Proof approval & customer e-mails
Choose what customers receive after they order: nothing, a design summary, a summary with an edit link, or a proof they must approve before you produce it.
Customezo can e-mail your customers once their designs are ready — a summary, a summary with an edit link, or a proof they must approve before you start production. You choose one Communication mode under Settings → Customer communication, and you can override it per product. It is available on all plans, including Free.
Nothing is sent until you turn it on: the default mode is No automatic e-mail.
The four communication modes
The mode decides the one automatic e-mail a customer receives when the previews for their order are ready.
| Mode | What the customer receives | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| No automatic e-mail | Nothing. You can still send an edit link or a proof from the order page. | You handle customer contact yourself. |
| Design summary | One e-mail with the design previews. No edit link. | You want customers to see what they ordered. |
| Summary + edit link | The same e-mail, with an Edit my design button that works for the Edit window. | Customers often spot a typo after ordering and you are happy for them to fix it. |
| Proof approval | One proof e-mail. The customer must approve before the item is produced. Includes reminders, change requests and an optional self-edit link. | Mistakes are expensive — engraving, large runs, gifts with names and dates. |
Whatever the mode, you can always send an edit link, a summary or a proof for a single order from the order page.
Set it up
- Go to Settings → Customer communication.
- Under Communication mode, pick a mode.
- Set the Edit window — how long edit links stay valid. The default is 48 hours.
- If you chose Proof approval, review the proof settings below.
- Optionally adjust E-mail texts, then press Save.
Proof settings
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Reminder interval | 48 hours | Time between automatic reminders while a proof waits for the customer. |
| Maximum automatic reminders | 2 | 0 turns automatic reminders off. You can still send one by hand. |
| Auto-approve when the customer does not respond | Off | Approves the proof automatically after the time you set in Auto-approve after. The proof e-mail states this deadline clearly. |
| Maximum rounds | 5 | The number of proof rounds per design. Sending more needs an extra confirmation on the order page. |
| Allow “Edit it myself” | Off | Adds a self-edit link to the proof e-mail so the customer can fix small issues in the designer. |
| Require a note when changes are requested | On | The customer must describe what should change. |
| Automatically send a revised proof after you edit the design | Off | When off, the order page reminds you to send the revised proof yourself. |
Auto-approve locks items without a customer decision
When the deadline passes, the items are approved and locked for production, and the customer is told by e-mail. Use it only if your customers expect it.
If auto-approve is off, a proof stays open for the reminder interval multiplied by the number of reminders plus one — 6 days with the default settings. After that it expires and the customer’s link stops working.
Approval checklist
Turn on Require a checklist before approval and add up to 10 statements, such as I checked the spelling of all names. The customer must tick every one before Approve design works. Use Editing texts for to translate the statements.
Shopify order tags and Shopify Flow
With Write proof tags to Shopify orders on (the default), Customezo keeps exactly one proof tag on the Shopify order:
| Tag | When |
|---|---|
proof-pending | The proof is waiting for the customer. |
proof-approved | The customer approved, or the proof was approved automatically or by you. |
proof-changes-requested | The customer asked for changes. |
You can rename the tags. Use them to filter orders in your Shopify admin, or in a Shopify Flow workflow — for example, one that notifies your production team when an order carries proof-approved.
E-mail texts
Under E-mail texts you can replace the subject and the intro paragraph of the Design summary, Proof request, Proof reminder and Revised proof e-mails, per language. The subject supports {{orderNumber}} and {{storeName}}. Leave a field empty to use the built-in text.
Different settings for one product
Open the product in Customezo and find Customer communication. Set Communication mode to one of the four modes, or leave it on Store default. On the order page, a mode that comes from a product shows (product override). See Product setup.
The summary e-mail
In Design summary and Summary + edit link modes the customer gets Here’s your design, with a preview of each design.
With Summary + edit link, the e-mail also has an Edit my design button, valid until the end of the edit window. The e-mail says clearly: Only the artwork can be changed — product, size, color and quantity stay as ordered. After editing, the customer is taken back to your storefront, and the print files are rebuilt automatically.
On the order page, Customer review shows Summary e-mail sent with the date, and the date the edit link runs out. If the summary has not gone out yet, press Send summary e-mail to send it now.
Proof approval, step by step
- The order arrives. Once the previews are ready, Customezo sends the proof e-mail with a Review & approve button. If the previews are still being made, the proof waits and goes out automatically.
- The customer reviews. On the proof page they see every item and side, any message from you, and the deadline.
- They decide.
- Approve design — after a final confirmation, the items are locked for production.
- Request changes — they describe what should change and can attach images or PDFs.
- Edit it myself — if you allow it, they fix the design in the designer. You then review it and send a revised proof.
- You revise. Update the design from the order page and press Send revised proof. The customer gets round 2, and so on.
- Reminders go out on schedule until the customer responds or the maximum is reached.
The Customer review panel on the order
Every order shows a Customer review panel with the active mode, the e-mail status, each proof round and an activity timeline.
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Send proof | Starts a proof for this order, in any mode. You can add a message and send it to another address. Production waits for approval, and any open edit link stops working. |
| Send reminder | Sends a reminder now. |
| Send revised proof | Sends a new round after you changed the design. |
| Mark approved | Records an approval you got by phone, chat or in person. You must say how it was obtained. The items are locked. |
| Cancel proof | Stops the proof. The customer’s links stop working right away. |
| Reopen | Reopens a decided proof and unlocks the items that the approval locked. |
You can also add notes. Internal (team only) notes stay with your team. Shared with customer notes appear on the proof page and are e-mailed to the customer.
Locking an order cancels open proofs
If you lock an order while a proof is open, the proof is cancelled and every customer link stops working. Customezo asks you to confirm first.
Track proofs in the order list
The Orders list has a Proof filter:
- Awaiting customer — proofs waiting for a decision.
- Needs action — the customer asked for changes or edited the design themselves, you revised the design but have not sent the new round yet, or a proof e-mail could not be delivered.
- Approved — ready for production.
Each order also shows a badge: Proof: awaiting customer, Proof: needs action or Proof approved.
Related
- Orders & print files — edit links, locking and print files.
- Add-to-cart confirmations — catch problems before the order is placed.
- Product setup — per-product communication mode.
- Troubleshooting