The Best Way To Create Effective SOPs For Your Firm Using Video & Transcriptions
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When it comes to efficiency, there's more than just ONE thing you need to have in place. It's not just about having a great system, you also need resources like effective SOPs to help you and your team execute the work — with fewer mistakes and in record time!
I'm not saying that having SOPs will eliminate mistakes forever. Obviously, we're all human and sometimes things slip through the cracks.
Related content: My Simple Way to Handle When Your Team Members Make a Mistake
But the MORE effort you put into creating highly detailed SOPs and instructions, the easier it is to delegate and do the work.
In this blog, I want to share:
How to create SOPs for your firm
My favorite hack for taking SOPs to the next level
How to repurpose your SOPs into other resources for your team
I can't stress the importance of documenting your processes and front-loading information TODAY to help you work faster tomorrow. And it all starts with SOPs!
What exactly IS an SOP?
SOP stands for standard operating procedure. It's a term I use A LOT because it's a tool I consistently recommend to my community and students. It doesn't matter if you have 1 client or 100 clients — you should be creating SOPs for a lot of what you and your team do in your firm!
I get a lot of questions from other business owners about creating SOPs like:
Do I need SOPs if I don't have a team?
YES, you do! Even if you don't plan on having a team for a while, it's sooo much easier to create SOPs for tasks before you have a team. Plus, you can use them as a reference when needed (this is especially handy for tasks you only do once a month/quarter/year!).
What's the best way to record SOPs?
You have a couple of options when you're ready to start documenting your SOPs:
Screenshot apps like Scribe or Tango. The only reason I don't usually recommend these options is that they don't really allow for nuance. It's easy to skip a step while you're documenting the task and you have to go back to add notes or commentary later.
Write out your process in a Google doc. If you know the task like the back of your hand, you might be able to write out a how-to and include all the steps needed to complete it. This makes sense for some tasks but it's usually faster to just record yourself actually doing the thing!
Record your screen. When you're doing a task you want to document, pop open an app like Loom (we use the paid version of this and HIGHLY recommend it) and record yourself doing the task. Don't forget to narrate what you're doing, too — more on that in a bit!
How should I store my SOPs?
It kind of depends on how you choose to document your SOPs, but we store ALL of our SOPs and other information inside of Notion. It's the best way to create a centralized hub for resources that our team members can easily access.
If you're not interested in Notion, a spreadsheet is another great way to create a database of SOPs.
Pro tip: Name your SOPs using keywords that'll actually help you find the one you need by doing a search! Example: 'How to add a payroll journal entry in QuickBooks'.
My Favorite Hack To Supercharge My SOPs: Transcription
Once you have your SOP recorded in Loom (or another screen recording app), you can take it one step further by transcribing the audio! I do this for a couple of reasons:
Different learning styles. You might absorb information easily via video, but one of your team members might need the written version to really retain the information.
Instantly creates a checklist. When you have your transcript complete, all you have to do is clean it up so that the steps can be converted into a simple checklist. I love this for a quick review of the steps so I don't have to watch the whole video again.
Double-check for mistakes. If you don't feel 100% confident in how you execute a task, it's convenient to have a transcription on hand to scan through and check your work before you move on to the next task!
How To Transcribe Your SOPs
If you recorded your SOPs in Loom, they've already taken care of the transcription for you! Even if you're on the free version, all you have to do is click the 'Review Transcript' button, make adjustments, and copy the text!
If you're recording yourself in a different app, check out its features to see if they offer instant transcription!
Another option is to use Rev or Otter.ai to speed up the transcription process. All of these solutions are great if you don't have a team member who can help take this off your plate, but if you CAN delegate it that's even better!
How To Create The Perfect SOP
In an ideal situation, every SOP you create would have three elements:
A video showing the task (with narration)
A written version of the steps included
A checklist of the steps to complete the task in full
You can get 2/3 of these elements by simply transcribing your videos! And bonus — you can take that same checklist and load it up into Asana as subtasks to the parent task the SOP supports.
Doing this exact process with our SOPs has helped us minimize errors and get the work done quicker and with confidence. We know we're doing the task correctly because we have so much information to reference!
It's SO powerful to use techniques like this when you're starting to delegate your work. And since building a team and delegating all or most of the day-to-day work is a topic I'm obsessed with, I teach exactly how to do this in my group coaching program, Breakthrough for Bookkeepers & Accountants.
Even though we cover all the ins and outs of creating streamlined systems and in-depth operational processes, it's also about creating a firm that doesn't rely on you to be present 100% of the time.
And that starts with detailed SOPs and documented processes!
If you'd like to learn more about our coaching program and see if you're a good fit for Breakthrough for Bookkeepers & Accountants, use the button below book a consultation with one of our team members. We’d LOVE to talk it out with you to see which of our programs and resources would be the best for you right now!
