{"id":46,"date":"2016-03-15T16:01:16","date_gmt":"2016-03-15T16:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/?p=46"},"modified":"2020-10-19T11:06:08","modified_gmt":"2020-10-19T11:06:08","slug":"the-importance-of-client-sign-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off","title":{"rendered":"The importance of client sign off"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"Approved<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sign up to sign off<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Client sign off.\u00a0 Seems straightforward enough doesn\u2019t it? Do the work, get it signed-off, everyone\u2019s happy.<\/p>\n

Well yes and no. Although it sounds pretty straightforward, the whole subject of client sign-off can be a bit of a gray area.<\/p>\n

So, if you provide a professional service, it\u2019s a good idea to be aware of what client sign-off means, why it makes good business sense to get it and how you can ensure that you do.<\/p>\n

Great, but where do you go to find out more? One of the easiest things would be to ask us. That\u2019s what this guy did:<\/p>\n

Professional:<\/strong> Hello InsuranceBee. What\u2019s client sign-off all about?<\/p>\n

InsuranceBee:<\/strong> Hmm, yes, good question. It can be a bit of hot potato so it\u2019s certainly worth trying to help if we can.<\/em><\/p>\n

Out of interest, what do you do?<\/em><\/p>\n

Professional:<\/strong> I\u2019m in marketing. Consultancy mainly but some design work too.<\/p>\n

InsuranceBee:<\/strong> So you get your clients\u2019 approval on any artwork you do?<\/em><\/p>\n

Professional:<\/strong> Yep. Well I think so. I show it to them and they give me the thumbs-up. Is that what you mean?<\/p>\n

InsuranceBee:<\/strong> Well that\u2019s a start. The next thing would be to get that thumbs-up documented in some way. Getting your work signed-off by your client is one of the first steps to best practice.<\/em><\/p>\n

Professional:<\/strong> How so?<\/p>\n

InsuranceBee:<\/strong> Simple – let\u2019s take your artwork as an example. It\u2019s a well established precedent in law that your client accepts final responsibility for it by signing it off.<\/em><\/p>\n

If they spot an error after they\u2019ve put pen to paper and the artwork needs to be re-printed, in simple terms, it becomes their problem not yours.<\/em><\/p>\n

That\u2019s an important distinction.<\/em><\/p>\n

Professional: <\/strong>But what if my client argues that my error is my error – regardless of whether they signed-off the work or not? And worse, what if they then decide to sue me for the cost of fixing it?<\/p>\n

InsuranceBee:<\/strong> Well, first of all, by signing off, the client is stating that the work has been performed acceptably and that you have fulfilled your obligation. In typical cases, therefore, once you have sign-off you\u2019re off the hook, legally and technically, at least, and so your policy probably won\u2019t cover the cost of re-prints or other corrections.<\/em><\/p>\n

Professional:<\/strong> And that\u2019s because the artwork is no longer my responsibility, right?<\/p>\n

InsuranceBee: <\/strong>Exactly.<\/em><\/p>\n

Professional: <\/strong>Does that mean I\u2019m not covered then?<\/p>\n

InsuranceBee: <\/strong>No it doesn\u2019t. If your client decides to sue, your PL insurance will still be there to defend you. That is what it\u2019s for, after all.<\/em><\/p>\n

In our example, it just won\u2019t pay for the costs of a re-print that\u2019s all.<\/em><\/p>\n

Professional:<\/strong> I see. What if, despite my best efforts, something goes wrong after everything\u2019s been signed off?<\/p>\n

InsuranceBee:<\/strong> Like?<\/em><\/p>\n

Professional: <\/strong>Well, what if I accidently send the wrong, unapproved version of the artwork to the printer? Or what if I inadvertently change part of a document while correcting an error and it\u2019s not noticed until it\u2019s too late?<\/p>\n

InsuranceBee:<\/strong> Good examples and both are actually pretty common. Either way, as before, you\u2019ll be covered.<\/em><\/p>\n

Professional: <\/strong>That\u2019s a relief. And what about the printer? What if they drop the ball?<\/p>\n

InsuranceBee:<\/strong> If the printer makes a mistake then the printer fixes it. Simple as that.<\/em><\/p>\n

Professional:<\/strong> I\u2019m always making last-minute verbal amendments too though. How do I keep track of them?<\/p>\n

InsuranceBee:<\/strong> Your best bet with these is to acknowledge the amendment in writing. Importantly, within that, you should also point out that if your client is unable to sign-off the final version then you\u2019ll accept no responsibility for errors that subsequently occur.<\/em><\/p>\n

Professional:<\/strong> That seems fair enough. So how do I go about making the whole sign-off process \u2018official\u2019?<\/p>\n

InsuranceBee: <\/strong>It doesn\u2019t have to be complicated. We\u2019d recommend having a section in your Terms and Conditions that references your sign-off procedure and explains your clients\u2019 responsibilities. That should be enough.<\/em><\/p>\n

And then don\u2019t forget to actually apply it, of course\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Professional: <\/strong>Of course. Just one more thing: I assume if I don\u2019t get sign-off at all then I\u2019m not covered?<\/p>\n

InsuranceBee: <\/strong>You\u2019d think so wouldn\u2019t you? But no, that\u2019s not the case.<\/em><\/p>\n

If, for some reason, you didn\u2019t get client sign-off and it turns out there was an error (and it was your fault), your policy would still defend you. You have made a genuine mistake after all.<\/em><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t assume that you can skip sign-off though. Sign-off and good insurance complement one and other. Neither is a substitute for the other.<\/em><\/p>\n

Professional: <\/strong>I wouldn\u2019t dream of it. I\u2019ll get on it then. Thanks InsuranceBee.<\/p>\n

InsuranceBee: <\/strong>No problem. InsuranceBee signing off\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sign up to sign off Client sign off.\u00a0 Seems straightforward enough doesn\u2019t it? Do the work, get it signed-off, everyone\u2019s happy. Well yes and no. Although it sounds pretty straightforward, the whole subject of client sign-off can be a bit … Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-risk-tips","category-small-business-news"],"yoast_head":"\r\nThe importance of client sign-off<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Make sure you get sign off from your client before you start work on a project or you could find yourself in hot water further down the line.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The importance of client sign-off\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Make sure you get sign off from your client before you start work on a project or you could find yourself in hot water further down the line.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"InsuranceBee Blog\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-03-15T16:01:16+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-10-19T11:06:08+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Approved.-ImNotQuiteJack-jon-collier.jpg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kate Naqvi\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kate Naqvi\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\\\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\\\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kate Naqvi\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/25d21b56419ae3d58431b36966e079bf\"},\"headline\":\"The importance of client sign off\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-15T16:01:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-10-19T11:06:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\\\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off\"},\"wordCount\":820,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\\\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2011\\\/06\\\/Approved.-ImNotQuiteJack-jon-collier.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Risk Tips\",\"Small business news\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\\\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\\\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\\\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off\",\"name\":\"The importance of client sign-off\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\\\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\\\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2011\\\/06\\\/Approved.-ImNotQuiteJack-jon-collier.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-15T16:01:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-10-19T11:06:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/25d21b56419ae3d58431b36966e079bf\"},\"description\":\"Make sure you get sign off from your client before you start work on a project or you could find yourself in hot water further down the line.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\\\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\\\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\\\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2011\\\/06\\\/Approved.-ImNotQuiteJack-jon-collier.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2011\\\/06\\\/Approved.-ImNotQuiteJack-jon-collier.jpg\",\"width\":\"500\",\"height\":\"333\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\\\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The importance of client sign off\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"InsuranceBee Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/25d21b56419ae3d58431b36966e079bf\",\"name\":\"Kate Naqvi\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2df945b683e8ace226a95eaee740a2d6c6f5b81854bbc81200f437e4e55344ce?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2df945b683e8ace226a95eaee740a2d6c6f5b81854bbc81200f437e4e55344ce?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2df945b683e8ace226a95eaee740a2d6c6f5b81854bbc81200f437e4e55344ce?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kate Naqvi\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insurancebee.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/kate-naqvi\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The importance of client sign-off","description":"Make sure you get sign off from your client before you start work on a project or you could find yourself in hot water further down the line.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The importance of client sign-off","og_description":"Make sure you get sign off from your client before you start work on a project or you could find yourself in hot water further down the line.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off","og_site_name":"InsuranceBee Blog","article_published_time":"2016-03-15T16:01:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-10-19T11:06:08+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Approved.-ImNotQuiteJack-jon-collier.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Kate Naqvi","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kate Naqvi","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off"},"author":{"name":"Kate Naqvi","@id":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/25d21b56419ae3d58431b36966e079bf"},"headline":"The importance of client sign off","datePublished":"2016-03-15T16:01:16+00:00","dateModified":"2020-10-19T11:06:08+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off"},"wordCount":820,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Approved.-ImNotQuiteJack-jon-collier.jpg","articleSection":["Risk Tips","Small business news"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off","url":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off","name":"The importance of client sign-off","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Approved.-ImNotQuiteJack-jon-collier.jpg","datePublished":"2016-03-15T16:01:16+00:00","dateModified":"2020-10-19T11:06:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/25d21b56419ae3d58431b36966e079bf"},"description":"Make sure you get sign off from your client before you start work on a project or you could find yourself in hot water further down the line.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Approved.-ImNotQuiteJack-jon-collier.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Approved.-ImNotQuiteJack-jon-collier.jpg","width":"500","height":"333"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-client-sign-off#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The importance of client sign off"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/","name":"InsuranceBee Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/25d21b56419ae3d58431b36966e079bf","name":"Kate Naqvi","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2df945b683e8ace226a95eaee740a2d6c6f5b81854bbc81200f437e4e55344ce?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2df945b683e8ace226a95eaee740a2d6c6f5b81854bbc81200f437e4e55344ce?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2df945b683e8ace226a95eaee740a2d6c6f5b81854bbc81200f437e4e55344ce?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kate Naqvi"},"url":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/author\/kate-naqvi"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1840,"href":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46\/revisions\/1840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}