A simple client approval process for creative teams

Late approvals and endless revision rounds rarely come from difficult clients. Usually there just isn’t a clear process: nobody said how many rounds there are, when feedback is due, or who has the final say. Here’s a lightweight approval workflow you can set up in an afternoon and reuse on every project.

Step 1: Agree the brief and the rules up front

Before any work starts, agree on:

• The goal of the work and how you’ll judge it.
• The number of review rounds included, typically two or three.
• The dates for each round of feedback.
• The final approver: one named person.

Write it down in a short brief. Our one-page creative brief template has a section for each of these.

Step 2: Share work in one place

Attachments lead to feedback in five different email threads. Instead, share a single review link per project. In edits.io you upload the files (images, video, PDFs or a capture of a web page) and send a link. Clients open it, add their name and click on the work to comment. There’s no account to create.

Step 3: Ask for feedback clearly

The request sets the quality of the feedback. Tell the client:

• which round this is and what kind of feedback you need now,
• how to leave comments,
• the date you need feedback by, and why.

Use our client feedback request email as a starting point.

Step 4: Work through the feedback, then chase if needed

Reply to comments that need clarification, make the changes, and resolve each comment as you go. Whatever is still open is your list for the round.

If feedback is late, send a short, friendly reminder that makes responding easy and states the schedule impact as a fact. The feedback reminder email template has a gentle version and one for after the deadline.

Track where each project stands with a status. In edits.io, every project can be marked In Review, Changes Requested or Approved, and the status shows on your dashboard.

Step 5: Get written sign-off

Before anything is printed, published or delivered, ask for approval in writing. Summarise what changed in the last round, say what approval means (“once you approve, we’ll send this to print on Friday”), point out what to double-check, and ask for a clear “approved”. Our final approval email template covers all of that.

Handling common problems

“Can we just make one more change?”

If you agreed the number of rounds up front, you can refer back to it calmly: extra rounds are possible, and here’s what they cost in time or money.

Contradictory feedback from several people

Ask everyone to comment in the same shared place so they see each other’s notes, and let the named final approver decide.

Feedback that arrives by email anyway

Thank the client, add their notes to the review link yourself, and point them to the link for the next round.

The process on one page

1. Brief with goal, rounds, dates and approver.
2. One review link per project.
3. A clear feedback request with a deadline.
4. Resolve comments; chase politely if late; track status.
5. Written sign-off before delivery.

Set up your first project in edits.io. It’s free for 10 projects, and your clients never need an account.