# Architects: a dated client approval at every stage of the project

> From sketch design to planning application, clients choose, approve and upload their documents in one folder: each approval keeps its date and author.

## Every stage waits for an approval, and the approval gets lost

You are designing a house extension for a couple. The three sketch designs went out by email; the answer came back on WhatsApp, from only one of them. The developed design was accepted over the phone one evening, and the planning application is waiting for a document from the residents’ association that nobody remembers asking for.

Then, while you are consulting contractors, the client has second thoughts about the width of the bay window. You search your inbox for the date they accepted the developed design, and in what form. Every stage rests on an approval you can only half find.

## One folder per project, one approval per stage

Your clients come in through a link, with no account, and see at each stage what is expected of them. Your team works in the same folder, opened from the “House extension” template, which prepares the choice of sketch design, the approval of the developed design, the planning documents and the approval before submission.

- **Sketch designs**: a [choice decision](/en/features/choice-decisions), one option per sketch, with the images attached to the same post. The client chooses; their answer is dated and carries their name.
- **Developed design and planning application**: each submitted for [sign-off](/en/features/sign-off). Each client accepts or declines it, with the date and their name, and nothing can be changed afterwards.
- **Planning documents**: boundary plan, photos from the street, the residents’ association’s consent, each on its own line with a due date. You accept the document, or decline it and say why.
- **Presentations and surveys**: [slots offered](/en/features/appointments), at the practice, on site or by video call; the client picks one and receives a calendar invitation.
- **Contractors consulted**: each is added as a participant, with limited access if you choose. They then read only the items that name or mention them.

## Stages that move forward, approvals you can find again

The “waiting” view shows your clients what is expected of them, and shows you what is holding up the next stage. Reminders go out two days before the due date, on the day, the day after, then seven days later, until the request is dealt with. You add milestones (sketch design chosen, developed design approved, planning application submitted, handover): everyone sees the same progress.

Sign-off is a simple, dated approval in the person’s name; it does not replace the signed contract for your services. At handover, you close the folder: your clients and you can find the chosen sketch design, the accepted developed design and the date of every approval, for as long as your workspace exists.