What is a process?
A process is a sequence of steps that produces a result for someone: a client, a colleague, the business. Invoicing, onboarding a client, hiring, preparing a proposal, approving an expense: these are processes, written down or not.
Documenting it means writing it down: the steps, who does what, by when, with which tools, and what you get at the end. A procedure details one specific task; a process describes the sequence. In a small business, start with processes.
Which ones to document first
You don't document everything. Three criteria to pick the first ones:
- Frequency: what happens every week.
- Cost of error: what loses money or a client when done badly.
- Dependence: what relies on a single person.
A process that ticks two of the three is a priority. In most small businesses, the usual suspects are: invoicing and collections, client onboarding, sales proposals, employee onboarding, and the approval workflow.
The method in 5 steps
- Start from a template. A process template gives you the structure and spares you the blank page.
- Interview the person who knows. The process is written with the person who does it, by asking questions: where do you start, what next, where does it get stuck?
- Keep it simple. Short steps, one owner per step, a timeframe where it matters. One page is usually enough.
- Get it approved by leadership, and present it to the people who'll follow it.
- Date it and recheck it. Every process has an owner and a review date. A wrong process is worse than none.
AI can run the interview and write the first draft: see structuring your business with AI.
What a process should include
| Section | The question it answers |
|---|---|
| Purpose | What is this process for, and for whom? |
| Trigger | What starts it? |
| Steps | What do we do, in what order? |
| Owners | Who does each step, who decides? |
| Timeframes | How long does it take? |
| Tools and templates | With what? |
| Expected result | How do we know it's done right? |
| Owner and date | Who keeps it current, and when was it last checked? |
Three examples
Invoicing and collections
Trigger: a deliverable approved by the client. Steps: issue the invoice within 48 hours, send it to the right contact, follow up on the due date and again after fifteen days, escalate to the owner beyond thirty days. Owner: the office administrator. Result: no forgotten invoices, late payments caught early.
New-client onboarding
Trigger: the signed contract. Steps: kick-off call, collect access and contacts, introduce the main point of contact, schedule the first deliverables, check in after one month. Owner: the project lead. Result: a client who knows who to talk to and what happens next.
Approval workflow
Who approves an expense, a quote, a discount, a hire, and up to what amount. The shortest process to write, and often the one that frees up the most time for the owner.
Mistakes to avoid
- Writing the process on behalf of the people who do it.
- Describing the ideal process instead of the real one, then improving it.
- Over-detailing: a ten-page process doesn't get read.
- Storing it where nobody looks.
- Never rereading it.
Why company wikis fail explains how to keep processes alive, and the complete guide places them in the overall structure.