Most approval problems are set up before any work is sent. The client's boss appears at round three, feedback arrives in four places, and nobody can say which version was agreed. A short, repeatable process fixes most of this, and it doesn't need to be complicated.
1. Agree who signs off before you start
Ask one question at kick-off: who has the final say? Then ask who else needs to see the work. These are different people. Someone who "needs to see it" can comment. Only the approver can say yes.
Write the names into the project brief. If a director will want a look at the end, it's far better to learn that now than after round three.
2. Say how many rounds are included
Put the number in your proposal, along with what happens after it. For example: "Two rounds of amends are included. Further rounds are charged at our day rate." Our sign-off and revision wording template has wording you can adapt.
3. Send everything in one place
Each stray email or WhatsApp is a piece of feedback someone may miss. Pick one place for each round, and when feedback arrives elsewhere, move it there and tell the client you've done so. People usually follow once they've seen it happen a couple of times.
4. Ask for the feedback you need
"Let me know what you think" invites "Can we make it pop?". Tell the client what to look at in this round, what's already agreed, and when you need an answer. For example:
This round is about the headline and layout. Colours were agreed last round. Could you reply by Thursday so we can keep to the launch date?
Our guide to giving useful feedback is written to send straight to clients.
5. Ask for one clear decision
End every round with one of two outcomes: approved, or changes needed. "Looks good, but..." is neither. If you get it, reply with what you understood and ask them to confirm.
6. Work through changes and show what moved
Go through the feedback as a list and tick items off. When you send the next round, say what changed. Clients who can see that their notes were dealt with re-review less of the work and raise fewer new points.
7. Record the final yes
For each sign-off, keep who approved it, which version, and when. You'll be glad of this when a printer's proof comes back wrong or a client remembers things differently months later. See what counts as client sign-off.
8. Hand over, then close the project
Send the final files with a note of what was approved, and say how long the download will stay available. Then close the project, so any new request is clearly new work.
The process on one page
| Stage | You do | Client does |
|---|---|---|
| Kick-off | Name the approver, agree the rounds | Confirms both |
| Each round | Send one link, say what to review and by when | Comments, then decides |
| Amends | Tick off each point, send what changed | Reviews the changes |
| Sign-off | Keep who, what and when | Says yes |
| Handover | Send final files | Downloads them |
Prefer it as a document? Download the client approval checklist.
Doing this in PostVito
You can run this with email and a spreadsheet. PostVito is built for this job if you'd rather not: you send a branded review link, clients need no account, comments mark the exact spot on the file, each round keeps its own outcome, and you get an approval record as a PDF. Worth knowing: a workspace has one login today, so it suits small teams best.