SOP Friday
A weekly look at standard operating procedures for successful Managed Service Providers.
New SOP posts appear at Blog.SmallBizThoughts.com
Front Office Mastery
Section One
Getting Started
Introduction to SOPs for Technical Consultants and MSPs
Setting Up an MSP Office
— See Related Video
Getting Started – Naming Your Business
— See Related Video
Getting Started – The Form of Your Business
— See Related Video
Getting Started – Cash vs. Accrual Accounting
— See Related Video
Getting Started – Licenses, etc.
— See Related Video
How to Work 8AM to 5PM in I.T. Consulting
— See Related Video
Keeping Your Standards and Procedures Organized
Making Exceptions to SOPs
— See Related Video
Phone Etiquette and Procedures
Phone Procedures 1 – Philosophy and General Rules
Phone Procedures 2 – How Much Interruption is Okay?
Section Two
Finance
The Central Role of Finance
Building a Business Plan for Your I.T. Company
— See Related Video
Billing Procedures and Policies
Cash Flow: Getting Paid in Advance
— See Related Video
Collection Policies
— See Related Video
Cash Flow: Dealing with Late Payments
Cash Flow: Weekly Procedure
— See Related Video
Running Regular Financial Reports
Choosing Pay Dates
— See Related Video
Vendor Management and Coordination
Vendor/Distributor Record Keeping
Inventory Management
— See Related Video
Financial Goals: More than Revenue Targets
Financial Goals: Realistic Revenue Projections
Section Three
Sales, Marketing, & Client Management
Employees and Internal Processes
Section One
Employees
Intro Notes
Employee Handbook
— See Related Video
Hiring Your First Employee
— See Related Video
— and Another One
Hiring vs. Outsourcing
— See Related Video
Hiring Process
— See Related Video
Employee On-Boarding
— See Related Video
Roles and Responsibilities – Front Office
— See Related Video
Roles and Responsibilities – Service Manager
— See Related Video
Roles and Responsibilities – Technician
DiSC Personality Profiles
— See Related Video
Honesty, Integrity, and Teamwork
— See Related Video
Basic Customer Service Training
Employee Review Procedure (Quarterly or Annual)
— See Related Video
Layoffs and Downsizing
— See Related Video
Firing Process
— See Related Video
Time Sheet Submission and Approval
— See Related Video
Employee Expense Reports
— See Related Video
Paid Time Off / Paid Holidays
— See Related Video
Travel Policies
— See Related Video
Casual Fridays (and Dress Codes Generally)
Dealing with Unfaithful Employees
Section Two
Miscellaneous Policies & Procedures
Running the Service Department
Section One
Policies and Philosophies
Intro Notes
Naming Conventions for Machines and Servers
— See Related Video
Schedules and Timelines for Running Your Company
— See Related Video
Working in Real Time
— See Related Video
— And Another One
Used Equipment and Warranties
— See Related Video
Hardware Replacement and Upgrade Policy
— See Related Video
Software Upgrade Policy
— See Related Video
Nuking and Paving
— See Related Video
After Hours Work
— See Related Video
On Call and Night Staff
— See Related Video
Managing Internal Administrative Tasks
— See Related Video
Assign Techs or Rotate Them?
— See Related Video
Approved Tools
— See Related Video
Section Two
Employees in the Tech Department
Intro Notes
Technician Daily Time Management— includes daily work flow
The Tech on Call for The Day – Managing Daily Workflow
How to Maximize Billability of Technicians
— See Related Video
Email Rules and Etiquette for the Consultant
Section Three
Client Management
Section Four
Practical How-To Examples
Intro Notes
Troubleshooting and Repair Logs
HIPAA Part Three – Documentation
Adding a New Machine to Managed Services
DNS and DHCP Allocation – Server vs. Firewall
— See Related Video
IP Address Allocations (static, dynamic, exceptions, documenting)
Running the Service Department
Section One
Service Delivery Policies and Procedures
Intro Notes
How Do Service Requests Get Into Your System?
Response Times – Guarantees and Delivery
Ticket Statuses to Use and When to Use Them
Service Ticket updates (time estimate, work type, etc.)
Time Entry and Note Entry in Service Tickets
Service Board Backlog Management
Daily Monitoring of Client Machines
Patch Management Philosophy and Procedures
Setting Up Alerts in Your PSA and RMM
Third Party Tech Support – Documenting Calls
Section Two
Service Focus: Monthly Maintenance
Section Three
Service Focus: Backups and Disaster Recovery
INDEX OF SOPs
The articles listed below constitute about 65% of the entire series. Additional information and a complete table of contents is available at www.sop4smb.com.
The Managed Services Operations Manual 4-volume set is available at the Small Biz Thoughts Bookstore, Amazon, and wherever fine books for nerds are sold.
Volume One: Front Office Mastery
Introduction to SOPs for Technical Consultants and MSPs
Setting Up an MSP Office
— See Related Video
Getting Started – Naming Your Business
— See Related Video
Getting Started – The Form of Your Business
— See Related Video
Getting Started – Cash vs. Accrual Accounting
— See Related Video
Getting Started – Licenses, etc.
— See Related Video
How to Work 8AM to 5PM in I.T. Consulting
— See Related Video
Keeping Your Standards and Procedures Organized
Making Exceptions to SOPs
— See Related Video
Phone Etiquette and Procedures
Phone Procedures 1 – Philosophy and General Rules
Phone Procedures 2 – How Much Interruption is Okay?
The Central Role of Finance
Building a Business Plan for Your I.T. Company
— See Related Video
Billing Procedures and Policies
Cash Flow: Getting Paid in Advance
— See Related Video
Collection Policies
— See Related Video
Cash Flow: Dealing with Late Payments
Cash Flow: Weekly Procedure
— See Related Video
Running Regular Financial Reports
Choosing Pay Dates
— See Related Video
Vendor Management and Coordination
Vendor/Distributor Record Keeping
Inventory Management
— See Related Video
Financial Goals: More than Revenue Targets
Financial Goals: Realistic Revenue Projections
Volume Two: Employees and Internal Processes
Intro Notes
Employee Handbook
— See Related Video
Hiring Your First Employee
— See Related Video
— and Another One
Hiring vs. Outsourcing
— See Related Video
Hiring Process
— See Related Video
Employee On-Boarding
— See Related Video
Roles and Responsibilities – Front Office
— See Related Video
Roles and Responsibilities – Service Manager
— See Related Video
Roles and Responsibilities – Technician
DiSC Personality Profiles
— See Related Video
Honesty, Integrity, and Teamwork
— See Related Video
Basic Customer Service Training
Employee Review Procedure (Quarterly or Annual)
— See Related Video
Layoffs and Downsizing
— See Related Video
Firing Process
— See Related Video
Time Sheet Submission and Approval
— See Related Video
Employee Expense Reports
— See Related Video
Paid Time Off / Paid Holidays
— See Related Video
Travel Policies
— See Related Video
Casual Fridays (and Dress Codes Generally)
Dealing with Unfaithful Employees
Volume Three: Running the Service Department
Intro Notes
Naming Conventions for Machines and Servers
— See Related Video
Schedules and Timelines for Running Your Company
— See Related Video
Working in Real Time
— See Related Video
— And Another One
Used Equipment and Warranties
— See Related Video
Hardware Replacement and Upgrade Policy
— See Related Video
Software Upgrade Policy
— See Related Video
Nuking and Paving
— See Related Video
After Hours Work
— See Related Video
On Call and Night Staff
— See Related Video
Managing Internal Administrative Tasks
— See Related Video
Assign Techs or Rotate Them?
— See Related Video
Approved Tools
— See Related Video
Intro Notes
Technician Daily Time Management— includes daily work flow
The Tech on Call for The Day – Managing Daily Workflow
How to Maximize Billability of Technicians
— See Related Video
Email Rules and Etiquette for the Consultant
Intro Notes
Troubleshooting and Repair Logs
HIPAA Part Three – Documentation
Adding a New Machine to Managed Services
DNS and DHCP Allocation – Server vs. Firewall
— See Related Video
IP Address Allocations (static, dynamic, exceptions, documenting)
Volume Four: Support and Service Delivery
Intro Notes
Naming Conventions for Machines and Servers
— See Related Video
Schedules and Timelines for Running Your Company
— See Related Video
Working in Real Time
— See Related Video
— And Another One
Used Equipment and Warranties
— See Related Video
Hardware Replacement and Upgrade Policy
— See Related Video
Software Upgrade Policy
— See Related Video
Nuking and Paving
— See Related Video
After Hours Work
— See Related Video
On Call and Night Staff
— See Related Video
Managing Internal Administrative Tasks
— See Related Video
Assign Techs or Rotate Them?
— See Related Video
Approved Tools
— See Related Video
Intro Notes
Technician Daily Time Management— includes daily work flow
The Tech on Call for The Day – Managing Daily Workflow
How to Maximize Billability of Technicians
— See Related Video
Email Rules and Etiquette for the Consultant
Intro Notes
Troubleshooting and Repair Logs
HIPAA Part Three – Documentation
Adding a New Machine to Managed Services
DNS and DHCP Allocation – Server vs. Firewall
— See Related Video
IP Address Allocations (static, dynamic, exceptions, documenting)
ALL SOP VIDEOS
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Managed Services Operations Manual
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