9 Best Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) Software for Startups and Small Businesses

Standard operating procedures or SOPs provide businesses with proper, uniform, and accessible guidelines to implement onboarding, align employees, increase productivity, and reduce mistakes in business processes.

Unfortunately, relaying too much information can overwhelm your team. A standard operating procedure software can help centralize data in one platform, make processes easier to create, update, understand, and find, and keep your team on the right track.

However, among the SOP software tools available in the market, which one should you choose? To help you find a suitable platform for your needs, here’s our list of the best SOP software for startups and small businesses.

What Are The Best Standard Operating Procedure Software for Startups and Small Businesses?

My team selected SweetProcess, Trainual, and Process Street as the top three standard operating procedure software for startups and small businesses. We also provided an overview of other recommended software below.

The top SOP software solutions highlighted here include some of the best overall qualities, such as task management, process management, employee training, and documentation of SOPs and other documents.

The following SOP software tools provide your business with a centralized platform to easily create, store and share your internal documents, processes, and procedures for quick information dissemination and alignment.

Note that some applications below cater to specific needs and industries, offering specific tools and features.

Check out our top list below, and see which suits your business needs best.

1. SweetProcess

Overview

SweetProcess simplifies creating SOPs by providing an easy way to draft, store, and share processes, procedures, and policies.

This standard operating procedure software also includes task management, process management, and team collaboration features, allowing businesses to streamline their workflow using one platform.

If you already have existing content of your procedures, SweetProcess provides an optional migration service from your current SOPs into your new account. Importing your processes via MS Word is also available.

Top Features

• Document procedures or repeatable processes in one place.
• Create, share, and implement business policies.
• Draft processes and collaborate to refine them.
• Assign and track your team’s past and present tasks.
• Build a public or private knowledge base for your staff or clients. This feature comes with a search function, feedback form, and tracking.
• Enable team members to suggest improvements and have managers approve them.
• Integrate the SOP software with over 1,000 apps via API or Zapier.
• Add files, images, and videos to processes, procedures, and policies.
• Secure your account with two-factor authentication.
• Export your processes, procedures, and policies to a PDF and MS Word format for offline viewing and printing.

Pricing

SweetProcess offers one pricing plan that provides access to all its features. You can choose between monthly or annual billing. Note that the yearly billing allows you to save 16% per month.

This SOP software also offers a regional discount of up to 80% and special pricing for teams with less than 20 employees.

Plus, it gives a 30-day money-back guarantee if the platform isn’t helpful.

Bottom Line

SweetProcess is perfect for startups and small businesses looking for an all-in-one SOP software that includes task and process managing features. It also offers general tools that most industries can utilize for adequate documentation.

The SOP software offers a 14-day free trial with no required credit card and a live demo to help you learn more about the software and decide if it’s the right one for you.

2. Trainual

Overview

Trainual offers well-rounded software to help you document standard operating procedures, improve your team’s task management, conduct easy employee onboarding, perform compliance training, and deliver consistent processes and results.

The software details and organizes the processes, procedures, and policies of each role and responsibility.

As a result, you can build your playbook easier, speed up your training time, and scale your business continuously.

Ultimately, Trainual will let your team and new hires know who does what and how using easily digestible manuals.

Top Features

• Document and organize standard operating procedures into step-by-step employee training manuals.
• Add smart Time Estimates to every process to ensure everyone takes the time to learn your SOPs.
• Track your staff’s training progress and test their knowledge after completing onboarding or training.
• Integrate the platform with HR and payroll systems and apps like Slack, Loom, Zenefits, and more.
• Set up an engaging employee orientation with videos, recordings, and GIFs.
• Create a comprehensive organization chart to track who’s who, who does what, and how.
• Create guided, organized, and collaborative digital SOPs for your team.
• Choose from hundreds of SOP templates for general processes and policies.

Pricing

Trainual provides two pricing plans. Its Train plan offers basic but practical features, perfect for small teams with up to 10 people.

Meanwhile, its Scale plan includes its basic plan plus advanced and custom features.

Note that you can save 20% with its annual billing. So, we highly recommend its annual plan to save money.

Bottom Line

Trainual suits solopreneurs, startups, and growing teams who want to lay down the foundation of their processes and policies per role and responsibility.

Moreover, it’s best for managers and owners who want to scale their businesses quickly without losing the quality of their onboarding process.

Access Trainual’s free SOP software through its seven-day trial to help you see if its standard operating procedure software suits your company.

3. Process Street

Overview

Process Street provides a simple process management software that allows companies to create and track various business processes using no-code workflows.

This SOP software also includes features for effective team collaboration, employee onboarding, engaging and dynamic content, automated tasks, and approval process control.

Plus, it integrates with thousands of apps to further streamline your workflows.

Overall, Process Street makes it easy to create workflows, automate tasks and schedules, and simplify your approval process for seamless collaboration with your team and others.

Top Features

• Provides a user-friendly interface, so there’s no need to code processes.
• Assign workflows quickly and track progress from the Process Street dashboard.
• Create procedure documents easily using keyboard shortcuts and drag and drop.
• Organize and share operations policies and other established team knowledge.
• Build dynamic workflows using conditional logic to adapt to your team’s needs.
• Set up single, multiple, or sequential approvals to streamline your processes.
• Integrate Process Street with over 3,000 apps, like Dropbox, Salesforce, and Gmail.
• Use forms to collect and organize data.
• Include files, videos, images, and audio for your onboarding material, operations policies, and processes for more specific and engaging content.
• Automate daily tasks and save time with scheduled workflows.

Pricing

Process Street offers three plans catering to startups, mid-sized businesses, and scalable teams. The Startup plan works for companies with less than 15 employees.

Meanwhile, the Pro and Enterprise plans suit larger teams and organizations. These packages include additional customization, support, and security features, among many others.

Note that this SOP software solution offers discounts for non-profits. Contact Process Street for further details.

Bottom Line

Process Street provides businesses with a platform to create simple but dynamic workflows.

This standard operating procedure software fits organizational leaders, CEOs, and owners in the marketing, advertising, and real estate industries.

Signing up for any plan includes a 14-day free trial of its Pro plan, enabling you to create plenty of workflows and workflow runs as needed.

4. Scribe

Overview

Scribe allows you to record your screen as you go through your process and then turn your recording into a step-by-step process document, complete with screenshots, clicks, texts, and instructions.

This standard operating procedure software helps save time when documenting a process. Moreover, it offers a visual way to present SOPs and manuals, among others.

Most businesses use it to automate documentation, create training guides for a knowledge base, onboard employees, visually answer questions, and train customers.

Scribe is available via the desktop app and Google Chrome extension.

Top Features

• Capture your process via recording. Use the recorder on Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and your desktop.
• Automate your SOP creation and add clicks, screenshots, and instructions.
• Customize work instructions or training materials by editing screenshots, adding text, branding, annotation, and redacting confidential information.
• Share your process guides via URL links, PDF documents, Confluence, and embed codes.
• Integrate with over 100 tools, knowledge bases, LMS platforms, wikis, and more.

Pricing

Scribe offers three different pricing plans, including a free SOP software plan.

The free version includes the necessary tools and access to allow solopreneurs to capture their process effortlessly. However, note that the basic plan doesn’t have the Scribe desktop recorder.

Meanwhile, its Pro plan provides additional tools for brands and extra customization.

Lastly, Scribe offers an Enterprise plan for large organizations with custom prices depending on your size and needs.

Bottom Line

Scribe is a standard operating procedure software that’s good for customer-facing teams, operations, human resources, learning and development teams, sales ops and enablement, and IT teams since it’ll make communicating a process easier.

Given its comprehensive pricing plans, it also suits solopreneurs and different business sizes. Note that Scribe doesn’t have a free trial for its paid plans.

5. ProcessKit

Overview

ProcessKit focuses on creating onboarding documents and processes for clients. Using this software, you can demonstrate to clients how your product works.

Keep in mind that it’s different from software used for employee onboarding, training, and customer support.

It enables you to introduce your business, walk your client through your product or service, and manage tasks. Other notable features include SOP templates, conditional logic, and automating recurring tasks.

As a result, ProcessKit help businesses improve their client onboarding, scale their onboarding process, and establish a good working relationship.

Top Features

• Build core processes from scratch easily or use template kits to document processes. SOP templates include processes for new customer onboarding, blog publishing, and hiring process, among others.
• Use conditional logic to create visibility rules and dependency rules in your onboarding process.
• Include intake forms, simple checklists, and dynamic dates in your process.
• View an organized Kanban board that automatically updates.
• See all information at a glance to track progress easily in your client pipeline.
• Delegate tasks to team members and calculate deadlines automatically.
• Add videos, work instructions, and dynamic content to tasks.
• Create personal to-do lists for each team member.
• Invite clients without them needing to log in or accept an invite.

Pricing

Unlike some standard operating procedure software in this list, ProcessKit only offers one plan that provides complete access to the platform.

Availing of the plan allows up to three team members to use the software and unlimited guests or clients.

Note that there’s an additional cost per additional member per month. If you want to save money, we highly recommend getting its annual billing to save 20%.

Bottom Line

ProcessKit primarily provides a convenient client onboarding process for startups, small businesses, and large organizations.

It’s also ideal for sales teams who want to remove bottlenecks in their client onboarding.

It offers a 14-day free trial, and no credit card is required. Also, the platform provides a demo and walkthrough if you want to see how it works.

6. ProcedureFlow

Overview

ProcedureFlow helps entrepreneurs, managers, and professionals translate processes or training manuals into easily digestible and intuitive documents.

Use this SOP software to document your top performers’ expertise and knowledge and provide new staff with accurate information to guide them in every part of their tasks.

Ultimately, ProcedureFlow helps simplify your knowledge base and improve quality control within your team.

Moreover, it helps eliminate information overload, resolve issues quicker, and document best practices even during employee turnovers.

Top Features

• Centralize and manage information in one database.
• Turn your current procedures into visual flow charts to help employees understand and consume information better.
• Enable employees to collaborate on flows, suggest changes, and compare flows side by side for the manager’s approval.
• Receive notifications for every change in the process to keep everyone in the loop.
• Use insights and reports to monitor responsibilities, see team engagement, track each member’s activity and progress, and cut down on process times.
• Have offline backups available in case of a network outage or unforeseen technical difficulties.
• Get tailored support from a dedicated customer success manager to answer your questions, organizational needs, and success criteria.

Pricing

ProcedureFlow offers three plans for small teams, growing teams, and enterprises. Its Teams plan includes the necessary tools in the platform.

Meanwhile, the Standard plan provides offline backup and better security. Lastly, the Enterprise plan gives access to activity and flow reports for extra insight into your team.

Note that the plans charge annually, ranging from $300 to $390 per user, depending on your chosen package. It can increase with education services add-ons.

Bottom Line

ProcedureFlow is ideal for growing SMEs and enterprises that want to train employees at scale without reducing the quality of their training.

It’s highly recommended for teams or companies within the IT and telecommunications industries since it offers features ideal for technical procedures.

Note that ProcedureFlow has no free trial, but you can request a demo.

7. Whale

Overview

Whale offers a knowledge-sharing platform to centralize and store your policies, procedures, and internal knowledge for employee onboarding, training, alignment, and improvement.

This standard operating procedure software also helps systemize and scale your business by connecting processes and best practices to your team’s existing apps via the Whale Web Extension.

Using Whale, you can cut your time for onboarding, provide accurate and standard information for all, and create documentation with the platform’s various templates and powerful editor.

Top Features

• Write content from scratch or import and format your existing content with Whale’s smart editor. Choose from over 75 free templates.
• Create dynamic content using videos, screen records, images, and GIFs.
• Build a work process using a visual and user-friendly interface.
• Have version control by seeing your history.
• Set user control permissions on a granular level.
• Create learning flows and send assignments for your employee’s onboarding and training.
• Send notifications to update and align your team regarding a new work process.
• Search full body texts on browsable libraries using any device.
• Receive a comprehensive report that tracks your team’s progress, identifies gaps in a core process and evaluates your knowledge performance.

Pricing

Whale provides three packages depending on your needs. Its Starter plan offers features for building an established team knowledge for startups with less than ten people.

Meanwhile, its Growth plan provides features specifically for employee onboarding and training

If you want more control, customization, and flexibility, its Scale plan provides extra growth features, like integrations and success services.

Each plan comes at an affordable rate per user. However, it also offers a 20% discount on all subscriptions for non-profit organizations.

Bottom Line

Whale is ideal for entrepreneurs, managers, and businesses who prioritize aligning and training their staff for increased productivity and quality.

It’s best for small companies and startups in the marketing, advertising, and IT industries, given its focus on improving employee training and growth.

If interested, check out its free trial or a demo for more information.

8. beSlick

Overview

beSlick provides a convenient platform for creating a workflow process, managing a project, and making process improvements all in one place.

When you create a workflow, this SOP software turns it into a checklist for implementing tasks.

The platform also provides a full audit trail to help you view and track your team’s activities every time they run a task.

Other notable features for compliance include visual reporting feedback and tracking of non-compliance.

Top Features

• Quickly create, assign, or reassign tasks to different people.
• Prioritize tasks via drag and drop and snooze them to focus on the day’s tasks.
• Access tasks via the beSlick mobile app.
• Utilize task automation and forms for work requests.
• Systemize recurring tasks and schedules using SOP templates.
• Organize departments and hierarchy to make administration easier.
• Track completed, ongoing, and overdue tasks.
• Invite employees and clients as guest users to collaborate with you.

Pricing

beSlick charges $10 per user per month. You pay the subscription annually, which includes two free months.

Also, you can choose among three implementation options, like Starter (free), Accelerator, and Managed.

All plans include unlimited tasks, workflows, SOP templates, groups, and guest access. Each plan caters to different team sizes, so choose one that reflects your needs.

beSlick offers a 40% discount for charity organizations and companies in the education sector.

Bottom Line

beSlick works for most business sizes and is a great tool for managers and entrepreneurs looking for a combination of project management and SOP software.

The platform includes a free trial and demo to help you check if it suits your business.

9. ETQ

Overview

ETQ provides an advanced cloud-based solution for safety management. It’s also a quality management system (QMS), which is a group of business processes that help manage risks.

ETQ’s SOP software provider, in particular, helps businesses create, simplify, store, and distribute controlled documents.

As a result, companies can monitor business proceedings, deliver consistent processes, and produce better results.

Top Features

• Document your processes and procedures securely in one standard operating procedure software.
• Design a comprehensive employee onboarding that can track your employees’ progress and link to necessary documents.
• Identify issues or bottlenecks via ETQ’s Corrective Action feature, which includes a real-time dashboard and a Root Cause Analysis Toolkit.
• Conduct audit management, from planning and execution to approval and reporting.
• Prevent and manage risks using ETQ Reliance Risk Register, which identifies, collects, and stores risk data in a central repository.
• Automate e-signatures using ETQ’s compliant software with validation support and audit trails.
• Get detailed analytics on valuable data, trends, and information to help you make data-driven decisions.
• Receive the best support from experienced quality management teams, certified project managers and consultants, and global partners.

Pricing

ETQ doesn’t show its monthly prices on its website. Instead, it gives a custom quote after you provide your number of users, application sets, and type of implementation. However, the cost primarily depends on the number of users.

Since it doesn’t have several plans, subscribing to the software allows you to access its cloud-based SOP software, applications and analytics, professional support, and online product training via its online courses.

Bottom Line

ETQ provides robust software for large organizations, given its many features. It’s also most suitable for established companies at their later growth stages.

Moreover, this powerful SOP software will be more than enough for early-stage startups and solopreneurs.

Nonetheless, ETQ provides a great tool for process and quality control, especially in the life sciences sector.

How Are The Best Standard Operating Procedure Software for Startups and Small Businesses Used?

Standard operating procedure software is commonly used by the majority of startups and small businesses for managing their online documentation, tasks, and processes. Such software facilitates the creation and implementation of procedures and policies pertaining to various operations, including but not limited to onboarding, sales process, recruitment, and IT processes

Also, most SOP software providers act as a repository for all your team’s information, making it a centralized library for your current and future team members.

As a result, you align everyone in your team, help mitigate risks, improve employee training, and deliver outputs consistently.

If you’re thinking of getting software for your standard operating procedures, key features to look for include ready-made SOP templates, sharing and collaboration tools, and easy workflow documentation.

Overall, the best SOP software will allow you to seamlessly create, store, and share your data and knowledge.

Wrap-Up

A standard operating procedure software will help your startup or small business document your policies, processes, and procedures, enabling you to align your team members and deliver consistent products or services.

Hopefully, our list above helped you find a suitable SOP software for your needs. Ideally, the best SOP software for your business includes tools and features that cater to your business needs.