Preview and file handoffProtected delivery

Share project previews for client review, then hand over final files.

Your client can review the result before final handoff. In Dealokr, you separate the preview from hosted final files, whose access follows confirmation of the transfer requested under the project conditions.

Explore the handoff route

The client needs to see the work in order to respond. You need to know which files you are showing for review and which make up final handoff. Separating those sets allows a useful decision without confusing a preview with the entire production package.

Dealokr connects the preview, feedback and access to hosted final files in the same project. To place delivery between the agreement, initial payment and transfer, explore how Dealokr works.

The benefit is an understandable order for both parties: a version to examine, a response to address, then handoff under the project state. You remain responsible for preparing the correct deliverables and checking permissions managed elsewhere.

Four reference points to prepare before review.

An identifiable preview clear enough to examine the agreed result.
A final package matching the deliverables, formats and versions specified.
Review and transfer conditions understood by you and the client.
Permissions checked separately for material hosted by another provider.

01 · Define what will be shown and delivered

Prepare the preview and final package as separate sets of material.

Protected delivery starts before you send the first version. Describe what the client will examine, what they will receive at the end and the handoff conditions. In Dealokr, the preview supports review while hosted final files follow their own access state: you can organise these two uses without treating them as the same event.

A designer prepares an illustration on a graphic tablet beside a laptop.

Start with the deliverables actually agreed

Return to the agreement: result, formats, versions, any editable material and documentation. “Complete delivery” means different things for a presentation, visual identity or technical deliverable. Name the package so the client can recognise what they will retrieve.

Plan the review material too. A preview should let the result be assessed without requiring you to transmit every production asset already. You can distinguish a presentation version from the exports and working files included in final handoff under the agreement.

Give every item a clear purpose

Item	Purpose	What to check
Preview	Examine a version and formulate a response.	The content is readable enough for the agreed criteria.
Hosted final files	Hand over the agreed package after confirmed transfer.	The version, formats and contents match the agreement.
External link	Consult material hosted in another tool.	Permissions are set with that provider.

Explain this distinction during scoping. You avoid presenting an already usable production file as merely a preview or announcing at the last moment that an expected format is not part of the package. It gives both parties a reference for preparing the later review and handoff.

02 · Show a useful version

Share a preview that supports a real decision.

A useful preview shows enough work for the client to respond against the expected result. Making a file visible is not sufficient: identify its version, purpose and the points to check. The client then has review material in the project, distinct from the final files they will retrieve at a later stage of the workflow.

Close-up of a video-editing timeline displayed on a screen.

Match the material to the work being examined

Choose a readable presentation suited to the service. A layout needs to be legible; visual work needs to show the choices to assess. If a detail is intentionally outside this review, explain that so it is not mistaken for an omission from the final deliverable.

Check the name and opening of the material before asking for a decision. The client should not have to compare several files all called “final”. A stable reference connects comments to what was actually presented and helps everyone return to the same version.

Keep realistic expectations about visible content

Someone viewing a preview can capture it or copy what they see. Dealokr does not make that content impossible to reproduce. The principle is to separate consultation from access to hosted final files, rather than promise an impenetrable screen.

Prepare the preview with what is needed for the decision and keep the final package in the set intended for handoff. An inadequate preview blocks a response; a production package sent through another channel cannot still be described as protected simply by the project state.

03 · Connect feedback to the version

Turn client feedback into clear, agreed revisions.

The client can approve the preview or request a revision in the portal. A useful response concerns a version and a specific point rather than a general impression. You can then locate what was examined, understand the requested adjustment and prepare the next step within the project framework instead of guessing what the client meant.

Two creatives compare photographic prints arranged on a table.

Ask for comments with a location

Asking for an opinion is not always enough. Identify the subjects under review and request a location and expected result for each comment. “On this page, replace that passage with the attached text” is more immediately usable than a remark with no reference.

If several people contribute on the client side, agree who gathers the feedback and confirms the decision. Contradictory comments need an explicit choice; they do not become compatible because they arrive in the same project. You can restate the point to settle before producing more work.

Handle change without losing the initial agreement

The preview, revision requests and history help locate the context of the exchanges. For adjustments included in the project, prepare and identify the next version. If the request adds a format or changes the objective, clarify its effects before announcing another delivery.

Having a review space does not automatically define the price or number of revisions. Those come from the agreement and confirmed changes. Recorded approval concerns the work presented; it does not replace the transfer request and confirmation. Keep these separate when explaining the next action to your client.

04 · Follow the project state

Connect handoff to transfer confirmation.

Approval records a decision about the preview; it does not automatically unlock every file. The freelancer requests the transfer under the project conditions, then waits for confirmation. These steps are distinct from initial client payment and bank payout: final access should be read against the appropriate event rather than inferred from a positive response alone.

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Connect handoff to the actual payment workflow

For fixed-price work, the client pays 100% upfront through Stripe Connect. Funds are collected in the platform’s Stripe balance before transfer to the freelancer’s connected account. Preview review and revisions belong to this already funded project, without collecting a new client payment at every review.

The freelancer requests transfer when approval or the applicable review conditions permit it. Payment state, account availability and any open dispute matter in this workflow. A submitted request should not be presented as a transfer that is already confirmed.

Avoid shortcuts when a stage is blocked

If the client stops responding, check the review conditions and available action in the project. The end of a period does not by itself trigger an automatic transfer. If a revision or disagreement is open, address the related information instead of assuming the project is complete.

For a project organised into milestones, a first transfer does not make every file accessible. Describe what is being reviewed and what remains to be delivered without promising a global unlock at each stage. Arrival of funds in your bank account is also separate from transfer confirmation.

05 · Give access to the correct deliverables

Deliver the agreed files after transfer confirmation.

After transfer confirmation, the client gains access to hosted final files under the project workflow. This stage is useful when the package is ready and matches the agreement: the correct version, formats and expected material. You therefore organise the contents as carefully as their access state, so the client knows exactly what they can retrieve.

An audio engineer adjusts a mixing console in a recording studio.

Check the version actually available

Before treating delivery as ready, check the files: readable names, selected version, agreed formats and no draft included by mistake. The project should let the client identify the agreed result rather than ask them to choose between several almost identical versions.

Source or editable files should only be treated as part of the package where that scope is agreed. Identify what is needed to use the delivered material: an opening note, version information or an inventory may help depending on the work. Prepare it without assuming the product writes it on your behalf.

Confirm what was handed over

The client can find available files in their portal. Accompany completion with a concrete summary: selected version, material handed over and any points remaining to be handled separately. Open access does not by itself mean every file has been downloaded, opened or used.

Keep the references needed for your activity and organise your own backups. The project and its history provide operational context; they do not replace your retention rules or a working copy you need to be able to locate later.

06 · Keep the boundaries visible

Check external links and permissions separately.

A link to Drive, Figma, a code repository or another service remains subject to that provider’s permissions. Adding it to Dealokr does not remove access already granted elsewhere. You therefore need to check where the files are hosted, who can consult them and what is accessible before the planned final handoff takes place.

A person uses a laptop on a light desk with a phone nearby.

Check where the content is actually hosted

Distinguish a file hosted in Dealokr from a link opening another space. For the latter, check invitations, viewing or editing rights and link visibility in the relevant tool. Do not describe public external content as locked by the project.

If access needs to change at handoff, organise that change with the client under the agreed conditions. A password or key should not be added to the package without thought. Use a suitable channel and permissions for sensitive access instead of exposing it through a general file send.

Explain the benefit of protected delivery

Dealokr connects the agreement, preview, feedback and access to hosted final files to readable stages. You can show the work before handoff and find the context of a decision. It does not guarantee an inability to copy, the absence of disputes or a particular outcome to a disagreement.

Payment, transfer and the bank also retain their own rules. For your next project, clarify before starting what will be seen, what will be delivered and how access will be managed. The client can then follow a delivery process they understand.

Protected delivery starts with two clear sets of material: a preview useful for a decision and the agreed final package. Feedback stays connected to the version; hosted-file access follows confirmed transfer, while external links are checked in their own tool.

Back to the workflow

Sources and verification

Dealokr — Review previews and hosted final files
Dealokr — Client portal, decisions and revision requests
Dealokr — File-access states
Dealokr — Initial payment, transfer request and confirmation
Dealokr — External-link permissions and responsibilities

This workflow concerns fixed-price projects. A preview can be copied or captured; protection concerns access to hosted final files. External links retain their own permissions. Approval, transfer request, confirmation and bank arrival remain separate.