Reviewing and signing off

What your signature commits you to, and what it starts (the defects period).

In this lesson

The invitation

As the job nears handover, the studio invites the client to review the finished work and sign off. No special account is needed — the studio sends the way in.

An email arrives with a link. There is no login and no password to remember — the link itself is the key, and it opens straight onto the completed work.

Touring what is finished

Everything that is finished is laid out to walk through, room by room. This is the client’s chance to look properly, not on the way out of a site visit.

One last snag, in writing

If one last thing catches the eye, it gets flagged here, in writing, before anything is signed. A small scuff on the entry door is worth raising now, not after moving in.

The signature

The client adds a name and draws a signature. That signature is the acceptance — it is not a courtesy, it is the moment the work becomes the client’s.

Signing does two things at once. It accepts the completed work, and it starts the defects period: the fixed window in which small problems are still the studio’s to fix, at no cost.

What the signature commits you to

What the client is signing carries a name and a timestamp. Months later, if a question comes up about what was accepted and when, the answer is on the record — not in someone’s memory of a meeting.

The habit

One habit for handover day. Walk it, flag anything wrong in writing, and only then sign — because once the signature is down, the clock on the defects period is running, and raising things later is far harder.

What just happened

  1. The invitation

    As the job nears handover, the studio invites the client to review the finished work and sign off. No special account is needed — the studio sends the way in.

  2. Touring what is finished

    Everything that is finished is laid out to walk through, room by room. This is the client’s chance to look properly, not on the way out of a site visit.

  3. One last snag, in writing

    If one last thing catches the eye, it gets flagged here, in writing, before anything is signed. A small scuff on the entry door is worth raising now, not after moving in.

  4. The signature

    The client adds a name and draws a signature. That signature is the acceptance — it is not a courtesy, it is the moment the work becomes the client’s.

  5. What the signature commits you to

    What the client is signing carries a name and a timestamp. Months later, if a question comes up about what was accepted and when, the answer is on the record — not in someone’s memory of a meeting.

  6. The habit

    One habit for handover day. Walk it, flag anything wrong in writing, and only then sign — because once the signature is down, the clock on the defects period is running, and raising things later is far harder.

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Put it into practice.

Boards, approvals, snags and client sign-offs — one platform your team will actually use.

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