The Approval Gate Checklist

Steps

1. List every step in the process, in order, on paper or in a doc.
2. Next to each step, mark it "follows a rule" or "needs a judgment call." A rule step has one right answer you could write down. A judgment call depends on the case in front of you.
3. Rule steps are safe to hand to a system: pulling numbers off a document, drafting a first version, checking one thing against another, formatting.
4. The judgment call is what stays with a person. Usually there's only one. On a recurring process like invoicing, it's "what does the client actually get charged."
5. Write down what that person checks before they sign off. That's the list below. Keep it short enough that someone will actually read it every time.

The sign-off checklist

Give this to whoever holds the one decision. They run it before anything goes out, not after.

1. Does every line have a clear reason it's there? Delivered, approved, not cancelled.
2. Does anything not match the source record? If yes, is the difference explained somewhere, or is it a guess?
3. Is anything missing that should be on here?
4. Has a rate, a quantity, or a name changed since last time, without you knowing why?
5. Would you send this out exactly as it is, with nobody else checking it after you?

If the answer to 5 is no, stop. Don't guess, and don't wave it through because the system built it. The system did the routine work. The check is still yours.

Files in this pack

• example-filled.mdA fictional agency's monthly invoicing sorted into rule steps and the one judgment call, with the sign-off checklist filled in against a fictional draft.2 KB