SOP prompt

What most people type

write an SOP for opening and closing our retail store

It works, but the AI has to guess your staff roles, e.g. opening/closing employees and managers, store type and what it sells and number of staff on shift, so the first answer usually needs another round. The version below asks for exactly what a professional would deliver.

Write a standard operating procedure (SOP) for opening and closing our retail store, for use by [staff roles, e.g. opening/closing employees and managers].

Context: [store type and what it sells], [number of staff on shift], [POS/alarm/security systems used], [store hours].

Structure it as two separate checklists, Opening Procedure and Closing Procedure, each in numbered steps in the order they are done. Also include:
- Purpose, scope and who is responsible (by role)
- Required keys, access codes and equipment, without writing any actual codes
- For opening: security and alarm disarm, safety walk-through, lights and systems start-up, cash drawer setup and count, floor and merchandise readiness, a pre-open team check
- For closing: last-customer and lock-up steps, cash count, reconciliation and deposit, end-of-day POS reports, cleaning and restocking, security checks, alarm set and lock-up
- Who to notify and what to do if something goes wrong (discrepancy, alarm issue, incident), using [manager/owner contact] and [store cash handling and security policy]
- A sign-off line for the person completing each checklist (name, date, time, initials)

Use plain language that a new employee can follow, with checkbox-style steps. Mark any step that depends on store-specific policy with a placeholder instead of inventing the policy.

Replace the [brackets] with your details before you send it: staff roles, e.g. opening/closing employees and managers, store type and what it sells, number of staff on shift, POS/alarm/security systems used, store hours, manager/owner contact, store cash handling and security policy.

What a professional sOP prompt covers

• Separate opening and closing checklists
• Numbered steps
• Roles or who does it
• Placeholders for store-specific systems like POS and alarm

Best AI model for this prompt

This is a everyday task. You don't need the most expensive model. The cheapest model at each company that handles it well:

Pay-per-use list prices for this prompt and its expected answer (about 400 tokens). On a monthly chat plan, the same choice shows up as more messages before you hit your limit. See today's AI prices.