Proof Roles Explained: Owner, Gatekeeper, Reviewer, Observer

Every person on a proof has one role, and the role decides what they can do. Getting the roles right is the quickest way to stop a review stalling because nobody was sure who could sign it off.

These are the roles in GoProof, what each one can and cannot do, and how to pick between them.

The roles at a glance

• Owner: the person who sent the proof. Full control of collaborators and decisions.
• Gatekeeper: makes the decision on the proof.
• Reviewer: comments and marks up, then finishes their review.
• Observer: can view the proof but cannot comment.
• Account Manager: acts like a gatekeeper, with extra freedom to comment after changes are requested.

Owner

The owner is whoever uploaded and sent the proof. They can add and remove collaborators, change roles, set deadlines and reminders, and upload the next version. In practice the owner is usually the designer or project manager running the job.

Gatekeeper

A gatekeeper makes the call. They can approve the proof, approve it with changes, request changes or reject it. Every proof needs at least one gatekeeper, and GoProof will not let you change the last one to another role.

You can have more than one. If a client and a brand manager both need to be satisfied, make them both gatekeepers. Be aware that the editor tells each of them when other gatekeepers are on the proof, so they know the decision is shared.

Reviewer

Reviewers do the detailed checking. They place pins, boxes, highlights and other markup, write comments and reply to each other. When they have said everything they want to say, they press Finish.

Finish is not approval. It tells the gatekeeper and the sender that this person is done. Once every reviewer has finished, the gatekeeper is emailed so they know it is time to decide. Reviewers cannot mark a comment as required or not required, which keeps that judgement with the people who own the outcome.

Observer

Observers can see the proof and the discussion, but they cannot add comments or manage attachments. Use the role for people who need to stay informed without influencing the feedback, such as a senior stakeholder who only wants visibility, or a colleague in another team who needs to know what is coming.

Account Manager

The account manager role suits agency staff who sit between the client and the creative team. It behaves like a gatekeeper, and an account manager can also add comments while the proof is awaiting amends or has had changes requested. That helps when the client replies by phone and someone needs to log the extra feedback on the proof.

How roles affect timing

Comments and markup can be created only while the proof is in review. After a decision is made, the proof is closed to new comments, apart from the account manager exception above. Older versions of a proof can be read but not commented on, so make sure people are looking at the latest one.

Choosing roles in practice

• Give the decision to the fewest people who genuinely need it.
• Make everyone else a reviewer if their input matters, or an observer if it does not.
• Check roles again when you upload a new version. The previous collaborators and roles are carried over, which saves time but can include someone who should no longer be involved.
• If a proof is stuck, look first for a missing gatekeeper decision rather than a missing comment.

You can change roles at any time from the collaborators panel on the proof, so a wrong choice is easy to fix.

Smarter Proofing. Faster Approvals. GoProof.

FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions