New SharePoint Feature: Request Sign Off

Having a Partner review documents is an important and frequent process in an Accounting firm. So how has it been done to date? Well, some firms still print documents, put them on the Partner's desk, changes are scribbled down and this is repeated until complete. Other firms email it to the partner, manage feedback and changes via email, then make a personal note whether it’s been signed off or not. But what if they forget to save the email and don’t keep a history or record of changes and approval. I don’t know about you, but this sounds pretty inefficient to me.

Microsoft recognised this issue and have developed a new feature in SharePoint called ‘Request sign-off’ expected to be fully rolled out by the end of May 2018. This feature provides an easy way to send documents for approval to someone else. It increases visibility, so everyone can see what has, hasn’t and is due to be signed off. And what makes this even better is that there’s no setup required. You don’t have to do anything! Just start using it!

But just before you do, start by documenting your sign-off process and run through it with your entire practice – you’d be surprised how many don’t kno