An AI client deliverable checklist before you hit send

1. Make the decision visible

Write down what the recipient should understand or decide after reading. A strategy report might ask them to approve a direction. A proposal might ask them to choose a scope. A monthly update might explain a change in performance and what you recommend doing next. Put that purpose near the top.

Read the summary without the rest of the document. It should identify the situation, the recommendation and the reason for it. If the opening only says that a topic is important or that the world is changing quickly, it is probably using space that should explain your actual point.

2. Check facts against the approved source material

Open every source that carries an important claim. Check dates, units, population and context. A market estimate from another country or an outdated pricing page can make a plausible paragraph misleading. Label estimates as estimates and distinguish an observation from your interpretation of it.

For proposals, verify deliverables, exclusions, prices, taxes where applicable, timing and dependencies against the approved brief. Tell the agent to leave an unresolved field as a question instead of filling it with a believable number. Have the person responsible for the offer approve the final figures.

Keep the evidence close to the claim. A source list at the bottom is useful, but it should be possible to tell which source supports which recommendation. When research is uncertain, say what would change your view rather than presenting the recommendation as inevitable.

3. Show whose judgment the client is receiving

A generic output can make it hard to see what you contributed. State why you chose the recommendation, what alternatives you considered and where your experience affected the conclusion. Those details help the client evaluate the thinking behind the work.

Choose design and sender separately. You may want the client’s visual identity for a report their team will circulate, with your consultancy identified as the sender. Recheck logos, spelling and contact details. An agency working across several projects should not inherit another client’s recipients or brand by accident.

• Keep client brands, senders and audiences separate

4. Match the format to the reading situation

Use a scrolling page for detailed independent reading, fixed slides for a presentation you guide and flexible slides for a section-based visual narrative. A long research table is rarely improved by squeezing it onto one slide. Move supporting detail into a readable section or appendix.

Check the narrow-screen version yourself. Titles should wrap cleanly, body text should remain legible and tables should be usable. Images need meaningful labels or captions. A decorative image should not carry the only explanation of a recommendation.

5. Test the published content and controls

The preview is not the final test. Open the actual recipient URL and navigate through the whole deliverable. Check that the main content is present below the opening section, that anchors go to the intended headings and that source links open the correct pages.

If the source was an interactive artifact, identify dependencies before publishing. Foliyo supports static HTML and supported controls, not arbitrary JavaScript applications. Essential content should remain available without unsupported scripts. If a control is decorative or nonfunctional, simplify the design rather than leaving a misleading affordance.

6. Choose access and tracking deliberately

Ask who should be able to open the work and how sensitive it is. An unrestricted link, a PIN and a verified email gate serve different needs. A PIN can be passed along. A personal recipient link is an attribution mechanism, and it too can be forwarded. Choose access rules independently of your desire for readership information.

In Foliyo, Free includes PIN protection and a basic read receipt. Pro adds email gates and detailed recipient and section engagement. Visible reading time is an activity estimate, not proof that someone understood the material. Review the privacy policy and tell recipients about tracking where appropriate.

• Foliyo privacy policy
• Document tracking and identity limits

A copyable pre-send review prompt

Use this against the finished draft, then perform the recipient check yourself. Ask for concrete failures and unresolved questions. A blanket “looks good” response is less useful than a list of the exact claims, links or access settings that still need attention.

Review this client deliverable before publication. Check: the requested decision; evidence and source dates; scope and approved figures; sender and client brand; mobile readability; completeness of all sections; links and supported controls; access and tracking settings; and the next action. Flag missing information without inventing it. Give me a numbered list of fixes. Do not publish or email anyone until I approve.

7. Make the handoff useful after today

Send a short explanation of what the link contains, the decision you need and any agreed deadline. Keep the shared address stable when revising the work. If a revision changes the meaning of an offer, communicate the change explicitly; do not rely on the client noticing an edited paragraph.

Save the approved source files and record who owns the next action. A sharing tool is part of the workflow, not the only place your business should remember an agreement. For a recurring report, carry forward the useful structure while updating the facts and conclusions each time.

Do I need a new design for every report? Usually a reviewed client design guide is a better starting point. Do recipients need Foliyo accounts? No, they use the browser and complete the chosen access check. Is the checklist only for AI work? No, the same checks are useful for any client deliverable.