Client video approvals: a guide for agencies and freelance editors

Introduction

For an agency or a freelance editor, the edit is usually the part you priced well. The rounds of client feedback afterwards are where the margin goes.

A fixed-fee video that was quoted for two rounds and ends up needing five is two or three rounds of unpaid work. Multiply that across a year of projects and it can decide whether a client is worth keeping.

Extra rounds often start long before the client sees a cut: gaps in the brief, cuts sent without context, and decision-makers on the client side nobody briefed. This guide covers how to close those gaps, from the first call to final delivery.

Before the project starts

The cheapest revision is the one you prevent at kickoff. Two things need settling before any footage is cut: the client’s brand rules and the scope.

Collect the brand properly

Ask for the current brand guidelines, logo files, fonts, colour values, approved taglines and any end-card templates in the first week. Ask directly whether the guidelines are the latest version, and whether any campaign or market has its own rules. Clients often forget a recent refresh or a regional variation until they see it missing from your cut.

If the client has no written guidelines, write a one-page summary yourself from their website and past videos, and get them to approve it. That page becomes the reference for every review that follows.

Agree the scope in writing

The brief should say what the video is for, who it’s for, the length, the formats and aspect ratios, the deadline and who gives final approval on the client side. Add the number of revision rounds included and what happens after that. Our video approval workflow guide covers how to set round limits and review deadlines.

Send the scope back as a short summary and ask the client to confirm it by reply. It takes five minutes and gives you something to point to when the project drifts.

Revisions versus scope changes

Much of the friction with clients comes from one unclear line: when does feedback stop being a revision and become new work? Define it at the start, in plain words, and both sides know where they stand.

A revision changes the agreed video. Examples include swapping a shot, tightening the pacing, fixing a caption, adjusting music levels or correcting a brand error.

A scope change asks for a different video. Examples include a new concept or script, a new message, extra versions or aspect ratios, a different length, or new footage that wasn’t in the brief.

When a scope change comes in, don’t refuse it and don’t quietly absorb it. Reply with what it involves and what it costs in time or money, then let the client decide. Something like: “Happy to do a 15-second cutdown as well. That’s outside the original scope, so it would add two days and the cost below. Shall I go ahead?”

Brand fixes are a special case. If your cut used the wrong logo or an off-palette colour, the fix is on you, and it shouldn’t count against the client’s rounds. That’s one more reason to check every cut against the client’s guidelines before sending it.

Sending cuts that get approved

How you send a cut shapes the feedback you get back. A bare link invites the client to comment on everything at once. A link with a short note points them at what matters for this round.

Write a cover note for every version

Keep it to a few lines:

• What this round is for, such as “structure and story, not final colour or music”.
• What changed since the last version, with timestamps.
• Any choices you made and why, such as why the product shot moved earlier.
• The questions you need answered, such as “Is the price card wording approved by legal?”
• The deadline for feedback and who should give it.

A note like this takes ten minutes and saves a lot of back-and-forth. It also shows the client you’re running the project, which builds trust.

Check the brand before the client does

A client who spots their own old logo in your cut starts checking everything else too. Run every cut against the client’s guidelines before it leaves your hands. Our checklist for reviewing a video against brand guidelines walks through what to check.

Make reviewing easy

Send one link per version, so nobody comments on an old cut by mistake. Use a review link the client can open without creating an account, and ask them to leave comments on the video at the exact moment, so you don’t have to decode “the bit near the end”.

Working with the stakeholders you never meet

Your contact at the client is rarely the only person who has a say. Their manager, the product team, legal or a regional office may all see the video before it’s approved, and you usually hear their views second-hand.

That’s where late surprises come from. A director who first sees the video at round three can send the project back to the start.

Ask about the approval chain at kickoff. Who else will watch it, and at which stage? Who has the final word? Is there a legal or compliance check, and how long does it take?

Then ask your contact to bring the senior decision-maker in early, ideally at script or first cut, when changing direction is cheap. If they can’t, at least get that person to approve the brief.

Ask for one consolidated set of feedback per round from your contact, not separate emails from five people. If two of their colleagues disagree, it’s the client’s job to settle it before it reaches you. Say so politely at the start, so it doesn’t feel like pushback later.

Finally, give your contact what they need to sell the cut internally. The cover note you send with each version can be forwarded as it is, so write it for their boss as much as for them.

Keeping several clients’ brands straight

An in-house team has one brand to learn. An agency or freelancer might juggle five or ten at once, each with its own logo rules, fonts and colours. Mixing them up is an easy mistake: a lower-third template from one client’s project reused in another’s, or last year’s end card from a client that has since rebranded.

A few habits keep them separate:

• Give each client a project with its own guidelines, logos, fonts and templates, and nothing shared between clients.
• Date every guidelines file, and archive the old one when a client sends an update.
• Keep a short notes file per client for the rules that aren’t written down anywhere, such as “the CEO dislikes slow fades”.
• Check each cut against that client’s own guidelines, never from memory.

How Daab helps agencies

Daab.app lets you upload each client’s brand guidelines and custom instructions, then run an AI review of each cut against them before the client sees it. Issues with the logo, colours, fonts, on-screen text, taglines and watermarked stock appear as comments at the exact timestamp, so you can fix them before sending.

For the client side, Daab gives you review links that clients open without logging in, or a branded client portal. You can set links to expire, control downloads, and keep every version with its full history and a record of who approved what. Permissions are set per project, so each client sees only their own work.

FAQ

What counts as a revision and what counts as a change in scope?

A revision changes the agreed video, such as swapping a shot, fixing a caption or adjusting pacing. A scope change asks for a different video, such as a new script, a new concept, extra versions or new footage. Write both definitions into your proposal.

Should agencies charge for extra revision rounds?

If the rounds included in the quote are used up, yes. Tell the client before you start the extra round, explain what it will cost, and get their go-ahead in writing. Rounds needed to fix your own errors, including brand mistakes, shouldn’t be charged.

How do you handle a client who keeps adding feedback after approval?

Treat feedback after sign-off as new work. Confirm the approval in writing when it happens, so there’s a clear point after which changes are quoted separately.

How can a freelance editor avoid endless revisions?

Agree the scope and the number of rounds before you start, collect the client’s brand assets at kickoff, send each cut with a short note on what to review, and ask for one consolidated set of feedback per round.

What should you ask a new client for before starting a video?

Their latest brand guidelines, logo files, fonts, colour values, approved taglines, any end-card templates, campaign-specific rules, and the name of the person who gives final approval.

Where to start

On your next project, add two things to the proposal: a one-line definition of a revision versus a scope change, and the name of the person who gives final approval on the client side. Then send your first cut with a short cover note. None of these costs anything, and together they close the gaps that usually lead to an extra round.

If you’d like brand issues caught before your client sees the cut, try Daab.app free with one of your clients’ guidelines, or email hello@daab.app for a demo.