The Practice SOP Builder
What It Is
This prompt turns any process that currently lives in your head — or in one key team member's head — into a fully executable Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). Using a recursive decomposition method borrowed from aerospace engineering, it breaks your process into stages, steps, sub-steps, decision trees, and error-recovery actions so that a competent person who has never done it before can execute it successfully on their first attempt without asking you a single question.
You'll walk away with a complete, production-ready SOP that includes a stage-by-stage procedure, embedded decision points with IF/THEN logic, inline error handling, and a quick-reference checklist for experienced team members who just need a memory jogger.
Who It Is For
Any Trusted Advisor whose practice has at least one critical process that only one person knows how to do — and where that person being out sick, on vacation, or leaving the team would cause the process to grind to a halt. Common examples in advisory practices:
- Client Onboarding — the sequence from signed agreement to fully onboarded client (account setup, paperwork, custodian transfers, first review scheduling).
- Annual Review Process — how you prepare, conduct, and follow up on annual client reviews, from pulling reports to sending the recap.
- Referral Intake — what happens from the moment a referral is received through the first meeting, so no warm lead falls through the cracks.
- Compliance Workflows — any recurring compliance-driven process (suitability reviews, documentation filing, disclosure delivery) that must happen exactly right.
Note on compliance: This prompt produces a procedural framework. All SOPs involving regulated activities should be reviewed by your compliance officer or OSJ before being used as official firm procedures.
Sample Output
Abbreviated for illustration.
Process: New Client Onboarding · Version: 1.0 · Owner: Client Services Coordinator · Updated: [Date] · Roles: Client Services Coordinator; Advisor (for flagged steps)
Prerequisites
- Signed client agreement received and confirmed in DocuSign as "Completed" status
- Advisor has verbally confirmed the client relationship is active and onboarding should proceed
- Coordinator has active login credentials for Schwab Advisor Center, Redtail CRM, and ShareFile
- New client's full legal name, date of birth, SSN, and mailing address confirmed in signed agreement
STAGE 1: Account Setup in Schwab Advisor Center Start Condition: Signed agreement confirmed in DocuSign. Prerequisites met. End Condition: New client account appears in Schwab Advisor Center with "Pending" or "Open" status.
- Open a Chrome browser and navigate to advisorcenter.schwab.com.
- Log in using your firm credentials. If prompted for multi-factor authentication, approve the push notification on your phone.
- Click "Accounts" in the top navigation bar, then select "Open New Account" from the dropdown.
- ✓ Verification: Confirm the "Open New Account" wizard launches and displays Step 1 of 5 in the upper right corner.
- Enter client information exactly as it appears in the signed agreement:
a. Legal First Name: [from agreement, field 1a]
b. Legal Last Name: [from agreement, field 1b]
c. Date of Birth: [MM/DD/YYYY format]
d. Social Security Number: [9 digits, no dashes]
- ⚠ Error: If SSN is flagged as invalid → Stop. Do not proceed. Contact client directly at the phone number on file to confirm SSN, then re-enter.
STAGE 1 — Decision Point: Account Type
| IF the client's situation is... | THEN select this account type |
|---|---|
| Individual investor, no joint ownership | Individual Brokerage |
| Married couple, both names on account | Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship (JTWROS) |
| Account held by a trust | Revocable Living Trust — flag for advisor review before proceeding [COMPLIANCE CHECKPOINT] |
| IRA rollover from employer plan | Traditional IRA — flag for advisor review before proceeding [COMPLIANCE CHECKPOINT] |
Quick Reference Checklist (abbreviated)
- Stage 1: Open Schwab account — enter client data, select account type, submit
- Stage 2: Initiate ACATS transfer — complete transfer form, attach statement, submit
- Stage 3: Set up client in Redtail CRM — create record, add accounts, assign review date
- Stage 4: Create ShareFile folder — use naming convention, upload signed agreement
- Stage 5: Send welcome email — use template, attach portal login instructions
- Stage 6: Schedule 90-day onboarding review in Outlook — send calendar invite to client and advisor
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