Operations Manual Template: The 20 Processes That Run a Company
Most founders are the only copy of how their company runs. Every question routes to them. Not because they are slow. Because the answer exists nowhere else.
This template lists the 20 processes a 10 to 50 person company runs on, in four parts: winning customers, delivering, money, and people and rhythm. Each process has the same five lines: owner, trigger, steps, definition of done and last reviewed. Most companies this size have six to ten core processes that matter. Fill those in first.
Keep each one to a checklist. An EOS implementer I spoke with put the standard well: about 20 percent documentation that captures 80 percent of what you do. If a step needs a paragraph of explanation, it needs its own SOP.
Operations manual template
How does our company actually run, process by process, and who owns each one?
What you get
- 20 processes in four parts, ready to edit
- Owner, trigger, steps, definition of done and last reviewed for each
- Customer onboarding filled in as a worked example
- Print as a manual or download as a CSV
Open the full template
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Each process has the same five lines. The triggers and definitions of done are starting suggestions of ours. Customer onboarding is filled in as a worked example. Pick your six to ten core processes and fill those first.
How to write one page in an afternoon
- Name the process and one owner, even if five people touch it.
- Record the person who does it best walking through it.
- Draft the checklist from the recording. Steps, not explanations.
- Test it on someone new. If they have to ask, it is not done.
- Attach one number to it on the weekly scorecard.
Win customers
1. Lead capture and routing
2. Qualifying a prospect
3. Proposal and pricing
4. Closing and handover to delivery
Deliver
5. Customer onboarding
6. Delivery or production
7. Quality check before handover
8. Support and escalations
9. Renewal and account review
Money
10. Invoicing and collections
11. Paying suppliers
12. Month end close and the numbers pack
13. Cash forecast
People and rhythm
14. Hiring
15. Employee onboarding
16. 1:1s and performance reviews
17. Exits and offboarding
18. Weekly leadership meeting and scorecard
19. Quarterly and annual planning
20. Tools, data access and AI rules
Independence
Leaders ADAPT is independent and has no affiliation with, certification from or endorsement by EOS Worldwide or any other framework owner. EOS is named only to describe it. The 20 processes and the page format are our own template, and no proprietary worksheet is reproduced.
Where this fits
This template belongs to the Visionary stuck in operations guide, because a founder who is the only copy of the processes cannot leave the operating seat.
- The Visionary stuck in operationsThe hub. How a founder gets out of the operating seat.
- The operations manual guideWhat goes in it, how to write it and how to keep it alive.
- The AI chief of staffThe process agent that drafts pages and flags drift.
- Accountability Chart TemplateThe seats that own each process.
Common questions
What should an operations manual template include?
For a 10 to 50 person company: the core processes written as short checklists, each with one owner, the trigger that starts it, the steps, a definition of done and the date it was last reviewed. Around them sit how the company runs its meetings, the seats, the numbers, the decision rights and the rules for AI agents.
How many processes does a small company need to document?
This template lists 20 that most companies of 10 to 50 people run on. Usually six to ten of them are core, meaning they produce the results. Document those first, one to two pages each, and leave the rest as one line with an owner until they cause a problem.
What is the difference between an operations manual and an SOP?
An operations manual documents how the whole company runs, at checklist level. An SOP documents one procedure in depth. A 10 to 50 person company needs the manual first, and detailed SOPs only where a mistake is expensive, such as cash, customer data or anything regulated.
How do you keep an operations manual current?
Name one owner on every page, change the page the same week the process changes, review every page at quarterly planning and have new hires follow it in their first weeks and report every gap. When an issue turns out to be a process gap, the fix is a page update with an owner and a date.
Let AI keep the manual current
What it is: A fractional AI executive from Leaders ADAPT who sets up the documentation workflow, the process agent and the validation rules that keep an operations manual current. Who it is for: Founders of 10 to 50 person companies who are still the only copy of how the company runs.