Guide · Client sign-off
How to get client sign-off faster
Ask the client to choose, not to comment. Put one question in front of every person who can approve it, list the options, agree how sign-off works before you ask, set a deadline that says what waiting costs, send reminders on a schedule, and keep a dated record of the outcome so it isn't reopened at invoice time.
Last updated: 3 November 2026
Why client sign-off stalls
The concept that waits for one more round of thoughts. The vendor shortlist that sits in the client’s inbox. The scope change nobody quite approved. The work is ready, the sign-off isn’t, and the milestone invoice waits with it. It usually stalls for one of four reasons:
- The ask is a file, not a choice. “Any feedback?” invites comments. “Route A or route B?” invites an answer.
- One contact carries it. Your contact forwards it to the people who actually decide, and you lose sight of it.
- Nobody agreed what counts as approved. Does the brand lead’s yes settle it, or do legal and the CMO both need to agree?
- There’s no record. A yes in a call or a thread is hard to point to when the client later says they never approved it.
Proofing tools are built for the first job: comments and markup on a file. This guide is about the second job, closing a choice between options.
The 6-step sign-off process
1. Turn the request into one question with options
Not “thoughts on the homepage?” but “Which homepage direction do we build: A, B or C?” Two to six options is enough. Attach the visuals so each option stands on its own.2. Name everyone who signs off
List every person whose yes you need: the brand lead, the product owner, legal, the sponsor. Send it to each of them, not only to your day-to-day contact.3. Agree the sign-off rule before you ask
Decide at kickoff, and write it into the statement of work if you can. Majority: more than half of the named approvers say yes to the same option. Unanimous: every named approver says yes to the same option. One decider: the client lead makes the call after the others have weighed in. Agreeing the rule up front stops the “we need one more person” loop.4. Set a deadline and say what waiting costs
“We need sign-off by Thursday 5 p.m. After that, the launch moves a week and the next phase starts later.” A visible cost turns a low-priority email into a scheduled decision.5. Remind on a schedule, then escalate
Send the request to every approver. Remind anyone who hasn't responded halfway to the deadline, and again shortly before it. If the deadline passes without sign-off, go back to the client lead with exactly who hasn't responded, and agree a new date or a default.6. Keep a dated record
Write down the question, the options, the rule, how many approvers agreed and when it closed. Share it with the client and attach it to the project. When the scope question comes back at invoice time, you point to the record instead of a call.
Copy-paste sign-off request
Sign-off needed: [one question, e.g. Which homepage direction do we build?]
Options: A) … B) … C) …
Who signs off: [names]
Rule: [Majority / Unanimous / Client lead decides]
Deadline: [day, time]. If we miss it, [cost: launch moves, next phase starts later].
Our recommendation: B, because …
Where Settle for Teams fits
Settle for Teams runs this process for decisions you need from people outside your team. Here's what it does and doesn't do.
Each stakeholder marks every option Yes, Maybe or No. Only Yes counts toward the rule. If two options both clear a majority, Settle escalates instead of picking one.
Settle for Teams costs $199 a month per workspace, with no per-seat fees, 25 managed decisions a month and a 7-day free trial. Clients are never charged and never counted as seats.
What is client sign-off?
Client sign-off is the client’s explicit, recorded approval of one option: a concept, a deliverable, a vendor, a scope or a date. It is different from feedback on a file. It closes a choice, by a deadline, under a rule agreed in advance.
Client sign-off questions
How long should client sign-off take?
Agree it at kickoff. A few working days is common for a reversible creative choice, longer for contracts and budgets. What matters is that the deadline is set when you ask, not after the request has stalled.
What's the difference between client approval and proofing?
Proofing collects comments and markup on a file until it's ready. Sign-off closes a choice: which concept, which vendor, which date. Many agencies use a proofing tool for the first and a separate sign-off step for the second.
What if the client never responds?
Agree in advance what happens at the deadline: the decision moves to the client lead, or a stated default applies. Then follow it, and record that the deadline passed.
Should I get sign-off by email?
Email works if every approver gets the same question, options and deadline, and you keep the replies. It breaks down when the request is forwarded, the thread splits, or nobody can find the yes later.
Do clients need an account to approve something in Settle?
No. Each stakeholder opens their own private link in a browser and responds. No account, no app and nothing to install.
Run your next client sign-off with a deadline and a record
Each client gets a private link, Settle reminds the quiet ones and closes it at your deadline. 7-day free trial, then $199/month with no per-seat fees.
25 managed decisions a month · Unlimited team members · Cancel anytime