A proof can look right on a phone and still leave the important commercial terms unsettled. Before you reply “approved,” make the version you are approving and the consequences of approval explicit.
This checklist is for custom goods and commissioned work such as signs, invitations, engraving, furniture, clothing, artwork, packaging, and design files. It is practical information, not legal advice.
Record the proof date, filename, revision number, or screenshot. “The latest version” becomes ambiguous as soon as another file is sent.
Useful wording: Approved proof: invitation-front-v4.pdf, sent 5 August 2026.
Read every name, date, number, address, URL, size, and quantity. Do not rely on the seller to infer which spelling or measurement you intended.
For personalised work, copy the final spelling into the approval message itself.
A screen proof may show layout without proving exact colour, material, finish, thickness, scale, or physical placement. Ask which details the proof controls and which details remain governed by the written order.
If colour matters, identify the agreed reference system or physical sample instead of relying on a screen alone.
Handmade, printed, cut, dyed, or engraved work can have normal variation. Ask for the seller’s acceptable tolerance for dimensions, alignment, colour, placement, or quantity before approval.
“Approximately” is not a tolerance. A number or clearly described range is.
Confirm whether approval starts production, makes the order non-cancellable, releases a final file, triggers the remaining balance, or changes the delivery clock. Those are separate consequences and should not be assumed.
Ask what happens if the finished item differs from the approved proof or written specification. Record whether the remedy is correction, remake, partial refund, or something else the seller actually promises.
This is different from changing your mind after correctly produced custom work.
If production time starts at approval, record the start date, the delivery or completion range, and whether days are business or calendar days. Also record any buyer action that can pause the clock.
I approve [exact proof identifier] for [exact item and quantity]. This approval covers [list what the proof controls]. The written order still controls [material, size, colour reference, tolerance, price, payment, delivery, returns, and cancellation]. Please confirm whether approval starts production, changes cancellation rights, triggers payment, or starts the delivery clock.
Keep the approval and the seller’s answer in the same written conversation. Avoid putting customer names, addresses, private order numbers, or confidential artwork into a public tool.
This proof checklist does not replace the underlying commercial terms. Before paying, you can use the free OfferChecksum promise gap checker to see whether scope, total price, payment schedule, delivery, returns, and cancellation are written down. It requires no account and does not create a receipt unless a seller later reviews and submits their own terms.
Publisher disclosure: This guide was published by OfferChecksum. OfferChecksum preserves seller-entered promises in a public checksum receipt; it does not verify identity, quality, delivery, payment, or legal enforceability.