How Online Proofing Software Can Accelerate Creative Project Approvals

One of the most difficult parts of creative project management, whether you’re creating a marketing campaign, designing a website, or producing a media project, is getting the approvals you need efficiently and on time, without compromising quality.  

The approval process can easily be a bottleneck that causes a project to go off schedule, miscommunicate or deliver less than the best possible work. Online proofing software removes the frustrations and inefficiencies from this process by speeding up approvals, enhancing collaboration, and increasing productivity. 

On the Aproove blog today we explain how the traditional creative approval process can be streamlined by using online proofing tool to save time, eliminate confusion, and increase output quality. We’ll also point out the features that make online proofing a game-changer for creative teams.  

The Traditional Creative Approval Process 

In the old way of working on creative projects, approval processes typically become a pile of email chains, printed proofs and file shares accessed by different stakeholders such as designers, marketing teams, clients and upper management. Each iteration of feedback requires workflow management so that the right person, in the right order, sees the latest version, understands the context, and provides actionable feedback.  

However, the traditional process comes with several pain points: 

Version-control problems: With iterative revisions, it is hard to keep track of which is the last version of a document or design – usually different copies are lying around somewhere and things go wrong. 

Inefficient feedback: You request feedback through emails and different communication outlets that don’t allow you to centralize feedback, misinterpreting or missing out on comments. 

Holding off: Waiting for feedback from the directors can cause a delay in approvals. This is particularly problematic if the team is working across time zones or on a short deadline.  

Lack of visibility: often it is not clear who has already seen the document, who has commented on it, and who still needs to provide feedback and will have to approve the document. This lack of visibility slows down the project and generates tension. 

All these issues can be resolved using an online proofing tool, helping the team to speed up their workflows and be more efficient, while also encouraging collaboration between departments.   

What is Online Proofing Software? 

Online proofing software, such as that from Aproove, is a digital technology to help speed up the review and approval of creative assets, which enables anyone across a business to log in via a web interface and do things such as view the design, video, document or other media, add comments and, ultimately, approve it online. It not only saves email chains but also eliminates all the hassle related to using external file-sharing services or sharing files within the organization to collect feedback and approvals.  

Unlike traditional methods, online proofing integrates into the project workflow, enabling instant collaboration, feedback tracking and version control, thereby cutting down on the approval time and enhancing deliverable quality.  

Key Features of Online Proofing Software That Accelerate Approvals 

Centralized Feedback System 

Another big benefit of using an online proofing tool is that it has a centralized feedback hub. Instead of tracking feedback across 10 or more email threads, team members can add notes, mark up designs and request changes directly on the file. Team members can see all comments in real-time, with no chance of feedback getting lost or feedback being stuck in an email thread. 

This transparency enables the work to flow smoothly and efficiently. Stakeholders can respond to any issues in real-time, and project managers can follow the progress without having to badger for approvals or updates.  

Version Control and History Tracking 

Creative projects frequently undergo countless rounds of revisions before final approval. Trying to track the various versions with pen and paper is mind-bending. Online proofing software automatically saves every version of the project for stakeholders to compare side-by-side, so they can be certain that all feedback has been answered and nothing has fallen through the cracks.  

Online Proofing maintains a visible revision history and a clear audit trail of who approved what, and when – an important tool for being accountable and managing a project. Reviewers, meanwhile, can backtrack if needed and make changes, all while saving precious time because years of babysitting can be replaced by a few computational seconds. 

Real-Time Collaboration 

Many online proofing tools include real-time collaboration functionality, enabling teams from around the world to work together. Users can comment using @mentions, annotate and resolve issues on the fly, dramatically reducing the scope for the kind of back-and-forth often required for creative reviews. 

Additionally, an online proofing tool might integrate with project management and communication tools, enhancing collaboration with real-time facilities because teams can work in the tools that suit them without slowing down with administrative tasks or waiting on responses when they’re working between platforms.  

Automated Workflows and Notifications 

Automation is another tool that speeds up project approvals. With online proofing tool, project managers can create workflows to trigger automatic reminders when a new version is available for review, when someone leaves a comment, or when someone is late with approval.  

This reduces the need for follow-up by a human and ensures that people don’t fall through the cracks. The approval process moves forward without requiring constant intervention from a project manager. Automated messages can put in place the process checks that keep everything moving along, or flag people who are falling behind.  

Customizable Approval Processes 

Every creative project is unique, and the approval workflow will vary depending on the type of asset, the people involved, and the deadlines that are in place. Online proofing software empowers teams to create custom, automated workflows to fit their unique way of working. One project could require many different signoffs, while a video review might need comments associated with time stamps by the reviewer. 

Customizable workflows enable you to ensure that the process is as efficient as possible, removing all the unnecessary steps while ensuring that the right eyes are given a chance to provide feedback. This results in approvals done faster, and little chance for misunderstanding. 

Improved Security and Access Control 

Creative projects often contain confidential information especially if external clients or partners are involved. Project managers can now better control how much access there is; and who can see files at what stage with online proofing tool. 

This provides control over the materials so that only the right people can view them, make comments on them, or approve them so that other people can access them. This prevents people who weren’t supposed to have access from working on it, and it speeds up approvals so that people aren’t bugging too many others who don’t need to be included in a project based on its current stage.  

The Benefits of Faster Approvals 

Three ways that speeding up the approval process is help to creative teams and also how helps with better project outcomes: 

Efficiency: With faster approvals, there is less time ‘waiting around’ and more time actually focusing on the creative side of the project. Faster approvals mean that teams get more done in the same period of time, and can keep up with and even beat deadlines. 

Better QA:  Because changes are tracked version by version and everyone can see the work, all feedback is captured and implemented correctly. Better end product. Every detail is reviewed and approved.  

Greater Accountability: Since online proofing software provides a clear audit trail of the approval process, everyone knows who does what (and when). This gives accountability and ensures that nothing gets lost. 

Lower Costs: By cutting through red tape, teams can avoid costly delays and revisions. Faster approvals will reduce project turnaround and cut down on labor costs. 

Clients: Clients love not having to scroll through several pages of emails to find out why a project is taking a long time to complete, and they love even more creative projects that are delivered faster and with fewer revisions. Using an online proofing tool is a way to approve quickly and get to the fun part of the project – creating. While helping teams connect the dots between using too many fonts and a brilliant marketing campaign, such software also helps to strengthen important client relationships.  

Online proofing tools bring order to a rapidly moving industry, allowing creative teams to centralize feedback, boost version control and automate workflows to accelerate the approval process, and help these teams deliver on time and on budget.   

In doing so, their workflow improves internally, and also the communication with clients and other stakeholders, so that everyone is on the same page, and the project stays on track from start to finish. In short, for creative teams who want to improve efficiency and gain greater ground, online proofing tool is a no-brainer.