You’ve probably heard it a hundred times: “You need SOPs to scale”
But when you finally sit down to do it, the first question that pops up is – how much does a standard operating procedure actually cost?
The short answer? It depends.
You could spend nothing but hours of your own time. You could drop thousands hiring a consultant. Or, like many small businesses, you could land somewhere in the middle with ready-made templates that do most of the heavy lifting for you.
Here’s a breakdown of the real costs – time, money, and energy – so you can figure out what’s actually worth it for your business right now.
1. DIY-ing your SOPs (cost = time)
Writing your own SOPs sounds simple enough. Open a doc. Start typing. Job done? Not quite.
You’ll need to:
- Decide which processes to document
- Figure out the best structure
- Write it clearly enough that someone else could follow it
- Test it with your team (if you have one)
- Revisit and update it regularly
Even if you’re a fast writer, the time adds up. If your hourly rate is €50 and you spend 10-15 hours creating your first batch, that’s already €500-€750 worth of time, and that’s assuming everything goes smoothly.
Plus, let’s be honest , SOPs are one of those “important but boring” tasks that keep getting pushed to the bottom of the list..
2. Hiring a consultant (cost = €800–€5,000+)
At the other end of the spectrum is outsourcing.
Bringing in a systems strategist or online business manager to create your SOPs can save you time and ensure everything’s tailored to your operations. This is ideal if you’re managing a team, have complex systems, or want someone to take full ownership.
But it comes at a price.
You’ll likely pay:
- €800-€1,500 for a basic SOP project
- €2,000-€5,000+ for a comprehensive, done-for-you setup
Worth it? Absolutely… for businesses at a certain stage. But if you’re earlier in your journey or just starting to grow a team, it might feel like overkill.
3. The middle ground: SOP templates (cost = €49)
Here’s where SOP templates come in.
Templates give you the structure, wording, and process – you just tweak them to match your business. You skip the blank page, avoid hiring out, and get your ops tightened up fast.
The 40 SOP Template Pack from Olivier Consultancy costs €49, which works out to just over €1 per SOP.
You get:
- Ready-to-use templates across marketing, admin, delivery, ops and more
- Clear structure: purpose, tools, owner, step-by-step instructions
- Easy customisation – plug into Notion, ClickUp, Google Docs etc.
- No fluff, no filler – just useful, clean docs that save hours
It’s like hiring a business consultant… for the cost of one takeaway.
4. So what should you spend on SOPs?
There’s no right answer, but here’s a rough guide based on where you are:
- Just starting out? Free guides and DIY might be enough.
- Starting to grow a team or streamline? A strong template pack will save you time, effort, and decision fatigue.
- Scaling fast with lots of moving parts? A bespoke system might be the better route.
But for most business owners juggling client work, marketing, and admin SOP templates are the easiest way to get things off your plate without dropping the ball.
Final thoughts
SOPs aren’t just for big teams. They’re for any business owner who’s tired of repeating themselves, firefighting, or trying to keep everything in their head.
If you’re not quite ready for a full-blown systems overhaul, the Olivier Consultancy SOP Template Pack is a smart starting point.
One small investment. Dozens of hours saved.
