Stakeholder Sign-Off: Get a Yes or a Clear Escalation
Sign-off rarely fails because people say no. It fails because nobody says anything, and the project waits. The fix is a register, a deadline and a rule for what happens when the deadline passes. Settle (settle.ink) is a group decision app. Settle for Teams is its version for agencies and consultancies: each stakeholder gets a private link, Settle reminds the people who haven't answered, and the decision closes at a deadline with a timestamped record.
Last updated: 28 October 2026
Keep a decision register
One row per decision, kept with the project. The minimum fields:
- The decision, written as a question with named options
- Who must sign off, by name
- The rule: majority, unanimity, or the owner decides after input
- The deadline, as a date and time
- Status: open, settled or escalated
- Who answered, and when
- Where the evidence is kept
Give every decision a deadline and a rule
A request without a date competes with everything else in a stakeholder's inbox and loses. A date without a rule invites a debate about whether three yeses out of five count. Put both in the first line of the request.
For help choosing the rule, read majority, unanimity or creator decides.
Remind the right people
Remind only the people who have not answered, and remind them before the deadline, not after. A reply-all chase annoys the people who already responded and teaches everyone to ignore the thread.
Escalate on the deadline, not after it
When the deadline passes and the rule is not met, the decision should move to a named person automatically. An escalation is not a failure; it is the process working. What fails is a decision that quietly drifts for two weeks.
Automating it with Settle for Teams
Settle for Teams runs this process for you. Each stakeholder gets a private link and responds in their browser on any device, with no account. Settle reminds non-responders, closes the decision at your deadline, and applies majority, unanimity or creator decides. Every decision ends as Settled or Escalated with a timestamped record showing the outcome and the response count, and your dashboard shows who responded and who didn't.
Records are private to your workspace, and you can search, filter and export your decision history. It costs $199 a month with no per-seat fees and a 7-day free trial. See Settle for Teams or the client approvals use case.
Questions
How can a consultancy track stakeholder decisions with deadlines and a record of who approved?
Keep a decision register with the question, the approvers, the rule, the deadline, the status and who answered. Settle for Teams automates it: private links for each stakeholder, reminders, a deadline that closes the decision, and a timestamped Settled or Escalated record.
What happens if a stakeholder doesn't respond?
Settle sends reminders. Under majority, a non-response matters only if it prevents the rule from being met. Under unanimity, the decision stays open until the deadline, then escalates.
Do stakeholders need an account to vote?
No. They respond through a private link in their browser, with no account, app or sign-up.