Maximize efficiency with the best SOP software on the market
Did you know that companies using manual processes for their SOPs spend an average of 19%
of their workweek
searching for information? By automating processes, SOP software ensures that employees are
following the
correct procedures,
eliminating the need for costly paperwork and manual processes.
Additionally, SOP software offers secure document sharing, automated training and certification, and
reporting capabilities, making it a powerful tool for organizations to streamline their
operations.
With SOP software, organizations can have better control over their processes and save resources while still
ensuring that their employees are following the proper protocols.
This blog post will help you navigate the current state of SOP software, with a list of the best tools
currently available on the market, and an overview of what must-have features you should be looking for.
What is SOP software?
SOP software (standard operating procedures software) refers to any digital tool or platform
that
enables
users to create, store, and manage standard operating procedures (SOPs).
SOP software provides the necessary tools to create SOPs and is based on a secure, central
document
repository. This type of software facilitates the management of SOPs and allows teams to
standardize
their
creation
process, while also recording existing procedures that team members can interact
with.
Examples of popular SOP software programs include Process Street, SweetProcess, Trainual,
ProcedureFlow,
Scribe, Method Grid, Lean Power, and JobRouter.
SOP software benefits
Using SOP software has many benefits compared to more traditional SOP methods like standalone
digital documents or paper forms. SOP software is more efficient and cost-effective than
manually
filling out paper forms, as it can be accessed anywhere, anytime and requires no additional
resources.
It also allows for more secure sharing of documents and automated training and
certification.
Overall, SOP software provides a more organized and streamlined way to manage documentation and
processes.
Best SOP software: Process Street
Process Street is a workflow and process management system designed to help teams create and manage
recurring tasks and processes.
Best for: Best platform for SOP, workflow management and automation.
Transforms static SOPs into interactive workflows.
Features
Permission controls
Dashboard overview
Knowledge management features
Extensive product documentation & education (via
help site articles, video tutorials, customer
success
product experts)
Approvals
Process control
Reporting
Free templates
Checklists
Task assignment & tracking
Dynamic due dates
2000+ integrations (all easy to use no-code, via
native & Zapier)
Google Docs is a modern, collaborative, flexible tool that many businesses use to author SOPs and process
documentation. Although a simple tool, you can get a lot of mileage out of Google Docs if you use it
properly. But the downside is that it lacks any real workflow or automation features, and is ultimately not
a tool designed to be used for scalable SOP management.
Best for: Lightweight SOP documentation in teams that need to quickly
record procedures.
Features
Permission controls
Extensive product documentation (help site)
Approvals
Free templates
Very simple checklists
Task assignment
Integrations
Pros
Word templates can be easily imported.
Free with Google Workspace
Very easy to use
Great for collaboration
Cons
No automation functionality
Not a truly dedicated process tool
No metrics/analytics
No dashboard overview feature (so it's hard to
track multiple procedures in real time)
Document360 is a cloud-based self-serve knowledge base and documentation platform used to create and share
company knowledge.
Best for: Creating, managing, and sharing simple SOP documents & creating
knowledge bases.
Features
Permission controls
Dashboard overview
Knowledge management features
Extensive product documentation (help site)
Reporting
Free templates
Task assignment & tracking (sort of, with the
project status feature)
26 integrations (easy to set up, low-code native
integrations), and more Extensions (their name for a more technically involved integration,
requiring the use of Javascript snippets)
Good old Microsoft Word. Reliable. Flexible. Free with Office 365. Though there may be more powerful options
out there, for many people, the simplicity of Word does the trick. But if you're using (or considering
using) Microsoft Word for writing SOPs, you should understand its limitations.
Best for: Old-fashioned teams who just need a simple, reliable way to
document procedures.
Features
Free templates
Limited checklists
Integrations
Pros
Very simple
Free with Office 365
Cons
Very simple
Limited rich media (images, videos, etc)
Limited standalone collaboration or document
management features
Notion is like a Swiss army knife of productivity software; its a powerful modern workspace tool that many
businesses are starting to use as a modern SOP management platform because it's so easy to collaborate on
and organize knowledge. In some ways, Notion is like a hybrid of a spreadsheet software like Excel, a
document workspace like Dropbox Paper, and a database platform like Airtable.
Best for: Teams looking to collaborate on document management with
database features.
Features
Permission controls
Knowledge management features
Extensive product documentation (help site)
Approvals
Limited reporting
Free templates
Limited checklists
Task assignment & tracking
Integrations
Pros
Easy to use
Great team collaboration & permissions
features
Very versatile
One of the best knowledge management
solutions available
Cons
Lacks workflow and task management features
Lacks extensive automation tools
Not as actionable (in terms of task tracking,
assignment, and approval) as other options
As far as SOP solutions go, Google Sites is quite similar to Google Docs in terms of functionality. Despite
sounding like a traditional website builder - it's not. It's primarily a tool that helps you work on
projects and collaborate with your team. In this way, it can be a useful tool to record standard operating
procedures and share them with your team.
Best for: Teams who want a simple, free, easy to use tool to document and
share their SOPs
Features
Permission controls
Extensive product documentation (help site)
Approvals
Free templates
Simple checklists
Task assignment & tracking
Integrations
Pros
Has a free plan.
Easy to use
Zero technical knowledge required
Cons
Limited features
More initial set up effort required than Google
Docs
Scribe is a document collaboration and management platform designed to help teams create and manage
documents by auto-generating step-by-step guides from screen recordings.
Best for: Auto-generating simple processes from screen recordings.
Features
Permission controls
Reporting
Checklists
Integrations
Pros
Novel idea of using screen capture tech to
auto-generate tasks and processes
Easy to use browser extension
Great for recording processes then importing
to Process Street, Word, Confluence etc.
Cons
Captured information is often messy & requires
manual clean-up
Limited customization
Desktop app lacks some features vs Chrome extension
More of a documentation tool than an actionable
procedure tracker
Guru is a knowledge management platform focusing on IT and MSP. As a solution designed to provide a
single-source of truth for company documentation, it can be used to record and document SOPs for easy
access, sharing & collaboration.
Best for: IT teams and MSPs looking to manage SOPs
Features
Permission controls
Dashboard overview
Knowledge management features
Extensive product documentation (help site)
Approvals
Process control
Reporting
Free templates
Checklists
Task assignment & tracking
Integrations
Pros
Slack integration
Able to link “cards” for related knowledge
points/pages
ClickUp is a productivity platform that offers project management and collaboration features. Their core
mission is to make the world more productive by removing friction caused by using many different
applications. Because ClickUp is such a broad application, users looking for a simple SOP solution may be
overwhelmed.
There are some SOP templates available, but expect to have to put more time into tailor-fitting your own
solution if you want to get the most out of this software.
Best for: Those who need to build their own versatile, robust SOPs with
extra functionality
SharePoint is Microsoft's document management system software. It's designed to allow users to document and
maintain information in a shared repository. It's offered as a part of Office365 and depends on Microsoft
Suite to function.
SharePoint can be a powerful tool for document management, but the biggest drawback is that you will need a
dedicated engineer to manage and maintain it.
Best for: Teams who are already heavily Microsoft-dependent
JobRouter is a low-code digitization platform designed to help teams digitize all of their business tasks
and processes. An interesting feature is their integration tool which they brand JobLink, which works to
hook JobRouter up with Automation Anywhere (a leading RPA provider) for robot controlled process automation.
Best for: Robotic process automation.
Features
Permission controls
Dashboard overview
Knowledge management features
Approvals
Reporting
Checklists
Task assignment & tracking
Integrations
Pros
Highly customizable BPM engine
Audit logs
KPI reporting
Proprietary integration with leading RPA
provider
Cons
Setup fee
Despite being advertised as “low-code”, there is a
steep learning curve
Integrated document reader can be slow to load
content
Allows for secure sharing of documents, which enables effective team collaboration.
Dashboard overview
Provides a single place for employees to easily access and search for updated documents,
reducing information clutter and ensuring that employees find the information they need when
they need it.
Customer education resources
Allows for training and education of employees on best practices for using, designing, and
improving SOPs, ensuring that the material is understood and followed & ROI is maximized.
Approvals
Allows for approval processes to be automated and streamlined, saving time and resources.
Process control features
Gives managers the ability to monitor, control, and optimize processes, ensuring that tasks are
completed within standard guidelines.
Version control
Ensures that the most up-to-date version of a document is always accessible.
Reporting
Allows for tracking and reporting on employee performance and procedural compliance.
Free templates
Provides a quick and easy way to create SOPs, reducing implementation time and costs.
Conditional logic
Allows for customization of documents based on different conditions, giving users more control
over the process.
Checklists
Enables employees to easily record and track tasks, ensuring that nothing gets forgotten or
overlooked.
Task assignment & tracking
Automatically distributes SOP materials to employees and sends reminders in case of
non-completion, providing managers with insight into any non-compliance.
Dynamic due dates
Allows for tasks to be assigned with due dates that can be adjusted based on certain criteria,
ensuring that tasks are completed on time.
Integrations
Allows for automated processes to be triggered based on certain criteria, giving users more
control over the process and reducing manual effort.
