Sending a proof for customer approval
Send a proof, let the customer approve or request changes, and keep a history of versions.
Need your customer to approve artwork before you start production? Proof Review keeps the proof, their response, and the order workflow together.
The review link goes to your Shopify lookup page when that URL is saved in Customer Lookup. If you have not set that page up yet, the customer opens the proof on Orderflow.
Send a proof
- Open Update Order (tap the card on a phone, or use the Status dropdown / open the order on desktop).
- Move the order to your Proof Sent status (or the status wired to Proof Review).
- On the Proof tab, click the photo icon and choose one photo or several at once.
- In Insert Image, add an optional note for the customer, then choose Insert. Adding more photos later keeps the ones already in the message.
- Choose Send Proof. Orderflow emails the customer a review link.
If they did not get the email — or the order has no email — choose Copy reply on the current proof. That copies a short message and the review link so you can paste it into Etsy Messages or a text. The customer opens the same proof from that link.
If you need the link without emailing, use the menu next to Send Proof and choose Save Without Sending. Copy reply still appears after that save.
Orderflow requires a proof image or a message before the proof is sent or saved for a copyable review link.
Customer approval
The customer opens the lookup page, reviews the proof, and approves. Once they approve, Orderflow can automatically move the order to Proof Approved when you configured that outcome on Status Actions.
If you turn on Post-proof marketing opt-in in Settings → Customer Experience, customers who are not already on your Shopify email list can optionally subscribe after that thank-you screen. Approval still finishes first. See Collect email marketing signups after proof approval.
Analytics shows proofs sent, approval rate, first-pass approvals, and typical customer response time. See Understanding your Orderflow analytics.
If they do not respond
On the Proof Review Status Action, you can turn on a reminder if they have not approved or requested changes. Set how many hours to wait after the proof is sent, and which status the order should move to when that reminder goes out. 24 hours is the same time the next day, not “tomorrow at noon.” Orderflow checks for due reminders about once an hour.
Customer requests changes
If they request changes, Orderflow can move the order to Changes Requested. Read their comments on the order, then send a revised proof.
Send a revised proof
- Open Update Order.
- Upload the new photo or photos on the Proof tab.
- Add a message if you need to explain the revision.
- Choose Send Revised Proof.
The customer uses the same review page. Older proofs show as Previous or Replaced. A replaced proof link cannot approve the old file; the customer is asked to review the latest version.
Team-only comments stay on Internal Note. Don’t put those on the Proof tab.
Approve a proof yourself
If you need to mark the proof approved without waiting on the customer, use Mark approved manually. Use this when the customer confirmed another way. You can also Cancel proof request when that proof should no longer be waiting.
Those two actions are not the same as a customer approval. Manual approval records that you approved it. Cancelled means the review request was withdrawn.
Close unanswered proofs when an order is fulfilled
Sometimes a customer never responds, and you still fulfill the order. Turn on Close unanswered proofs on fulfillment in Automations if you want Orderflow to close that waiting proof automatically.
Orderflow does not mark the proof as customer-approved. The proof history records that no response was received before fulfillment, so you and the customer both have an accurate record.
On Track Your Order, the customer sees a soft blue Proof closed card: we didn’t receive a response before the order was fulfilled, with View proof. Order details use Proof closed — no response received and a short explanation that the proof was closed when the order was completed. Opening the proof shows Proof closed, No response received before fulfillment, and a What this means note — then the artwork.
That is different from a proof the customer approved. Approved proofs stay labeled as approved by the customer. Proofs you mark approved manually stay labeled as approved by the store. A closed unanswered proof is never shown as an approved proof, and the customer cannot approve it or request changes.
Where the link goes
Set the published lookup page URL in Customer Lookup under Storefront Page (and during onboarding). Proof emails and copied short links use that page. If it is blank, Orderflow opens the proof on Orderflow until you save a page.
Learn more
If you’re still designing the workflow, How to send proofs to customers for Shopify orders covers the problem before the Orderflow steps. Proof Review does not send Etsy Messages. For imported Etsy orders that already exist in Shopify, see How to manage Etsy proof approvals without losing track of orders.
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