ApproveThis manages your Proofer Integration approvals.

Why These Two Tools Are Better Together

Let’s cut to the chase: proofing processes suck when you’re chasing down approvals in Slack, email, or worse – a spreadsheet. Proofer handles the front end of getting designs or product proofs in front of clients. ApproveThis handles the back end of getting actual decisions made. Connect them via Zapier, and you’ve got a system where feedback loops close faster than your designer can say “this client is killing me.”

For companies juggling custom orders, marketing assets, or product designs, this combo turns approval bottlenecks into a straight-shot process. No more guessing who signed off on what version. No more clients ghosting your revision requests. Just a clean handoff between creating proofs and getting them approved.

What Each Tool Brings to the Table

Proofer’s Superpower

Proofer (built for Shopify stores) keeps custom order proofs organized. You’re managing revisions, client comments, and version control – all the messy stuff that happens before a design gets the green light. But here’s where it gets stuck: Proofer isn’t built to chase down stakeholders or enforce decision timelines. That’s where most teams lose days waiting for someone to click “approve.”

ApproveThis’s Game Changer

ApproveThis chases people so you don’t have to. Set up rules like “If this t-shirt design proof isn’t approved in 48 hours, auto-escalate to the Creative Director.” Or “Only require the CFO’s sign-off if the order total exceeds $5k.” It works through email, so approvers don’t need another app login – crucial when dealing with clients or execs who won’t adopt new tools.

Real-World Workflows That Actually Work

Use Case 1: Kill the “Hey, Did You Review That?” Follow-Ups

Picture this: Your team just sent a new merch design proof to a client via Proofer. Instead of hoping they remember to check it, Zapier auto-creates an ApproveThis request. The client gets an email with one-click approve/reject buttons. If they don’t respond in 24 hours, ApproveThis pings their manager. Meanwhile, your team sees real-time status updates without manual tracking.

Who uses this: E-commerce brands doing custom products (think breweries, event merch). Every delayed approval here means missing production deadlines. Automate it, and you’ll ship orders 30% faster.

Use Case 2: No More Approval Black Holes

When an ApproveThis request gets denied (like a client rejecting a packaging design), Zapier can trigger Proofer to auto-generate a new revision case. Your designers get notified instantly, update the proof, and the cycle continues – without anyone copying/pasting feedback between systems.

Who uses this: Marketing agencies. They average 5+ revision rounds per project. Automating this reclaims 8-12 hours monthly per account manager.

Use Case 3: Escalate Without the Awkwardness

ApproveThis’s thresholds let you auto-route decisions. Example: A $200 blog graphic approval stays with the Marketing Coordinator. A $20k product line proof jumps straight to the CEO. All triggered by data in Proofer’s order forms. No more under/over-communicating with higher-ups.

Setting This Up Without Losing Your Mind

Zapier’s the middleman here. You’ll create two Zaps:

• Zap 1: Proofer (New Revision) → ApproveThis (Create Request)
• Zap 2: ApproveThis (Approved/Denied) → Proofer (Create New Proof)

Total setup time: 18 minutes if you’ve used Zapier before. Two things to watch:

1. Map Proofer’s order numbers to ApproveThis’s custom fields so everything stays traceable.
2. Use ApproveThis’s email templates to add your branding – makes clients think you’ve got a full-time approvals team.

Who Wins the Most Here?

Creative Teams

Designers stop playing project manager. When a proof is ready in Proofer, ApproveThis automatically badgers the right people. Status updates? Check the dashboard. No more “I thought YOU were handling the client feedback!”

Operations Managers

You’ll see where approvals get stuck. Is the sales team sitting on proofs for 72+ hours? Are clients rejecting 50% of round one designs? ApproveThis’s analytics show bottlenecks so you can fix them – before the CEO asks why Q4 deliveries are late.

Client Services

External approvers (clients, vendors, legal) don’t need Proofer logins. They get branded emails from ApproveThis, click a button, and you’re done. Fewer login support tickets = happier account managers.

Bonus Features You’ll Actually Use

ApproveThis isn’t just a nag system. A few underrated features that pair well with Proofer:

Vacation Delegation: Your client’s main contact OOO? ApproveThis auto-reassigns to their backup without you lifting a finger.

Calculated Fields: Auto-flag proofs that exceed budget by pulling order totals from Proofer. If a design’s production cost spikes 20%, route it to finance automatically.

Common Mistakes (Save Yourself the Trouble)

Teams mess this up by:

Overcomplicating workflows: Start with 1-2 critical approval paths (like final design sign-off). Don’t try to automate every minor revision upfront.

Ignoring naming conventions: Proofer filenames must include order numbers. ApproveThis uses these to track requests. Skip this, and you’ll have a mess of “Untitled Proof Final FINAL v2” chaos.

Ready to Stop Herding Cats?

If you’re using Proofer but still have designers or account managers wasting hours on approval chase-downs, this integration pays for itself in days. ApproveThis doesn’t require contracts or sales calls to start – you can sign up free, connect the Zap, and test it with one client proof.

Or, if you’d rather see a 10-minute demo first, book a walkthrough. We’ll show how other e-commerce teams cut approval delays by 60% without hiring more coordinators.