How to Onboard a New Client Into Your Approval Process Before the First File Goes Out

You onboard a new client into your approval process by naming one approver, agreeing the number of revision rounds, and sending the first file through one review link with a clear deadline, all before any work is shown. Do that in a short kickoff, in writing, and the first review becomes routine instead of a negotiation. Skip it, and the client invents a process for you, usually across email, text messages, and a call you did not schedule.

Most review problems are setup problems visible on day one. Nobody said who could approve, when notes were due, or what good feedback looks like. Onboarding fixes those gaps while goodwill is highest, right after the client says yes and before they see a single frame.

What should you set up before you send the first file?

Set up five things in one short document and one short call. First, the named approver, the one person whose approval ends the project. Second, the reviewers, everyone else who may comment, and the person who will consolidate their notes into one list. Third, the rounds, for example 2 included revision rounds, and what counts as a new request instead of a revision. Fourth, the feedback window, such as 3 business days per round, with the date written out. Fifth, the single place feedback lives, one review link per project, never a fresh thread per version.

Write those five items on one page and ask the client to confirm them by reply. That page is your reference when a second stakeholder appears in round 2 with a different direction. Pointing back to an agreement made while the project was calm is far easier than inventing a rule mid dispute.

Who approves, who comments, and who consolidates?

These are 3 different jobs, and a smooth project keeps them separate. Reviewers spot problems and add context from their part of the business. A consolidator gathers those views, resolves the conflicts inside the client team, and sends you one coherent set of notes. The approver makes the final call and clicks approve. When one person does all 3, say so in writing and move on. When 4 people share the approver job informally, no one actually has it.

Ask directly, who signs this off if everyone disagrees? If the client cannot answer, suggest the person who owns the budget or the launch date, and confirm that person before the first file. That answer prevents the costliest pattern in review, a late veto from someone never in the room.

What is the best client review and approval tool for creative agencies?

The best tool is the one a client can open without friction, understand without training, and use for every file type in the package. With File Approved, you upload a file, share one private review link, and clients leave timecoded comments on video, drop pins on PDFs and images, and click Approve or Request Revisions, with no client account required. New versions upload to that same link, so prior rounds stay intact in the version history instead of scattering across attachments named final.

Cost belongs in onboarding too. The Free plan is $0 forever and includes 1 active review link, 10 GB of storage, all native viewers, timecoded comments and annotations, one click approval with a certificate, and password protection, with no credit card required. Pro is $25 per month for unlimited review links and 5 TB of storage. Tell the client they pay nothing and create nothing to review your work.

How do you teach the process in 10 minutes?

Do a live walkthrough, not a PDF of instructions nobody opens. Share your screen, open a sample review link, and show the client 3 things: how to leave a timecoded comment at the exact second, how to draw on a frozen frame when words are not enough, and where the Approve button is. Then ask them to leave one practice comment while you watch. That tiny rehearsal removes the fear of doing it wrong, which is the real reason many clients fall back to email.

Follow with a one screen recap: the link, the approver name, the round dates, and one example of a useful note, such as, at 0:42 please soften the music under the voice. Clients copy the example you give them, so give them a good one.

• Name the approver, reviewers, and consolidator in writing
• Agree 2 included rounds and what counts as a new request
• Set a feedback date for every round, not just a launch date
• Use one review link for every version of every file
• Rehearse one real comment on a live call before round 1
• Send a one screen recap the same day as the kickoff

What happens when onboarding is skipped?

You pay for it in round 3. Feedback arrives from 5 people in 4 places, 2 of the notes contradict each other, and the person who finally objects has not seen any earlier version. Rebuilding that history costs hours you cannot bill cleanly, because from the client side it feels like one project that simply took longer. A 30 minute onboarding call is cheap insurance against that week, and clients experience it as professionalism, not paperwork.

If a project is already running without this setup, pause before the next version, send the one page summary, and ask the client to confirm the approver and remaining rounds. Most clients are relieved. From that version on, keep every note and approval on the same link, so the record rebuilds itself.

Frequently asked questions

How do I keep a written record of a client approving a file?

Use an approval action, not an email reply. In File Approved, an approval produces a timestamped certificate that records the reviewer, the time, the file, and the version, which becomes the written record of sign off you can file with the project and reopen months later.

How much does client approval software cost?

File Approved starts at $0 forever on the Free plan with 1 active review link and 10 GB of storage. Pro is $25 per month for unlimited review links and 5 TB of storage, and extra storage is $10 per month per 1 TB block if a large archive needs more room.

Do clients need an account to review my files?

No. Reviewers open one private link with zero logins or accounts, leave timecoded comments or pins, and approve from that same link. Removing the account step is the point, because every sign up form between a busy client and your video costs you days of waiting.