SOP: User Account Approver (Capture & Documentation)

Audience: General reference — Customer Success & Customer Support

Applies to: All new project launches

Questions: support@sitemetric.com

Last updated: July 28, 2026

Overview

A User Account Approver is a designated point of contact on the customer's side who is authorized to approve app invites and access to their project's site data.

This is not an in-app role or permission. It is a documented formality handled via email: Sitemetric keeps a record of who the customer has appointed, and app invite requests are routed through that person for approval before access is granted.

The approver should be captured as early as possible in the project launch — ideally on the kickoff call. This guide covers what the role is, who it applies to, how it's explained to the customer, and how it's documented.

Who This Applies To

• External users: Approval is always required. No app invite may be sent to an external user without a documented approver's approval — no exceptions. This is a SOC 2 audit trail requirement.
• Internal employees: This process does not apply to internal employees needing access to a project.
• Exception — Black & Veatch: B&V requires approval for internal and external employees the same. On B&V projects, every app invite goes through the documented approver, regardless of who the user is.

Why This Exists

Compliance: A documented approver is required for SOC 2 compliance — it creates an audit trail showing that an appointed representative of the customer approved sharing site data with each person who received an app invite.

Customer experience: Today, the approver is typically captured at deployment — the project launches, kickoff calls happen, the team shows up on site, and only when app invites are requested does the approver conversation begin. This creates delays, and if the requirement isn't explained well in the moment, it hurts the customer experience.

The fix: Capture the approver early in the project launch — preferably on the kickoff call — so that by the time the project is being set up on site, app invites can go out immediately.

The Process 1. Explain the role on the kickoff call

The User Account Approver requirement is introduced to the customer on the kickoff call. Suggested talking points:

"Before we can send app invites for the project, we need to document at least one User Account Approver on your team. This isn't anything inside the app — it's simply who we have on record as authorized to approve access to your project data. When someone requests an app invite, your approver gives us the okay before we send it. You can designate as many approvers as you like — one is just the minimum — and whoever you designate will automatically receive an app invite themselves. Having this documented now means invites go out with no delay once your team is on site."

2. Capture at least one approver

One approver is the minimum; there is no maximum. For each approver, the following is captured:

• Relevant project name (e.g., Project Name: GC | VA11223344)
• Name, company, and email address of the designated approver(s)
• Acknowledgment from the approver

The customer does not need to compile or write any of this themselves. These details can be sent to them from our end — a simple "yes" or other confirmation in reply is sufficient acknowledgment. The email thread is what creates the audit trail; a verbal designation alone is not enough.

3. Gather the initial user list

Approvers automatically receive app invites — no separate approval is needed for them. Gathering this list isn't required at this stage, but it doesn't hurt to ask for other users while capturing the approver. Requesting a list of non-approver users who will need app invites early means invites can go out sooner — though the list does not have to arrive at the same time as the approver designation.

4. Tie in Customer Support

The simplest approach is to include Customer Support (support@sitemetric.com) on the request email itself — that way, when the customer replies with their acknowledgment, no extra handoff is needed. Once the acknowledgment is received, Support documents the approver and sends app invites — to the approver(s) automatically, and to everyone else on the user list.

5. Ongoing: how invites work from here

After an approver is documented, all app invite requests can go directly to support@sitemetric.com. Support checks the request against the approver matrix:

• Request from a documented approver: the invite is sent with no issue.
• Request from anyone else: Support contacts the documented approver with the requestor's name and confirms how to proceed before anything is sent.

Rules & Edge Cases

• Number of approvers: One is the minimum; there is no maximum. Encourage at least two for coverage.
• Changing approvers: If an approver leaves the company or the customer wants to swap approvers, a currently documented approver (or an appropriate customer authority, if none remain) must confirm the change by email to support@sitemetric.com.
• If the capture is missed at kickoff: Not a problem — the process simply starts fresh at that point. When an invite request comes in for a project with no approver on file, Support will reach out to capture and document an approver before invites go out. Everything still works as intended; it just adds the wait time that capturing early is meant to avoid.
• Black & Veatch: Remember that on B&V projects the approval requirement covers internal employees as well as external users.

Email Templates

These templates can be used to make the ask in writing or to collect the acknowledgment after the call.

Acknowledgment request (approver identified on the call)

Subject: User Account Approver Confirmation — [Project Name]

Hi [Name],

Following up from our kickoff call — we'd like to document the following as User Account Approver(s) for the project:

Project: [Project Name — e.g., GC | VA11223344]

Approver(s): [Name, Company, Email — list everyone identified on the call]

This role is nothing within the app itself; it's simply who we have documented on our end as authorized to approve app invites and access to your project data.

A simple reply confirming is all we need — and if any of the details above need correcting, just let us know. Once documented, approvers automatically receive their app invites, and any future access requests for the project will be routed through you for approval.

If anyone else should be documented alongside you, just include their name, company, and email in your reply.

Approver capture (no approver identified yet)

Subject: User Account Approver Designation — [Project Name]

Hi [Name],

To help strengthen project data security and privacy, we need to identify at least one point of contact from your team to serve as a User Account Approver — the person(s) authorized to approve new app invites and access to your project data. You're welcome to designate more than one contact; one is just the minimum.

To clarify, this role is nothing within the app itself — it's simply who we have documented on our end. When someone requests access to the site via an app invite, the account approver gives us the okay before we send it. Designated approvers automatically receive app invites themselves.

Just let us know the name, company, and email address of each approver, and have them reply confirming — that's all we need.

While we're at it, feel free to send over a list of anyone else who will need an app invite so we can get those queued up as well.

Success Criteria

By the end of the kickoff call (or within one business day after):

1. The customer understands what a User Account Approver is and why it's required
2. At least one approver has been named, with a confirmation email in hand (a simple "yes" works)
3. A list of non-approver users needing invites has been requested
4. Customer Support has been tied in to document the approver and send invites