Which version did the client approve?
The client replies “looks good to us” to a design link. The designer then fixes a small detail in that same file. A week later, the team needs to know whether the client accepted the old price, the new text, or only the layout. The reply remains, but its associated content has changed.
A small studio needs three connected things: a particular version, a question defining the scope of approval, and a recorded answer from the responsible person. An approval button helps after you can maintain that relationship.
Download the blank request and approval record and completed fictional example. These are operating records; this article does not determine the legal effect of a reply or signature.
Preserve what the reviewer will see
Continue drafting in one working document if that suits the team. Before requesting approval, preserve the proposed content using a named version, separate copy, or export appropriate to the work. Choose something the recipient can open and you can later retrieve in the same form.
Google Docs lets you name versions and copy an earlier version. Naming helps distinguish versions in history, but a link to the current document continues to show current content. A version name alone is not a client link to a fixed proposal. For a simple process, send a separate export such as a PDF and retain the source internally.
Identify engagement, deliverable, and version: P-042 / homepage / v3 / 2026-10-08. Use the same identifier in the file, request, and record. A revised export gets a new version; do not quietly replace the old file under its old name.
Ask for one defined decision
Illustrative request:
Please approve the homepage text and layout in the attached PDF
P-042-home-v3for implementation preparation. The final photos will be added later as agreed. Please confirm approval or send one consolidated list of changes by October 12. Jane is coordinating the decision for your team.
Agree on the date and authorized reviewer with the client. State whether the decision concerns imagery, price, or additional scope. Silence remains awaiting a decision; your internal due date does not convert it into approval.
Keep a commenting route that works for the team. A note that the text has improved is not necessarily approval of the whole deliverable. Clarify an ambiguous answer rather than automatically turning it into a green status.
Record the answer and any conditions
For each version, retain its sent-file link, request date, requested decision, reviewer, reply link, and outcome. “Yes, provided you change the price table” is a change request. Decide whether a new review is required and record that decision.
For native Google Drive approvals, current help restricts availability to eligible accounts, specifically Enterprise and Workspace for Education Plus. Files may remain unlocked during review, and settings affect whether changes reset approvals. Check locking and the rule requiring reviewers to review the same content as well as feature availability. If unavailable, use the separate export and reply record above.
A new change needs its own decision
After v3 is approved, the client requests a different pricing table. Record v4, explain the impact, and request the relevant decision. Keep v3’s approval traceable rather than assigning it to v4. If the change affects the accepted commercial proposal, use the proposal-acceptance workflow too.
Test with your own address: open the sent copy, record approval, then edit the working source. The approval record should still lead to the original reviewed content. Try a conditional reply and check that it awaits a change or further decision. These are checks for you to run, not reported account-test results.
Compare a new approval tool against the number of versions, reviewers, and time spent tracing decisions. One preserved copy and a clear reply may cost less to operate than another paid application. After acceptance, continue with delivery to payment.
Documentation checked October 10, 2026. The case is illustrative; the process makes no claim about legal sufficiency in a particular dispute.
Check the Drive approval setting
Inspect “Require all approvers to review the same content” in the request. With it enabled, edits during the active review reset approvals; with it disabled, edits do not automatically reset existing approvals. Files begin unlocked by default. Unlocking after approval is complete does not remove final approvals according to the documentation. Do not use an “approved” status to establish that someone reviewed later edits. Keep the exact export and the response to its version in the simple handover procedure.