Question 1

What manual work can I automate by connecting Proofer to other tools?

Accepted Answer

You can automate the process of sending proofs to customers, collecting their approvals or feedback, and then routing approved orders to fulfillment or downstream systems. Instead of manually creating proofs in Proofer and tracking approval status across email or spreadsheets, you can trigger proof generation from your order management system and automatically advance orders based on proof status changes. This eliminates manual data entry and reduces the back-and-forth communication cycles.

Question 2

How does data flow between Proofer and other business tools?

Accepted Answer

Proofer receives order and customization details from your Shopify store, then generates proofs that customers review and approve or request changes on. When connected to external systems through automation, approval status and customer feedback can flow out of Proofer to trigger actions in other tools, such as updating order status, notifying teams, or moving records to production queues. The primary data moving into Proofer is order information from Shopify, and the primary data moving out is proof status and approval decisions.

Question 3

What common issues occur when automating Proofer workflows?

Accepted Answer

Mismatches between order data in Shopify and the proof details Proofer generates can cause approvals to apply to the wrong order. If multiple revisions are requested, automations may not correctly track which proof version is current, leading to approvals of outdated proofs. Additionally, timing issues can arise if automations try to act on proof status before Proofer has fully processed and synchronized the customer's approval decision, resulting in workflows triggering on stale data.

Question 4

How should I organize Proofer to make automations reliable?

Accepted Answer

Ensure that order identifiers in Shopify match the reference data Proofer uses, so automations can correctly link proofs back to orders. Establish clear naming conventions and field mappings for custom product attributes you want Proofer to include in proofs. Define a single source of truth for approval status rather than checking multiple systems, and document the expected states a proof can move through so automations respond to the right triggers at the right time.

Automate the manual work in Proofer

Proofer by the numbers

Top 5 Proofer friction points when done manually

Chasing down Proofer feedback from reviewers

Manually consolidating Proofer comments across versions

Re-uploading documents to Proofer after edits

Manually exporting Proofer approvals for compliance

Copying Proofer comments into project files

What you can automate in Proofer

Add approved proofs in Proofer to Google Sheets as new rows

Add rows in Microsoft Excel when new approved proofs are detected in Proofer

Create new proofs in Proofer from new files in folders in Dropbox

Create proofs in Proofer from new files in folders in Google Drive

Send channel messages in Slack when proofs are approved in Proofer

Send channel messages in Slack when proofs are rejected in Proofer

Tools commonly connected to Proofer

Proofer Automation questions

Ready to automate your work in Proofer?