• One process per SOP, written as numbered steps.
• Name an owner and a trigger (“when a contract is signed…”).
• Link the templates the step needs, right inside the step.
• Keep them in one place your team already opens daily.
• Review each SOP every quarter.