# How do client approvals work?

> Your client approves or rejects products and services from their project link. This article shows where you see their decision, how it differs from your own status, and how to record it for them.

Source: https://densy.io/en/help-center/how-do-client-approvals-work  
Last updated: 2026-11-03

Your client approves or rejects each product and service on their project link, on a phone or a computer, without an account. Their decision shows next to the product in your schedule, and you can also record it for them.

![The client's project link: switching the sofa to its sage alternative and clicking Approve this option in the Before you decide window](https://densy.io/images/help/en/how-do-client-approvals-work/client-approves.mp4)

## What your client does

1. They open their project link and a room.
2. On a product or service, they click **Approve** or **Reject**.

A product with alternatives shows its options as thumbnails, except the ones you've hidden from clients. The client opens an option and clicks **Approve this option**, or **Reject all options**.

- Approving an option makes it the main product and marks the other options rejected.
- Rejecting rejects every option. There's no rejecting one alternative on its own.

Afterwards, they can click **Change decision** to set it back to awaiting approval.

There's one decision per product or service, not one per client: any of your clients can make it or change it.

The client needs **Approve & reject** switched on. When it's off, they don't see the buttons or any decisions. See [How do I control what a client can see and do?](https://densy.io/en/help-center/how-to-manage-client-permissions-and-visibility)

## What you see in your schedule

- **In the list:** a green **Approved by client** or a red **Rejected by client** above the product's name.
- **In the grid:** an **Approved** or **Rejected** tag on the photo.
- **Only one kind of decision:** click **Filter** above the products, choose **Approved by client**, **Rejected by client** or **Awaiting approval** under **Client approval status** and click **Filter**.
- **Who decided and when:** click ⋯ (Options) in the top right of the room or project, choose **Activity feed** and set the type to **Approvals & comments**.

![Two product rows in a room: the lounge chair with Approved by client, the coffee table with Rejected by client](https://densy.io/images/help/en/how-do-client-approvals-work/decisions-in-schedule.webp)

## The client's decision vs. your own status

Every product and service also has a grey status under its name, like **Draft**, **Client review**, **Approved** or **Ordered**. That's your workflow, and clients don't see it. The two never change each other: setting your status to **Approved** doesn't record a client approval.

## Record a decision for your client

When a client decides on a call or in person:

1. Hover over the product or service and click ⋯ (Options) on the right of the row.
2. Point to **Set client decision** and choose **Mark approved by client**, **Mark rejected by client** or **Reset to awaiting approval**.
3. Confirm with **Mark approved**, **Mark rejected** or **Reset approval**.

For several rows at once, tick their checkboxes on the left (on a computer) and click **Set client decision** in the bar at the bottom.

- The decision applies to the main product. **Mark approved by client** marks its alternatives rejected; **Mark rejected by client** rejects every option.
- If the client chose an alternative, first click ⋯ (Options) on its thumbnail and choose **Promote to main product**, then mark it approved.
- A client with **Approve & reject** on gets a notification and can still change the decision from their link.

## When a decision goes back to awaiting approval

Editing a product, its price included, doesn't reset the decision. It goes back to awaiting approval when:

- you add an alternative, promote one to the main product or group products as alternatives. See [How do I add alternatives to a product?](https://densy.io/en/help-center/how-to-add-product-alternatives)
- you copy a product or service, or copy a room or duplicate a project with **Reset approval status** on (the default). The original keeps its decision.

## How decisions affect the budget

A rejected product stays in the budget until you delete it, replace it or hide it from clients. See [How do budgets and pricing work?](https://densy.io/en/help-center/how-do-budgets-and-pricing-work)

## Who gets notified

Everyone in the project's **Assigned team members** gets a notification when a client decides. For your clients, see [How are clients notified about project updates?](https://densy.io/en/help-center/client-notifications-project-updates)