How to request a client approval
Request a named, auditable decision on a deliverable.
An approval converts a conversation into a record. Rather than inferring agreement from silence, you get a named decision with a time and a note attached to the work.
Open the task that needs a decision
Request approval on the task holding the deliverable, not on a summary task or a separate thread. Keeping the decision and the work together is what makes the record useful months later.
Confirm the deliverable and context are complete
Before requesting, check the approver can actually decide from what is in front of them. Attach or link the deliverable and state what you are asking them to approve. Most delays are caused by an approver who cannot tell what they are agreeing to.
Choose a designated approver
Name one person. Approvers can be internal, for quality control, or a client guest, for external sign-off. Naming one approver removes the common failure where several people comment and nobody actually decides.
Select Request approval
Requesting notifies the approver and puts the task into a pending state, so the work is visibly waiting rather than quietly parked. If a client holds the decision, they act inside their portal without needing access to anything else.
Track Approved or Changes requested in Activity
The outcome is recorded with the person, the time, and any note, on the task and in the audit log. If changes are requested, the note explains what to change, so the next round starts from a written requirement.
What success looks like
- The task shows an explicit approval state, the decision names who made it and when, and any requested change is written down rather than remembered.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Asking a group instead of a person, which produces comments rather than a decision.
- Requesting approval before the deliverable is actually reviewable, which wastes a round.
- Accepting a verbal yes without recording it, which leaves you with nothing when scope is questioned.
Questions about this workflow
Yes. Approvers can be teammates or clients, so internal quality control and client sign-off use the same mechanism.
Client approvals and guest Approve access are available on Studio and above.
Related how-tos
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