Core Solution
Document Approval Software That Keeps Sign-Off From Becoming Another Email Thread
Approval Manager attaches comments, revisions, and sign-off directly to the file, so a deliverable moves forward the moment it's approved, not whenever someone finds the right email.
Every approval that lives in an inbox instead of on the file itself costs you time: forwarding the latest version, hunting for who actually said yes, re-explaining a change that was already discussed three replies ago. That's the Continuity Tax. Approval Manager keeps the whole conversation, and the decision, attached to the document, where anyone with access can see it.
- Comments, revisions, and sign-off attached to the file, not a separate thread
- Every sign-off recorded in the Audit Trail automatically
- Included starting on the Pro plan
- Clients review and comment through an always-free client account
When sign-off gets stuck in an inbox
We call it the Continuity Tax. This is what it looked like in a real review.
A statistical analysis plan went out to a client for review. A question came back first: did you get your manager's review before sending? Yes, with the approval email attached to prove it. A few days later, comments arrived. Then another email with more comments. Then a third email, from a second reviewer, with feedback that flatly contradicted the first, because the second reviewer had never seen what the first one sent. Reconciling the two took hours, before a single edit was made. The document itself was no easier to pin down: versions were stored in different directories instead of together, so no one could say for certain how many rounds it had already been through. Most of the time went to tracking down emails, not improving the document.
Try It FreeReviewers Who Saw Each Other's Comments
0
the second reviewer's feedback contradicted the first because neither could see what the other had said
Cost for a Client to Review and Approve
Free
clients comment and sign off using an always-free client account, in one place everyone can see
How it works
A document approval workflow built into the task, not bolted on top of it.
Approval Manager runs on every file attached to a task. No separate app to open, no export-and-send step.
- A file is attached to the task it belongs to
- Reviewers leave comments directly on the file, in the same discussion thread as the task itself
- Revisions are uploaded to the same file, keeping version history intact
- An approver signs off, or requests changes, without leaving the task
- The sign-off, and everything that led to it, is recorded in the Audit Trail
A note on how this is different
Approval Manager replaces the email thread. It doesn't just copy it.
Most "approval processes" are really just an inbox with extra steps: forward the file, wait for a reply, forward the reply, hope everyone's looking at the same version. Approval Manager keeps that entire exchange attached to the file it's actually about.
What Approval Manager Attaches to the File
Comments, requested changes, revisions, and the final sign-off, all in one place, tied to the task and visible to everyone with access to it.
What It Replaces
Email chains, forwarded attachments, chat messages that scroll out of view, and printed sign-off sheets that live in a filing cabinet no one can search.
The comments on a document use the same built-in discussion tied directly to the project and task that you'd use for any conversation about the work, so approvals don't require a separate messaging tool either. And because clients review and approve through an always-free client account, this works whether the reviewer is on your team or theirs, everyone comments in the same place, so a second reviewer can always see what a first reviewer already said.
People-first overview
Document approval software that moves work forward instead of waiting on it.
Approve or Request Changes
A document approval workflow built into the task itself, so a deliverable moves forward the moment it's signed off, not whenever someone checks their inbox.
Know Who Approved What
The Audit Trail records every comment and every sign-off, so a document's approval history is never in question, even months later.
One Conversation, Not Five
Comments stay attached to the file and the task, so there's no separate email thread, chat channel, or printed sheet to keep in sync.
Built Into Your Templates
Set up once inside a project template, from proposal through billable execution, so every engagement carries the same approval steps automatically.
Definition
What a document approval process should do for you.
An approval process exists to answer a simple question with certainty: did the right person sign off on this, and can you prove it later. When approvals live in email or chat, that certainty erodes with every forwarded message. When they live on the file itself, it doesn't.
A document approval workflow, sometimes called sign-off or review software, should have the following characteristics:
- Keeps comments and revisions attached to the file, not a separate thread
- Lets a document carry its own approval chain, with the reviewers it actually needs
- Records who approved, and when, without requiring a separate step
- Ties that history to an audit trail that can't be edited after the fact
- Moves the deliverable forward automatically once sign-off happens
Approval Manager was built around those characteristics. You may only lean on it once a week, but when a client or a colleague asks "who approved this, and when," you'll have the answer in seconds instead of an afternoon of searching inboxes.
Use case
Document approval software in action: where sign-off actually happens.
Approval bottlenecks show up anywhere a deliverable has to be reviewed before it goes out the door, proposals, statements of work, change orders, and final client documents alike.
The document that kicks off an engagement often goes through the most rounds of back-and-forth. Keeping every comment and revision attached to that one file means the version everyone finally signs is never in doubt.
When scope changes mid-project, the change order needs a clean, provable sign-off, especially if it affects billing later. Approval Manager keeps that record attached to the task where the change actually happened.
Client-facing sign-off benefits from the same single-file discipline: the client comments, you revise, the client approves, and the whole exchange stays with the deliverable instead of scattered across email.
Every file can carry its own approval chain, so a document that needs sign-off from a project lead, then a partner, then the client, moves through each reviewer in one continuous record instead of three separate threads.
TimeCatchApp's project templates can carry an engagement from proposal through final billable execution, and the approval steps travel with the template. That means every new engagement starts with the same sign-off checkpoints already in place, instead of being rebuilt from scratch.
A visible, organized approval history gives sponsors and clients confidence that nothing was skipped, without adding a status meeting to anyone's calendar.
Because every comment and sign-off feeds the Audit Trail, going back to check who approved a document, and when, takes seconds, not an inbox search spanning months.
Feature grid
Core document approval software capabilities.
Approve or request changes
Sign off on a file, or send it back with comments, directly from the task it's attached to.
Comments attached to the file
Every note and reply stays with the document itself, using the same built-in discussion you'd use for any task conversation.
Multi-reviewer approval chains
A single document can carry its own chain of reviewers, so it moves through everyone who needs to sign off, in order.
Version awareness
Revisions stay tied to the same file, so everyone reviewing knows they're looking at the current draft.
Tied to the Audit Trail
Every comment and sign-off is recorded automatically, so the full approval history is provable later, not just remembered.
Included on the Pro plan
Approval Manager is part of the core platform starting on Pro, not a separate app or add-on integration.
Free client accounts
Clients review, comment, and approve using an always-free client account, so getting their sign-off never requires them to buy a seat.
Platform information
Approval Manager as part of a connected operating system that closes your Continuity Tax gaps.
A stand-alone approval tool only manages one step. When approvals run through the same system as your documents, workflow, time, and billing, sign-off is just another connected step, not a separate process to maintain.
Document Management
Files stay attached to the project or task they belong to, with version history, so approval always happens on the right draft.
Audit Trail
Every comment and sign-off feeds the same indelible record as the rest of your project activity, free on every account.
Workflow Management
Approval steps travel with your project templates, from proposal through final billable execution, so nothing gets rebuilt from scratch.
Invoicing
Once a deliverable is signed off, it's ready to bill, with the approval record backing up every invoice you send.
Why it may be a good fit for you
TimeCatchApp gives you a real approval process, without needing a separate app to run it.
Consultants, freelancers, and small firms rarely have the budget or the headcount to configure a dedicated approval platform, let alone maintain one alongside their document storage and project tools. They need sign-off that lives where the work already happens.
That means the right approval process should attach directly to the file, carry whatever chain of reviewers a document actually needs, and feed a record you can point to later without digging through an inbox.
Approval Manager is built around those needs. That makes it a strong fit for consultants, freelancers, and small teams who need real document approval software, not a heavyweight enterprise workflow platform built for firms with dedicated operations staff.
Support content
Resources.
Document Management Guide
See how keeping files attached to real work reduces lost time, version confusion, and disconnected records.
Learn MoreAudit Trail Guide
Learn how an automatic, indelible record of who did what and when protects your approval history.
Learn MoreContinuity Tax Calculator
Estimate how much time and revenue your firm loses to approval delays, lost files, and disconnected tools.
Learn More
FAQ accordion
Still have questions? We have answers!
Software that moves a file through comments, revisions, and sign-off directly inside the system where the work lives, instead of over email or chat.
Email scatters the conversation across inboxes, forwards, and reply-alls. Approval Manager keeps every comment, revision, and sign-off attached to the file itself, in one place anyone with access can review.
Yes. Each file can carry its own approval chain, so a document moves through the reviewers it actually needs before it's marked approved.
No. Every comment and every sign-off is recorded in the Audit Trail, so the approval history stays available for review, even months later.
Approval Manager is included starting on the Pro plan.
No. Clients review, comment, and approve using an always-free client account, so getting their sign-off never requires them to buy a seat.
Document approval software that closes the Continuity Tax gap between a decision and proof of it.
Keep comments, revisions, and sign-off attached to the file, tied to your Audit Trail. Included starting on the Pro plan.