You know you should write your processes down. Every business book, every peer, probably even your accountant has told you the same thing: get it out of your head and onto paper. So you make a start. A folder gets created, a couple of documents get written, and then the whole thing quietly stalls. The manual gathers dust, your team carries on asking you the same questions they always did, and you find yourself wondering whether all that effort was worth it.
Sound familiar? Here is the thing. The problem is almost never that you documented your processes. It is usually how you went about it.
In The Systems Handbook I set out the ten mistakes I see plumbing and heating business owners make time and again when they try to write down how their business runs. Get these right and your SOPs, your standard operating procedures, become the backbone of a business that runs without you stood in the middle of it. Get them wrong and you have a very tidy folder that nobody opens. Let’s dive in.
The ten mistakes that stop SOPs working
1. You see a mountain instead of a hill
The first hurdle is thinking the whole job is a mountain when it is really a series of small hills. Documenting everything feels so daunting that it gets pushed down the list, week after week. The fix is simple: take it one step at a time. Look at the processes that cause the most headaches, the ones people ask you about most often, and start there. Prioritise. One process at a time is how the mountain gets climbed.
2. You forget to explain the why
When you bring in a documented way of doing things, your team will want to know why. Why this way, and what is in it for them? People are only human, and they naturally ask how a change affects their day. So tell them. Be clear about why the process exists and how it makes their working life easier. Skip this and you will meet quiet resistance at every turn.
3. You do not ask the people who do the work
However senior you are, you do not know every small detail of every job on the tools. The people who actually follow a process should have a hand in creating it. Ask your engineers how they would set it up, listen to their suggestions, and let them shape it. You will get a better process and, just as usefully, a team that feels heard and takes it seriously.
4. You let only managers write the procedures
In most businesses the real knowledge sits in the heads of your subject matter experts, and that is often your best engineers rather than a manager. Get them involved in writing the procedures. Draw the knowledge out of everyone and get the whole business into the habit of writing things down and sharing what they know.
5. You think processes stifle creativity
Some owners worry that strict procedures will stop their people thinking for themselves. In my eyes it is the opposite. When your team is well supported and knows how the routine jobs should be done, it frees up the headspace for them to solve the tricky problems creatively. Structure does not cage good people. It gives them room to be good.
6. You do not assign ownership
Plenty of businesses get things documented and then forget that a process needs to move as the business moves. The missing piece is ownership. Decide who is responsible for reviewing and updating each procedure. Assign it to someone, and your documentation stays current and useful rather than going stale in a drawer. It also builds a bit of pride, because people look after what they own.
7. You do not use the documentation to its full potential
A good set of procedures is worth far more than a rule book. It is your fastest way to bring a new team member up to speed, to train the people you already have, and to carry your standards and values through the business as it grows. When a new starter sees how much thought you have put into helping them succeed, they are far more likely to stay. Do not waste that.
8. You expect people to dig through folders
You could write every document your team could ever need, but if they cannot find it, it may as well not exist. If someone cannot lay hands on the right procedure within a few seconds, they give up and come and ask you, and you are back to being the bottleneck. Research by McKinsey has suggested people can spend around a fifth of their working week just hunting for information. So make your documents easy to see, easy to search, and quick to reach.
9. You are not using technology
There are some genuinely good tools out there for writing and storing procedures, and yet many businesses are still relying on scattered documents and memory. The right software speeds up the writing, keeps everything in one place, and lets your team get at what they need in seconds. Do your homework and pick something that suits how you actually work.
10. Your documents are boring and unfriendly
There is a reason nobody reads the company manual. A 72 page wall of text is nobody’s idea of a good time. If you want your team to actually use your procedures, make them inviting. Short and clear beats long and thorough. Use photos, a quick screen recording, a simple checklist, anything that makes the thing easy to follow on a busy day.
Why this is an opportunity, not a headache
Read that list back and you might feel like you have made a few of those mistakes. Most owners have. But here is the good news: every single one of them is fixable, and none of them needs a big budget or a spare month.
Think of it like buying a top of the range diagnostic tool and leaving it in the box in the back of the van. The value was never in owning it. It was in using it. Your processes are exactly the same. Documented well, kept current, and easy to find, they are what let you step off the tools, take a proper holiday, and build a business that is worth something to a buyer one day. Documented badly, they are just paperwork. The difference is not effort. It is knowing where owners trip up.
Where this thinking comes from
This is the heart of The Systems Handbook, the book I wrote for owners who want their business to run properly whether they are on site, on a Teams call, or on a beach. It is the same idea that runs through everything we do: the business should serve you, not the other way around. If you want to go deeper on documenting your processes the right way, you can find The Systems Handbook on Amazon, and if quoting is the process you most want to nail first, The Quote Handbook takes you through it step by step.
How Together We Count can help
We are accountants for trades businesses, and we see the difference systems make to the numbers every day. The businesses with clear, followed processes are the ones with healthier margins, cleaner books and owners who are not run ragged. If you would like a hand seeing where your time and money are leaking, and how tighter systems could fix it, take a look at our services page.
Frequently asked questions
What is an SOP?
An SOP, or standard operating procedure, is simply a written, agreed way of doing a task so it gets done the same way every time, whoever does it. Think of it as the recipe for a job, from booking a service to raising an invoice.
Where should I start with SOPs?
Start with the process that causes you the most grief or the one people ask you about most often. Get that single procedure written and working, then move to the next. One at a time is how it gets done without taking over your life.
Who should write our procedures?
The people who actually do the work. Your best engineers and your office team hold the real detail, so involve them rather than leaving it all to a manager or to you. You will get a better result and far more buy-in.
How long should an SOP be?
As short as it can be while still doing the job. Nobody reads a 72 page manual. A clear one page procedure with a photo or a short video will be read and followed, which is the whole point.
Do I need special software?
It helps, but do not let it hold you up. You can start with simple documents in a shared folder today, then move to dedicated SOP software once you know what you need. The tool matters far less than getting started.
A quick note
This article is general business guidance for plumbing and heating business owners, not tailored legal, tax or financial advice for your own situation. If in doubt about your own circumstances, please speak to a professional.
Aaron McLeish, Managing Director