ApprovalTrail, also known as Proof Approval for WooCommerce, lets a shop attach a proof to a WooCommerce order, send the customer a link that needs no account, record their decision, and hold production until they’ve signed off. This is the complete documentation, current as of plugin version 0.2.0 (schema version 2).
What this record is, plainly: ApprovalTrail gives you a clear, timestamped record of who approved what, and when, that you can show your customer. It is tamper-evident, not tamper-proof: the record lives on a server your shop controls. It is not a digital signature and makes no claim about its standing in any legal process. Every article on this site holds to that line; see The approval record for the full explanation.
Start here
- Getting started: requirements, the three-step setup walkthrough, and sending your first proof.
- Sending a proof, and what the customer does: the full loop from upload to decision.
- Admin screens: a tour of every screen the plugin adds.
Reference
- Settings: every setting, what it does, and what people get wrong about it.
- Files, previews and retention: where uploads go, how previews work, and what happens to files over time.
- The approval record: the printable record and how chain integrity works.
- Holding production until approval: what the lock does, what it never does, and how to override it.
- Privacy and data: what’s stored, what leaves your site (nothing, in the free build), export and erasure.
- Troubleshooting: Site Health tests, mail delivery, background jobs.
- Shortcodes and blocks: there aren’t any, and why.
For developers
Licensed build
- License, updates and support: Pro, Studio and Agency only. Not applicable to the WordPress.org build, which contains no licensing code at all.
Every page on this site follows the same rule ApprovalTrail’s own code follows: never “legally binding,” “e-signature,” “court-admissible,” “certified,” or “notarised.” If you see wording like that anywhere on this site, it’s a mistake — tell us.