How to Write SOPs for Your Virtual Assistant (Without Spending Weeks)

Standard operating procedures are the difference between a VA who needs you constantly and one who just handles it. The good news: you don’t have to write them. Your VA does.

The record-once method

1. Next time you do a task, record your screen with Loom (or any screen recorder). Talk through what you’re doing and why.
2. Send the recording to your VA.
3. VA writes the SOP from the recording using the template below.
4. You review once, correct anything wrong.
5. VA does the task using the SOP and updates it with anything missing.

Twenty minutes of your time produces a permanent process.

SOP template

Title: [Task name]

Purpose: why this task matters, in one sentence

Frequency: daily / weekly / when triggered by X

Owner: [VA name]

Tools needed: with links

Steps:

1. Step with screenshot
2. Step with screenshot
3. …

Quality check: how to know it’s done right

Edge cases: what to do when X happens

Escalate when: conditions that require the owner

Last updated: date and by whom

Tips for great SOPs

• Explain the why. A VA who understands the purpose makes better decisions in edge cases.
• Use screenshots liberally. Faster to follow than paragraphs.
• Define “done.” Ambiguity is the enemy.
• Keep one SOP per task. Long, multi-task documents don’t get used.
• Version them. Date every update.

Where to store them

A shared Google Drive folder, Notion, or Trainual. Organize by function (Sales, Marketing, Admin, Finance). Make the VA responsible for keeping the library current.

The compounding effect

After six months, you’ll have dozens of documented processes. Your business becomes easier to run, easier to scale, and more valuable, because it doesn’t live only in your head. And if a VA ever leaves, the replacement ramps up much faster.

See the 30-day onboarding plan or how to train a VA.