After a client accepts your proposal, save the accepted version and check the conditions that must be met before work starts. Confirm any deposit, contract, purchase order, client materials, and start date in one short message. Then give the client a clear first action.
Do not begin from the acceptance notification alone if the proposal says that work starts only after payment, a separate agreement, or delivery of specific materials. The next step should follow the terms the client accepted.
Check exactly what the client accepted
Open the proposal and verify:
- the proposal number and revision;
- the scope and exclusions;
- the price, currency, and tax treatment;
- the payment schedule;
- the proposed start and delivery dates;
- the client's response or note;
- any separate contract or purchase-order requirement.
Save a copy of that version. If the client accepted through a portal, keep the recorded date and response with it. If approval came by email, store the email next to the proposal rather than relying on your inbox search later.
Acceptance can have contractual consequences, but the result depends on the wording, parties, method of approval, and applicable law. The guide on when a quote can become binding explains the general distinction. Ask a local lawyer about terms you plan to reuse or a disputed acceptance.
Confirm the conditions for starting
Read your own approval clause. Common starting conditions include:
- receipt of an agreed deposit;
- signature of a separate services agreement;
- a valid purchase order from the client;
- access to files, systems, or brand assets;
- confirmation of the people who can approve work;
- final dates after checking availability.
Only ask for items that belong to the agreement or are genuinely needed. A surprise list of twelve onboarding tasks can make a clean proposal feel unfinished.
If the client needs a preliminary payment document, the right document depends on the country and transaction. A proforma invoice and a quote serve different purposes, and payment or supply may trigger local invoicing rules.
Send one next-steps email
Your message should confirm the decision, name what happens first, and say who owns each action.
The following example is fictional. Replace every date, amount, and requirement with the accepted terms.
Subject: Next steps for the North Street website
Hi Sam,
Thanks for approving proposal Q-2026-027. I have saved the accepted version.
The next steps are:
- I will send the agreed deposit invoice today.
- Please upload the final brand files and page copy by 21 August.
- We will confirm the 26 August start once the deposit and files have arrived.
- Our 30-minute kickoff is provisionally booked for 27 August at 10:00.
Please tell me if Alex remains the person who will return consolidated feedback. I will send the kickoff agenda once the files are in.
The message is useful because each line creates an action. It does not repeat the whole proposal or add new terms after acceptance.
From approval to delivery
Keep the accepted proposal and the project handoff together
Proposa gives the client one secure link for the proposal, decision, conversation, updates, and shared documents. You keep the accepted version and activity in the same workspace.
Turn proposed dates into confirmed dates
A proposal may show dates that were available when you sent it. Acceptance a week later does not automatically make the same slot possible unless you promised to hold it.
Confirm the schedule after checking:
- whether the deposit and required materials have arrived;
- whether the client can attend the kickoff;
- how quickly they can return feedback;
- whether another project now occupies the proposed slot;
- which dates are fixed and which are estimates.
Write the dependency into the confirmation:
Delivery is confirmed for 18 September provided final copy arrives by 21 August and consolidated feedback is returned within two business days of each review.
If a dependency is late, update the calendar before the old date becomes an argument.
Set up the client handoff
The first project space only needs to answer four questions:
- Where is the accepted proposal?
- Where should the client ask a question?
- Where will updates appear?
- Where will both sides find shared documents?
Choose one place for each job and tell the client. If you use several tools, explain the boundary: the proposal portal holds the agreement and commercial messages; the task board holds day-to-day production; the file drive holds working assets.
In Proposa, the secure client link can continue after the decision. The owner can publish project updates and share deliverables, invoices, or other documents; the client can read the updates, download files, and keep the conversation attached to the proposal.
Handle an acceptance that changes the terms
“Accepted, but can we include a second landing page for the same price?” is not a clean approval of the original scope. The client has introduced a change.
Do not start the extra work and hope to settle it later. Reply with one of three clear outcomes:
- the original proposal remains available without the added work;
- you will issue a revised proposal with the new scope, price, and dates;
- you decline the requested change.
The same caution applies to a purchase order that adds the client's standard terms. The guide to quotes and purchase orders shows what to compare before treating the paperwork as complete.
Prepare the kickoff around decisions
A useful kickoff confirms the details that affect delivery. It does not replay the sales call.
Cover:
- the project goal and first milestone;
- named decision-makers;
- feedback format and response times;
- access and materials still missing;
- risks already identified;
- the next review date;
- how scope changes will be proposed and approved.
Send a short written record after the call. If the conversation changes price, scope, or timing, document the variation and collect the approval required by your agreement.
Post-acceptance checklist
- Have I saved the accepted proposal and response?
- Are the accepted number and revision clear?
- Have I checked the deposit, contract, and purchase-order conditions?
- Are the start and delivery dates confirmed rather than assumed?
- Does the client know what to send first and by when?
- Is one person responsible for consolidated feedback?
- Do both sides know where messages, updates, and files belong?
- Will any change be written and approved before the extra work starts?
With Proposa proposal software for freelancers, the client's decision, messages, project updates, and documents stay attached to the proposal link. You can move into the first project step without losing the record of what was approved.
A clear handoff after yes
Give the client one place to approve and continue
Create the proposal, collect the decision, and keep the next conversation and documents connected to the accepted work.