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Approval

glossary

Approval

Acceptance is a legal act and takes place at the end of a project. With it, the client certifies that the contractor has provided the agreed service in accordance with the contract and has thus fulfilled its order. Acceptance is an important milestone in the project, because through it the client decides whether the objectives have been achieved. Several acceptances can take place during a project, for example, when project phases have been completed or individual project milestones have been reached. For example, the project plan can be accepted as well as concepts or other partial results. With good project management, successful acceptance can be planned in advance.

Legal aspects of the approval process

When acceptance is granted, there are also legal consequences, for example:

  • The work becomes the property of the client.
  • There is a transfer of liability, the client is responsible for damages caused by the work.
  • The burden of proof for defects in the work lies with the client.
  • Payment shall become due.

The acceptance of interim results in the course of a project does not usually have a legally binding character.

Approval protocol

The result of the acceptance inspection by the client is usually recorded in an acceptance protocol. The acceptance test can have different results, such as:

  • Acceptance without reservations, i.e. no defects were found.
  • Acceptance with reservations, i.e. minor defects were found, about which a list of defects is drawn up with a deadline for subsequent performance (formerly: rectification).
  • Refusal of acceptance due to significant defects.