Which copy are you sending to the customer?

Agree what the recipient should receive

Before sending a proposal, ask its owner whether the recipient needs an editable working document or an approved final copy. Decide which internal discussion belongs in the handover. Do not start by deleting material from the team’s working record: preserve it under your normal retention arrangements.

Microsoft recommends using Document Inspector on a copy because removed information cannot always be restored. In Word, its inspection categories include comments, tracked revisions and document properties. That makes it a useful part of preparing a release copy, with the owner deciding what should be removed.

Give the outgoing copy a clear identity

Our suggested workflow is to create a separately named release copy in the approved location. Record who will approve it and avoid editing the working original while preparing the outgoing file. For an important handover, ask a colleague to follow the release steps without relying on the author’s memory.

In a fictional UK design agency, a proposal has passed through an internal pricing discussion. The account owner keeps the working version and prepares a customer copy. A colleague checks that the intended commercial wording remains intact after cleanup. This is a process example, not a claim about a customer or a product test.

Review the inspection results deliberately

Microsoft’s Word instructions use File, Info, Check for Issues, then Inspect Document. Choose the categories to inspect, review the results and remove only the information you intend to remove. Follow the instructions for your supported desktop version rather than assuming the same controls exist in every editing interface.

The tool has limits. Microsoft says its hidden-text inspector does not detect white text on a white background, and its invisible-content inspector cannot detect objects covered by other objects. Do not use a clear inspection result as proof that every sensitive detail has been removed.

Our recommendation is to review the outgoing document’s actual content as well. Read the commercial terms and check any illustrative material against the agreed audience. If the job requires formal redaction, use your organisation’s approved redaction procedure and reviewer; this short release workflow does not establish that a document is safely redacted.

Check the file that will actually leave

Reopen the saved release copy and ask the owner to confirm that it still communicates the intended offer. Identify the exact approved file in the handover record. When attaching or sharing it, compare that identity with the selected file rather than choosing whichever version happens to appear first.

If someone changes the copy after approval, return it to the relevant review step. Keep the final decision and any exceptions with the release record. The outcome should be an identifiable, approved outgoing document, while the internal working record remains available to the people authorised to use it.