“That is not what I approved”: what to show the client

When a client disputes a post, proof the client approved something is not enough: you need proof they approved this. A record worth keeping names who approved, when, and exactly which version, and says whether the post changed afterwards. In SPREVA each approval leaves that record by itself, the moment the client presses Approve. It prints or saves as a PDF, and a CSV gathers the decisions of a period.

Most approvals are a reply in a chat: a thumbs-up under a screenshot, “looks good” under a draft, “go ahead” at the end of a call. Each is real, and each is weak in the same way: it does not say which version it answered. The screenshot came before the price was corrected; the call covered four posts at once.

It does not always say who, either: in a group chat, the person who answered may not be the one who decides. And a month later, finding it means scrolling while the client waits.

Whatever tool you use, an approval worth keeping answers four questions without anyone having to remember:

• Who. A named person, with the email address they had that day, not a nickname in a chat.
• When. The moment they approved, in a timezone both sides read the same way.
• What, exactly. The caption for each account, the pictures and the accounts as they were at that moment, and whether any of it changed afterwards.
• What came before. Earlier rounds and the notes that asked for changes, so the yes can be read in context.

In SPREVA the approval makes this record itself: the client's name and email as they are that day, the time, and a copy of exactly what they were shown, with its fingerprint, a SHA-256 that would differ if a single word, file or account did. Earlier rounds stay with it, with their notes.

Posts change after approval: a typo, a price, a better photo. In SPREVA, changing the caption, a picture or the accounts of an approved post sends it back for approval, keeping its time. If the change was a slip, Undo brings back the approved version and the approval.

Moving only the time is different: the post is still the one approved, so it is not reviewed again. The move is written on the record, with who made it, and the client sees it on the post.

Each approved post has an Approval record on its page, made to be printed: the post as approved, when it was planned and published, who approved and their email that day, the moment in UTC and in the workspace's timezone, the version with its fingerprint, and the earlier rounds. The browser prints it or saves it as a PDF.

For a period, Export approvals in Posts gives a CSV with one line per decision: who approved or asked for changes, when, and on which version, for a range of dates and, if you like, one campaign. It is the file to attach to a monthly report.

A record is not a weapon, and the client who writes “that is not what I approved” is usually worried, not hostile. Open the record before you answer: either the post went out as approved, or it changed afterwards, and both are easier to discuss with the record than from memory.

If it went out as approved, say so plainly, attach the record, and offer what you can do now:

If it changed after the approval, say that too, and what you will do differently. A record finds your own team's slip as readily as it shows what the client approved.

Invite one client as a Reviewer, send them a post, and open its Approval record once they approve it. Reviewers are free on every plan, up to 25 per workspace, and every plan starts with a 7-day trial. How client approval works.