How do you get client approvals without long email chains?
Ask for each approval in one place, with the work attached, one clear decision, a due date and a named approver. Then record the decision with the person and the date, so nobody has to dig through email to find what was signed off.
Updated
What is a client approval process?
It is the agreed way a client says yes to a piece of work, or asks for changes, before the team moves on. A design, a page, a copy deck or a launch each gets its own approval.
A good process answers four things up front. Who decides, what exactly they are approving, by when, and what happens when they ask for changes.
Why do client approvals stall?
- Nobody knows who has the final say, so everyone comments and nobody decides.
- Feedback arrives in email, chat and calls, and some of it is lost.
- There is no date, so the approval sits behind the client's other work.
- Too many items are open at once, and the client does not know where to start.
- The work is hard to open, a large file or a link that needs a login.
How do you set up a client approval process?
Settle the rules at kickoff, then make every approval look the same.
Name the approver
Agree at kickoff who gives the final yes on each kind of work, and who may comment.
Agree the rounds of feedback
State in the proposal how many rounds are included, and treat anything after that as a change request.
Ask one clear question
Send one item at a time, with the work attached, a short note on what to check and a due date.
Make approving one click
Let the client approve in one click, or request changes in their own words in the same place.
Track every change
Turn each change request into a tracked request, so it is done and closed, not just answered.
Record the decision
Keep who approved and when beside the work, then move the project to its next phase.
What do you do when client feedback conflicts?
Send it back to the named approver and ask for one decision. Mediating between two people on the client's side puts the agency in the middle of a discussion it cannot settle. A short note works, here are the two views, which one should we follow?
How do approvals work in Sightpane?
Each approval sits on the project's Approvals tab with the work, a short note and a due date, and shows on the client's home under Waiting on you. The client approves in one click, or requests changes with a note, and that note opens a tracked request for the team.
Every decision keeps the name of the person and the date, so the record is there when anyone asks later. For a live site, the client can also pin comments on the page in Preview, and the team can promote a pin into a request.
Questions
How many rounds of feedback should a client get?
A fixed number, stated in the proposal before work starts. Anything after that is a change request with its own scope and date.
Who should approve work on the client side?
One named person for each kind of work, agreed at kickoff. Others can comment, but one person gives the final yes.
What happens when a client requests changes in Sightpane?
The note becomes a tracked request for the team, linked to the approval, and the client can follow it until it is done.
How do you prove a client approved something?
Keep the decision with the work, with the person's name and the date. Sightpane records both on every approval.
See it on a real project.
Open the live demo with example projects, or book a short demo and we set Sightpane up with you.
- Set up with you
- Built by Wedge Studio
- david@wedgestudio.dev
Approvals
Waiting on you
Two column menu with section links and dietary tags. Have a look on staging too.
Open the designOpen to review DAsked by David, 1d ago Jordan Lee, Mia Chen said yes. Waiting on Alex Ito ApproveRequest changesHistory
