Start with the routines that touch money or patients every day and that only one person really knows: checkout and payment posting, insurance verification, scheduling and confirmations, and end-of-day closeout. Write each one on a single page, give it an owner who keeps it current, and collect the pages into the training manual new hires learn from.
Most practices already have procedures. They tend to live in people's heads, or in a binder left by an office manager who moved on years ago. Getting them onto paper means the practice runs the same way on a Tuesday when your best person is out.
Which routines should be documented first?
A good first list comes from two questions. Which tasks would cost money or upset a patient if they were done wrong? And which ones does only one person know how to do?
Where the answers overlap, start writing. For most solo practices that's a short list, much like the one below.
| Priority | Routine | Why it's early |
|---|---|---|
| First | Checkout, collecting the patient portion and posting payments | Money leaves the building when it's done inconsistently |
| First | Insurance verification and treatment estimates | Wrong estimates become patient balances later |
| First | Scheduling, confirmations and filling openings | The schedule drives production |
| First | End-of-day closeout and deposits | A daily control on cash |
| Next | New-patient call and first visit | The first impression, and usually unscripted |
| Next | Treatment presentation handoff from operatory to front desk | Where accepted treatment gets lost |
| Next | Hygiene reappointment and recall | Keeps the hygiene schedule full |
| Next | Opening and closing the office | Alarms, equipment, sterilization and lockup |
| Later | Ordering supplies and lab case tracking | Important, but easier to recover from |
| Later | Month-end reports for the owner | Usually one person's job, so document it before they leave |
Clinical protocols and infection control matter just as much, but they're usually written by the doctor with your compliance vendor. This article is about the business side of the office.
What should a dental SOP include?
Keep it to one page whenever you can. A long document doesn't get read at the front desk, and nobody updates it.
One-page SOP template
- Title and the role that performs it
- Purpose in one sentence
- When it happens (daily, per patient, monthly) and how long it should take
- Steps, numbered, each starting with a verb
- Screens or reports used in the practice software, with the menu path
- What good looks like, so the person can check their own work
- Common mistakes and how to fix them
- Owner who keeps it current, plus the last review date
Screenshots help a great deal for software steps. So does writing it the way your team talks, using the names of your actual reports and the phrases your front desk actually says to patients.
Who should write SOPs, and who keeps them current?
The person who does the task well is the best author. You or your office manager review it, edit for clarity and sign off. Writing from scratch at a desk tends to produce the procedure you wish you had, which often doesn't match how the work really gets done.
A practical way to draft is to have someone do the task while a colleague takes notes or records the screen. The notes become the first draft, and the person who does the job corrects it.
Each SOP needs one named owner. Their job is to update it whenever something changes, such as a software update or a revision to your financial policy, and a short review on a set rhythm catches anything missed.
- Each SOP lists an owner and a last review date
- Changes are made in one master copy, with older versions removed
- The full set is reviewed once a year, or after a software change
- Anyone can flag a step that's out of date, and the owner fixes it within a week
Where should the SOPs live?
Somewhere everyone can find them in under a minute. A shared drive folder organized by role works well for most practices, with a printed copy of the front-desk essentials kept at the desk. Some practice management systems and training platforms can hold documents as well.
Whatever you choose, keep one master version so nobody is training from an older copy.
How do SOPs feed onboarding and training?
Once the procedures exist, the training manual is largely assembled. Group the SOPs by role, add a short welcome page about how your practice works with patients, and you have the core of what a new hire needs.
Training then becomes more consistent. The trainer walks through the SOP, the new person does the task with the page in front of them, and the trainer signs off when it's done correctly on their own. If you use a 30/60/90-day plan, the SOPs fill in what gets learned when. (Our article on the real cost of informal HR covers that plan and the role scorecard.)
SOPs also protect you during turnover. When a key person leaves, the routines stay behind, which is a large part of what makes a departure manageable.
How long does it take to build a full set?
That depends on how much is already written and how much time the team has around patients. A steady pace, such as one or two procedures a week, gets the first-priority routines done within a couple of months without pulling anyone off the schedule. Starting with the routines in the table above means the most valuable pages are written first, even if the full manual takes longer.
If your procedures live mostly in people's heads, we'd be glad to help get them onto paper in a form your team will use. Practice Foundations, one of our fixed-fee projects, covers SOPs for every position and the training manual built from them, along with your mission, vision and values. A complimentary 30-minute First Look is an easy way to start. Molar + Margin is based in South Florida and works with practices remotely across the U.S., and you can reach us at jana@molarandmargin.com or 561-685-4859.