Your client replies “love it” to a photograph of the limestone sample. That may be enough to keep exploring. Before you pay a deposit or release the kitchen order, you need a clearer answer. Which sample did the client see? Was the price attached? Did “love it” mean “go ahead”?
Ask for approval again before the expensive step. Name the exact choice, its current price, and the work the answer will release. Keep the reply with that version of the specification.
Tell the client what their approval will release
Before asking for approval, write down what your team will do once the answer arrives.
For an early concept direction, you may only need approval to research further. For a sofa, you may be ready to request a quote or reserve it. For custom millwork, the answer could release shop drawings, a deposit, and fabrication.
“Are you happy with this?” invites a reaction. “Please approve the walnut finish so the workroom can begin the dining table” names the choice and the next step.
If you cannot name the next commitment, work it out before asking for approval.
Decide when an email is enough
An architect and interior designer we interviewed accepts an email from clients whose decisions have been reliable. If a client has reversed important choices before, she asks for a physical or electronic signature.
Use a record that matches the commitment you are about to make:
| What happens next | Useful approval record |
|---|---|
| More exploration, with little cost attached | Attributable email or recorded comment naming the option |
| A supplier quote, hold, or coordination step | Explicit approval linked to the exact specification and current price |
| Deposit, order, fabrication, construction, or a hard schedule commitment | The formal approval required by the studio agreement |
Your studio agreement still governs the project. Ask a lawyer in your jurisdiction to define any legally required signature or change process. Don’t release work from a thumbs-up when you cannot tell which specification it covers.
Name the next commitment in the approval request.
Save the approved sample, price, and version together
“Option B” becomes hard to identify after someone changes the deck or inserts a new option. Save the approval with the item it covers:
- the product, finish, drawing, layout, or scope;
- the version or date;
- the current price and known timing where they matter;
- the person who approved it;
- the action that approval releases.
When you ask a client to approve a material, identify the sample, attach the current price, and say whether their answer will let you order it. Whoever places the order should find all three without searching an old presentation.
Check the approval before ordering or fabrication
Check the record before paying a deposit, issuing shop drawings, booking production, or releasing an order. If the version, price, or authorized person is missing, ask the client to confirm the current choice first.
Make that check part of your order handoff. Put the approval beside the specification for the person placing the order.
Keep both decisions when the client changes their mind
Your client may change their mind after approving a choice. Keep the original choice and its evidence. Add the new request, then work out its effect before asking for a second decision.
You can then show what was approved, what work followed, what the client wants to change, and what the change will cost. The related guide on working out the cost of a client change covers that impact check.
Ask the client to approve the new specification and its effect on the order or schedule. Keep the earlier reply so your team can see how the decision changed.
