Toolkit

The Toolkit: A One-Page Operating Agreement

Copy-ready templates for service businesses: a one-page operating agreement (SOP), discovery notes, message templates, job review and absence plan.

All chapters
  1. 1. Find where work gets stuck
  2. 2. Choose the right jobs
  3. 3. Make inquiries easier
  4. 4. The discovery call
  5. 5. Site visits and paid estimates
  6. 6. How to price a job
  7. 7. Markup vs margin
  8. 8. What to include in a quote
  9. 9. Quote example
  10. 10. After the quote
  11. 11. Price objections
  12. 12. Client onboarding
  13. 13. Capacity and updates
  14. 14. Change requests
  15. 15. Invoicing
  16. 16. Overdue invoices
  17. 17. Cash flow forecast
  18. 18. Job completion
  19. 19. Reviews and referrals
  20. 20. Lead sources
  21. 21. Weekly review
  22. 22. Delegation
  23. 23. Tools and records
  24. 24. Automation and AI
  25. 25. Business metrics
  26. 26. Unhappy customers
  27. 27. 30-day plan
  28. 28. Adapt it to your service
  29. Toolkit
  30. Discovery notes template
  31. Message templates
  32. Job review template
  33. Owner absence plan
On this page
  1. Work we want
  2. Promises we can maintain
  3. How we make decisions
  4. How we keep the work visible
  1. One-page operating agreementToolkit
  2. Discovery notes templateToolkit
  3. The quote review checklistChapter 8
  4. Message templatesToolkit
  5. The change request and approval recordChapter 14
  6. The weekly owner reviewChapter 21
  7. Job review templateToolkit
  8. Owner absence planToolkit

Complete this with the people who handle inquiries and delivery. Keep the answers short. Review it whenever the offer, capacity or team changes.

Work we want

  • Our main services and area: [write here]
  • Projects we are well equipped to deliver: [write here]
  • Requests we refer, decline or assess separately: [write here]
  • Information we need before offering a call or visit: [write here]

Promises we can maintain

  • Normal response expectation and working hours: [write here]
  • Person responsible for new inquiries and absence cover: [write here]
  • Conditions required before a quote can be completed: [write here]
  • Conditions required before a booking is confirmed: [write here]

How we make decisions

  • Who approves prices and unusual scope: [write here]
  • Who can approve changes and customer exceptions: [write here]
  • What must be escalated, and to whom: [write here]
  • What stops a scheduled customer message: [write here]

How we keep the work visible

  • Where the current project record lives: [write here]
  • Where confirmed dates and invoices are authoritative: [write here]
  • Daily review time and weekly review owner: [write here]
  • Who maintains templates, access and automation: [write here]

Use it in a real case. Ask two people to independently decide the next step for the same inquiry. If the agreement sends them in different directions, clarify it. If you work alone, review an awkward recent case against the answers and see whether they would have helped you decide sooner.

This sheet records operating choices. Contract terms, safety procedures and professional requirements still need their own appropriate documents.

Put it in place

Want this running without the evenings?

Vision sets up the journey from inquiry to signed quote for businesses that sell on quotes: inquiry page, instant replies, follow-ups that stop when the client answers. Start with the free 3-minute diagnostic.

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