The client said it looked good in a call. The team published the file, then discovered the comment referred to an earlier version. A client approval workflow should identify the deliverable, exact version, authorised approver, decision and any conditions before the next controlled action occurs.
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Feedback and approval are different. Comments help improve work. Approval records permission to proceed within an agreed boundary. Treating every positive response as final sign-off creates an avoidable operational risk.
Agree the approval route before submission
Confirm who consolidates feedback and who has authority to approve. Sometimes those are different people. Explain where the review copy will live and which channel records the final decision.
Use one current review version where feasible. If feedback arrives elsewhere, consolidate it into the agreed record and resolve conflicts before assigning the next changes.
A release-ready approval record
Deliverable and version identifier.
Purpose of the decision, such as approval for production or release.
Named authorised approver.
Date and clear decision.
Conditions, exclusions or unresolved points.
Evidence location, such as the relevant message or approval record.
Owner of the next action.
Keep contractual interpretation with the appropriate qualified adviser. This checklist supports operational clarity; it does not determine whether a particular message is legally binding.
An illustrative approval check
A client approves version three of a campaign document, subject to correcting a contact number. The account owner records the condition and names the person who will verify it. The corrected version is checked through the agreed route before release.
If the client then requests a new section, the team assesses the change rather than attaching the old approval to a materially different file.
Keep approval separate from publication
A record may authorise the next production stage without authorising live publication. Label the decision clearly. If evidence is ambiguous, obtain clarification before taking the dependent action. Silence should follow the agreed arrangement, not an invented default.
Related guidance: guide to working with an external operations partner.
