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Standard Operating Procedures

Last updated: March 2026

SOPs are living documents. If a process changes, update this file and notify your team. Each procedure notes which system(s) are involved.


Inventory & Orders

Raise a Purchase Order in Zoho Inventory

System: Zoho Inventory · Who: Operations / Purchasing

  1. Log in to inventory.zoho.eu
  2. Navigate to Purchase Orders → + New Purchase Order
  3. Select the vendor and add line items (SKU, quantity, unit cost)
  4. Set the expected delivery date
  5. Save as Draft for review, or submit directly to vendor if approved
  6. On receipt of goods: navigate to the PO → Receive Items → confirm quantities
  7. Zoho will automatically update stock levels on receipt

Notes: All PO data feeds into Recon Hub's reconciliation. Ensure SKU codes match exactly — discrepancies will flag in the Recon Hub.


Process a Customer Return (D2C — Shopify)

System: Shopify Plus · Who: E-commerce / Operations

  1. Log in to Shopify Admin (exgpro.com or uk.exgpro.com)
  2. Find the order via Orders → search by order number or customer name
  3. Click Return → select the line items being returned
  4. Choose restocking option: Restock (if item is resaleable) or No restock
  5. Issue a refund via the original payment method
  6. If physical return expected: send return label and log expected receipt date
  7. On physical receipt: confirm restock in Zoho Inventory if applicable

Add a New Product / SKU to Zoho

System: Zoho Inventory · Who: Operations / Product

  1. Log in to inventory.zoho.eu
  2. Navigate to Items → + New Item
  3. Complete all required fields:
    • SKU (follow naming convention: prefix + product code — e.g. CG- for Cable Guys, PK- for Peekos)
    • Description, unit, reorder point
    • Sales price and purchase price
  4. Assign to correct category and warehouse
  5. Save
  6. If the SKU also needs to appear in Shopify: add manually in Shopify Admin or via a Zoho–Shopify sync (check current integration status with E-commerce lead)

Compliance & EPR

Run Monthly EPR Report

System: Compliance Hub · Who: Compliance / Operations

  1. Open the Compliance Hub
  2. Navigate to EPR Reporting
  3. Enter your Zoho API credentials if prompted (stored in 1Password)
  4. Select the reporting period (month/year)
  5. The hub will fetch invoice data from Zoho and calculate EPR fees by SKU prefix and market
  6. Review the output — cross-check total units against Zoho directly if figures look unexpected
  7. Export the report as CSV or PDF
  8. File with the relevant EPR producer responsibility scheme portal
  9. Save a copy to SharePoint → Finance Backups folder

Deadlines: Check the compliance team's calendar for quarterly and annual filing dates.


Packaging Review (New Product)

System: Compliance Hub · Who: Compliance

  1. Open the Compliance Hub → Packaging Review
  2. Upload the packaging mockup image(s)
  3. The AI assistant (Marshal) will analyse the packaging against current EPR and labelling requirements
  4. Review Marshal's output and flag any issues
  5. If issues are flagged: return to the design team with specific feedback
  6. Once approved: log approval in the relevant product record

Finance & Reconciliation

Monthly Reconciliation — Recon Hub

System: Recon Hub · Who: Finance

  1. Open the Recon Hub (requires Xero OAuth — re-authenticate if token has expired)
  2. Navigate to Reconciliation → Run New Reconciliation
  3. Select the date range (typically the previous calendar month)
  4. The hub will match Zoho orders against Xero transactions
  5. Review unmatched items — investigate discrepancies:
    • Timing differences (order in one month, payment in another) — usually safe to clear
    • Missing invoices — raise with Finance
    • Duplicate entries — investigate and void if confirmed duplicate in Xero
  6. Export the reconciliation report
  7. Save to SharePoint → Finance Backups folder

Quarterly Xero Export (Audit Trail)

System: Xero · Who: Finance

  1. Log in to go.xero.com
  2. Export the following reports for the quarter:
    • Profit & Loss
    • Balance Sheet
    • Aged Receivables
    • Aged Payables
  3. Export each as PDF and/or Excel
  4. Save to SharePoint → Finance Backups → [Year] → [Quarter]
  5. Note the export date in the file name (e.g. xero-pl-Q1-2026-exported-20260401.pdf)

Monthly Zoho Data Export

System: Zoho Inventory · Who: Operations / Finance

  1. Log in to inventory.zoho.eu
  2. Export:
    • Sales Orders (current month)
    • Purchase Orders (current month)
    • Inventory summary
  3. Save each as CSV to SharePoint → Finance Backups → [Year] → [Month]

See the Backup & Disaster Recovery Policy for full data export requirements.


Systems & Tech

Roll Back a Hub Deployment (Netlify)

System: Netlify · Who: Engineering

  1. Log in to app.netlify.com
  2. Find the affected site → Deploys tab
  3. Locate the last known-good deployment in the list
  4. Click the three-dot menu → Publish deploy
  5. Confirm — the rollback is live within seconds
  6. Monitor the site and check for errors

Roll Back a Hub Deployment (Vercel — Compliance Hub)

System: Vercel · Who: Engineering

  1. Log in to vercel.com → select the project
  2. Go to Deployments
  3. Find the last successful deployment
  4. Click the three-dot menu → Promote to Production
  5. Confirm — rollback is live within seconds

Rotate an API Credential / OAuth Token

System: 1Password / Bitwarden · Who: Engineering / Authorised personnel

  1. Generate the new credential or re-authenticate OAuth in the relevant platform
  2. Update the environment variable in the hosting platform (Netlify → Site settings → Environment variables)
  3. Redeploy the affected hub to pick up the new value
  4. Update the credential record in the shared secrets manager (1Password / Bitwarden)
  5. Notify Lauren (Digital & Technology Director) that a credential has been rotated

Next review due: March 2027