SOP template and process-control builder
See whether your procedure is ready for approval.
The film is unavailable. You can read what it shows below.
What the film shows, in words
- See whether your procedure is ready for approval.
- A supplier invoice is received. Five steps. Three roles.
- Four controls. Each leaves a record.
- Two exceptions, each with somewhere to go. Ready for approval.
- Take away who one exception goes to: Not yet. 1 to fix.
- Name the role: ready again.
The demo: the worked example, one input at a time
ExamplePaying a supplier invoice in an NGO (illustrative).
Step 1 of 4
Five steps, three roles, four controls: ready for approval.
5 steps, 4 controls, 2 exceptions. Ready for approval. One amber note: “Price differs from the purchase order” has no time limit.
- AFinance assistant
- BFinance manager
- CFinance officer
- DProgramme lead (receives escalations only)
TriggerA supplier invoice is received
Exceptions
- 1CheckInvoice register
- 2ReconciliationThree-way match record
- 5No controlLedger entry
- 3ApprovalSigned approval
- 4Segregation of dutiesBank confirmation
Invoice has no purchase orderwithin 2 working days
Price differs from the purchase order“Price differs from the purchase order” has no time limit. Say how quickly it must be escalated.
1Log the invoice on receipt2Match the invoice to the purchase order and delivery note3Approve the payment4Release the payment from the bank5Update the ledger and file the documentsReadyfor approval
Nothing blocks it
- 5
- steps
- 4
- controls
- 2
- exceptions
Readyfor approval
Nothing blocks it
Ready for approvalNothing blocks it · 5 steps · 4 controls · 2 exceptions
- 1
Log the invoice on receipt
A · Finance assistantCheckInvoice register
- 2
Match the invoice to the purchase order and delivery note
A · Finance assistantReconciliationThree-way match record
- 3
Approve the payment
B · Finance managerApprovalSigned approval
- 4
Release the payment from the bank
C · Finance officerSegregation of dutiesBank confirmation
- 5
Update the ledger and file the documents
A · Finance assistantNo controlLedger entry
- E1
Invoice has no purchase order
Lands at B · Finance manager, within 2 working days
- E2
Price differs from the purchase order
Lands at D · Programme lead
“Price differs from the purchase order” has no time limit. Say how quickly it must be escalated.
Now your own procedure, and who hands to whom.
Describe the procedure, list the steps, then the exceptions.
DOCXThe document the builder drafts, as your procedure stands
Ready for approvalThe builder’s reading of the structure. It is not an approval.
Paying a supplier invoice · version 1.0
Purpose
Pay only for goods and services that were ordered, received and approved.
Scope and trigger
Starts when: A supplier invoice is received.
Roles
- Owner: Finance manager
- Approved by: Executive director
- Performed by: Finance assistant, Finance manager, Finance officer
Procedure
- 1. Log the invoice on receipt. By: Finance assistant. Control: check. Record: Invoice register.
- 2. Match the invoice to the purchase order and delivery note. By: Finance assistant. Control: reconciliation. Record: Three-way match record.
- 3. Approve the payment. By: Finance manager. Control: approval. Record: Signed approval.
- 4. Release the payment from the bank. By: Finance officer. Control: segregation of duties. Record: Bank confirmation.
- 5. Update the ledger and file the documents. By: Finance assistant. Control: no control. Record: Ledger entry.
Exceptions and escalation
- Invoice has no purchase order: escalate to Finance manager within 2 working days.
- Price differs from the purchase order: escalate to Programme lead.
Version control
- Version 1.0, effective 23 Oct 2026.
- Next review: 23 Oct 2027.
- It checks structure and controls, not whether the process itself is efficient.
- Legal and regulatory requirements for your sector must be checked separately.
Your editable template
SOP as an editable document with approval checkpoints and a version table, by email once delivery is connected.
Your SOP as an editable document with approval checkpoints and a version table (DOCX)
Tool: SOP builder Procedure: Paying a supplier invoice Result: 5 steps · 4 controls · ready Request: please review this procedure and scope an SOP manual (SVC-024).Send as a brief
How it reads a procedure, and its limits.
- 01
An SOP is ready for approval only when every step has a role, every control has a record, every exception has an escalation path, and an owner and approver are named.
- 02
Consecutive steps where the same role prepares and approves are flagged as a segregation risk.
- 03
The next review date defaults to one year after the effective date.
- 04
A placeholder such as “TBC” is not a named role: a step, an escalation, the owner and the approver each need a role by name.
- 05
One case is traced link by link: the owner, the trigger, each step’s role and record, the checks, the approvals, the exceptions and the closure. A link with nothing named breaks the trace. A manual fallback is asked for once a record is kept in a named system.
- 06
The trace is a second reading beside the verdict. It changes no figure, and it is drawn once a context is set or one of its own fields is used.
What turns the verdictA step with no one assigned, an exception with no escalation path, no exception at all, or no owner or approver named: each of these blocks it. A control with no record, an exception with no time limit and one role preparing and approving are amber notes: the verdict stays as it is. The check on preparing and approving looks only at an approval step and the step just before it.
What it cannot tell you
- It checks structure and controls, not whether the process itself is efficient.
- Legal and regulatory requirements for your sector must be checked separately.
- Use role titles, not personal names.
- The verdict and the trace are readings of what you entered, not an approval. A role typed here gains no power to approve.
- It names where a record is kept as you enter it. It holds no records inventory, retention period or classification.
Quality ruleException and escalation path cannot be empty.
When one procedure becomes a manual.
The builder reads the structure of one procedure. Reviewing how the work is really done, and writing the whole set, is a service.
Ready for approval5 steps · 4 controls · 2 exceptions
A brief is free to send. The verdict beside the button is the builder’s reading of the procedure in the tool above.