SOP writer: turn rough notes into a one-page instruction anyone can follow

When the only person who knows how to close the till, send a quote or order stock is off sick, the job stops. The SOP writer skill turns whatever you have, rough notes, a voice memo or a list of clicks, into a one-page instruction a new colleague can follow alone.

What it does

• Writes every instruction in the same format: purpose, when to do it, what you need, steps, what can go wrong, and how you know it’s done.
• Puts one action in each step and writes decisions as “If…, then…”.
• Asks about gaps one question at a time, or lists them under “Questions for the owner” when there are many. It never invents a step.
• Replaces customer names, phone numbers and IBANs with placeholders, and tells you it did.
• Keeps button and menu names exactly as they appear on screen, in bold, in the software’s own language.
• Copies safety, hygiene and legal steps exactly from your notes and adds “Check this step against the current rules before use.”
• Uses Swiss defaults: CHF with an apostrophe (1’250.00), VAT stated as included or excluded, dates like 09.10.2026, Swiss German spelling with “ss”.

It prepares drafts only. It never saves, sends or shares anything for you.

When to use it

• A job lives in one person’s head and you want it on paper before they leave, retire or go on holiday.
• A new starter keeps asking the same questions.
• An old instruction no longer matches the software.
• You recorded a job with Scribe or Loom and want a tidy one-page version.

If you don’t know where to start, use the handover interviewer first. It asks the questions, and the SOP writer turns the answers into instructions.

How to use it

Open a new chat in Claude or ChatGPT and describe the job in your own words. Notes can be rough. For example:

Write an SOP for closing the till at the end of the day. My notes: count cash, compare with the till report, difference over 20 francs call me, put the float of 200 in the envelope, rest in the safe, log the amount in the cash book.

The skill asks one or two short questions (who will use it, which language), each with a default you can accept with “yes”. Then it writes the SOP. Part of what comes back (illustrative):

STEPS
1. Count the cash in the drawer.
2. Compare the total with the till report.
3. If the difference is more than CHF 20, then call [owner]. Otherwise, go to step 4.
4. Put the CHF 200 float in the envelope.

QUESTIONS FOR THE OWNER
- How do I get the till report: print it, or read it on screen?
- Where is the cash book kept, and who signs it?

Answer the questions in the same chat and it updates the SOP. It then offers four follow-ups: add your answers, make a tick-box checklist to print, translate it into French, German or Italian with button names unchanged, or read it as a new employee and point out where they’d get stuck.

Have nothing written down? Say “I have no notes” and it will ask you to talk it through as if a new colleague were standing next to you. On your phone, use the microphone button in the Claude or ChatGPT app and speak instead of typing.

Before you use it with staff: ask a colleague to follow the SOP once without help. Fix wherever they stop.

How to install it

1. Download the skill: sop-writer.zip. Don’t unzip it.
2. Upload it to your AI:
   • Claude: Customize > Skills, click +, then + Create skill, then Upload a skill, and choose the zip.
   • ChatGPT Business, Enterprise or Edu: Plugins, the Skills tab, Create, then Upload from your computer.
   • Gemini, Copilot, ChatGPT Free or Plus, or any other AI: open the zip, copy the text in SKILL.md and paste it into the instructions of a Project, Gem or Copilot agent.
3. Start a new chat and ask for an SOP. If the AI ignores the skill, type / and pick it (Claude) or name it: “Use the SOP writer skill to…”.

Every route, with screenshots: Install a BizzyAI skill.

Make it your own

The skill brings a fixed one-page format. Your own section names, review cycle and software decide how your instructions read. When it gets something wrong, ask the AI to change the skill itself so the next run is right.

1. Use it on a real job. Pick one your team does every week.

2. Say what you didn’t like, in plain words. For example:

   Our team calls them "Arbeitsanweisungen", not SOPs. Always add the name of the person to ask in "What can go wrong". Our till software is Lightspeed, and the buttons are in German.

3. Add your business details. Paste your website link and one instruction you were happy with (names removed), then write:

   Add a short section to the skill about our business: what we do, our team roles, the software we use and the language of its menus. Only include what you can see. Ask me about anything missing.

4. Ask for the updated skill:

   Update the skill with these changes so it does this every time. Keep the name the same. Give me the complete updated skill as a zip file and list what you changed, one line each.

5. Save it and test again. Upload the new zip in place of the old one, or paste the new text over the old instructions. Start a new chat and try the next job.

Good changes to ask for after a few rounds: your own section names, a fixed review date (every 12 months instead of 6), your sign-off line for safety steps, or a standard “Who to call” list.

Your processes are your IP. After three or four rounds, the skill writes instructions the way your business works. The full method: Customise a skill.

From the issue

This skill comes with No. 10, Turn your know-how into step-by-step instructions your team will use. The issue’s other skill is the handover interviewer.

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Legal note: This article is general information, not legal advice. Laws change and every business is different, so always get advice from a qualified lawyer or your fiduciary (Treuhänder) before you act on it.