PROOF APPROVAL · BEFORE PRODUCTION
A proof is not a production trigger until the terms say what approval changes.
For a custom order, approval can lock the design, start production, move the delivery clock, make a balance due, or change cancellation treatment. Record those consequences beside the exact proof version.
6 proof-approval terms to state in writing
Make the checkpoint observable before it changes the order.
1. The exact proof being approved
Use a date, version label, file name without private access data, or another public reference that both sides can compare. An approval should point to one reviewable version rather than an evolving message thread.
2. What the approval covers
List the commercial details fixed by the checkpoint: scope, dimensions, materials, colour, wording, quantity, finish, or another stated specification. Do not make approval silently cover a detail that was not shown.
3. Corrections versus buyer-requested revisions
A correction brings work back to the written brief. A revision changes an approved choice. State whether seller corrections sit outside any included revision allowance and how extra buyer-requested scope is priced and scheduled.
4. The production-start trigger
State whether proof approval itself starts production or whether another event must occur, such as the deposit clearing, measurements arriving, materials being confirmed, or a dated production slot being accepted.
5. The timing consequence
Write when the completion, release, or delivery window starts, which buyer inputs can pause it, and what happens after a late approval. If a slot can be lost, state how and when the replacement window will be given.
6. The payment and cancellation consequence
If approval makes the remaining balance due, changes refund treatment, or closes a cancellation window, say so next to the trigger. The amount due now plus remaining balance must equal the stated total.
PRIVATE HANDOFF · NOTHING IS SENT
Ask the seller to state only the missing terms.
The checker runs in your browser and creates no receipt. Its deposit scenario sends the seller to a form with only validated public merchant and source metadata when supplied; item, price, payment, delivery, return, and cancellation judgments remain blank.
See the fictional finished record Open the proof-approval promise check Open the blank seller formPRACTICAL BOUNDARIES
Preserve the chosen wording without claiming more than a checksum proves.
What should a proof approval identify?
Identify the exact reviewable version and the commercial details the approval covers, such as scope, dimensions, materials, wording, colour, quantity, and finish.
Does proof approval always start production?
Not unless the seller's written terms say so. State the observable production-start trigger rather than expecting either side to infer it.
Can approval make the remaining balance due?
It can if that is the seller's stated payment schedule. Put the trigger next to the amount due now, remaining balance, and total so the figures can be checked together.
Does this checklist prove consent or legal enforceability?
No. It helps make public commercial wording explicit. A checksum does not prove identity, authority, consent, fairness, payment, performance, or legal enforceability.