Handbook

The employee handbook a small business actually needs

Most handbook templates are written for offices with an HR department. If you run a restaurant, a shop or a crew, you need something shorter, plainer, and readable by people who don't all read English — and you need the how-the-job-is-done part that a handbook never covers.

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No app for your staff to install · Works on any phone · No credit card to try

In short: A small business handbook covers policies: hours, pay, conduct, time off, safety rules, and an acknowledgement page. It does not cover how the work is actually done — that's routines, and it's where new hires actually struggle.

What belongs in it

Hours and scheduling, pay and breaks, conduct and dress, time off, safety expectations, discipline, and a signed acknowledgement. Keep it short. A handbook nobody finishes protects nobody.

What a handbook can't do

It won't teach anyone to close the kitchen, mix the right chemical, or write up a vehicle. Policies and procedures are different things, and new hires fail on the second one. That's the gap worth filling.

If your crew doesn't all read English

A handbook in English that half the team can't follow is a document, not a communication. The acknowledgement page proves it was handed over — not that it was understood.

How it works

Talk it in. Walk through the job out loud, in whatever language you think in.
Get a clear routine. Tiendo structures it into steps, safety notes and checkpoints, then translates it into your team's language — numbers and times kept exact.
Your team reads and confirms. Post a QR code or hand a new hire one link. They read it on their phone and tap "read and understood."

One routine, every language your team speaks: EspañolKreyòlTiếng ViệtالعربيةPolski中文

Questions operators ask

What should a small business employee handbook include?

Hours, pay and breaks, conduct and dress code, time off, safety expectations, discipline procedures, and an acknowledgement page. Keep it short enough that people finish it.

Is an employee handbook legally required?

There's no general federal requirement to have one, though certain policies must be communicated to employees. Requirements vary by state and business, so check your own situation.

What's the difference between a handbook and an SOP?

A handbook covers policy — what the rules are. An SOP or routine covers procedure — how a specific job is done. New hires need both, but they usually only get the first.

Do I need a handbook if I only have five employees?

Many small operators use one to set expectations clearly, but the more urgent gap for a frontline team is usually procedures, not policies.

The handbook is the easy half.

Build the how-the-job-is-done half free.

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