Overview/Reference/Questions and answers
Questions and answers
The questions that come up most often, grouped by who is asking. If something looks wrong and is not covered here, the answer is almost always in your own role guide or the glossary.
Everyone
Why does my screen look different from my colleague's?
Because it is meant to. Your role determines which sections appear, in what order, and with which data. A videographer and an owner should not see the same Home — one is preparing for a shoot, the other is looking at agency health and money. This is deliberate rather than a permission problem.
Slate is refusing to let me do something. Why?
Almost always because a prerequisite is genuinely missing. Read the message rather than working around it: Slate names what is missing, who owns it, and what the next action is. If it says override required, there is an authorised exception path — but it will ask for a reason and it will be recorded.
Can I use Slate on my phone?
Yes, and it is designed that way. Production work — call sheets, shot lists, checklists, footage organisation — is built for a phone in the field, including tolerance for poor connectivity. Desktop is used for the denser work such as proposal review and finance.
Where should I go first each morning?
My Work. It gathers everything that needs you and sorts it by urgency rather than by project. If you are checking chat to work out what you owe people, the queue will be faster and more complete.
Do notifications come to my phone?
Yes, if you turn them on. Open Settings › Notifications and choose Enable notifications; you can send yourself a test to confirm it works. On an iPhone or iPad you must add Slate to your Home Screen first — Apple only delivers notifications to an installed app. You can choose which kinds of event reach you, and turn it off again for any device.
How does my client sign in?
They do not sign in with a username and password, because they do not have one. You create them a portal link from the client's Portal tab and send it to them; opening it puts them straight into their own portal. Links can be labelled, given an expiry, and revoked — and revoking one immediately ends any session it opened.
A client says their link has stopped working.
Either it expired or it was revoked. Revoked links cannot be re-enabled, deliberately — the safe answer is to create a fresh one and send that. You cannot recover an old link even as an administrator, because Slate stores only a scrambled version of it.
What happens if I make a mistake?
Most things are recoverable because Slate records history rather than overwriting it. Versions are preserved, payments can be voided with a reversal, and corrections leave a trail. The genuinely irreversible actions — deleting a cycle, unlocking a filed VAT period — are restricted to Owner and Admin precisely for this reason.
Sales and marketing
Can I create the client record as soon as the deal is won?
The record can exist, but the client is not activated and no work may be scheduled. Activation requires the signed contract, the collected documents, an approved invoice, and confirmed payment. Only a verified payment event unlocks client work.
Why can't I send the proposal myself?
Because pricing and terms commit the agency. The Sales Chief approves proposals before they leave. This prevents accidental discounting and inconsistent terms reaching clients — and it means the proposal queue is a real queue, not a formality.
A prospect said no. Do I delete them?
No — mark them lost with a reason, or move them to nurture. Lost reasons are the only honest answer to why conversion looks the way it does, and the two-month re-engagement cadence is the cheapest revenue available.
Operations and finance
Someone sent me a bank screenshot. Is that enough to start work?
The screenshot is payment proof and belongs attached to the invoice. But the work-unlock gate fires on the accountant marking the invoice paid against that evidence, not on the screenshot arriving. Seeing money is not the same as confirming it — and the system will not let the invoice be marked paid without evidence attached.
What if a client pays part of the deposit?
Record it — it is real money and the invoice will show as part-paid. But work does not unlock until the initial 50% is received and recorded in full. A partial deposit leaves the client blocked by payment, and Slate says so rather than quietly opening the gate.
Can I edit an invoice after it has been paid?
No. Once an invoice has been paid against, its totals are frozen so the ledger cannot silently disagree with itself. If a correction is genuinely needed, raise a credit note — that is what it exists for.
What if a client pays more than the invoice?
Slate will refuse the allocation, because overpaying an invoice is almost always a data error rather than intent. Surplus should be handled as a credit note and applied deliberately.
The VAT period is filed but I found an error. What now?
Unlocking is possible but deliberately hard: restricted to Owner or Admin, requiring a reason, and permanently recorded. Treat it as a correction mechanism, not a convenience.
A client sent their Instagram password on WhatsApp. What do I do?
Store it in the credentials vault and delete the message. Then gently tell them not to send credentials over chat in future. Slate provides the vault precisely so that nobody needs to break this rule.
Production
A shoot is booked but the plan is not approved. Can I proceed?
Not normally. The plan-approval gate exists to prevent shooting against an unapproved idea. If it is a genuine emergency and you hold the Creative Director role, the urgent-shoot override is available — it requires a code, a reason, and you must upload the plan with the client's on-the-spot approval the same day.
Is a client change a revision or our fault?
Content Operations decides, using a simple test: if the video failed to match the approved brief or is technically faulty, it is a production error and does not use a client revision. If the original was correct and the client changed their mind, it is a preference change and uses one of two. If it was never in scope, it is a new request and belongs in a scope conversation.
The client is disputing the classification. Who settles it?
The Creative Director makes the final call, as a one-tap decision recorded in the audit trail. That is better than settling it in a group chat, where nobody can later prove what was agreed.
Can I overwrite an approved version?
No. Once approved, a version is locked and cannot be silently replaced. Upload a new version instead — earlier versions stay available for viewing and download.
The client has not responded and the window is nearly over.
Slate sends a reminder before expiry. If the window lapses, the version auto-approves — which is accepted practice and protects production from stalling. The record always distinguishes a client's approval from an automatic one.
An editor is blocked because half the footage is missing.
Check the footage package status. Incomplete or failed uploads are tracked, and the package warns about missing or duplicate clips. A handover should not be marked complete until the package is genuinely complete.
Clients
How do I get into my portal?
Open the link your agency sent you. There is no username or password to enter — the link takes you straight in. If you have lost it, ask your account manager for a new one.
How do I approve a video?
Open your project, watch the latest version, and choose approve or request changes. You can leave comments at exact moments in the video. The window is 48 hours and the countdown is shown at all times.
What if I change my mind after approving?
Raise a change request. Whether it uses a revision depends on classification — a change of mind uses one of your two included rounds; something we got wrong is ours to fix and does not.
Why did my video approve itself?
Because the 48-hour review window expired without a decision. This keeps production moving and is part of the agreed service. If you wanted changes, raise them — you can still do so if entitlement allows.
Where do I see my invoices?
Your portal shows your own invoices, payments, and receipts, including what is outstanding. Receipts are issued automatically when a payment is confirmed.
Something looks wrong
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| An action is greyed out | A prerequisite is missing, or your role does not permit it. | Read the message; check the permission matrix; ask your manager. |
| I can't see work I expect | It has not reached the state that makes it visible, or it is not assigned to you. | Check the object's state and owner rather than assuming it is lost. |
| A number looks wrong | Usually a wrong TRN, VAT rate, or an unfiled correction. | Verify agency settings first — a wrong setting propagates everywhere. |
| An invoice will not send | It is awaiting Sales Chief approval. | Chase the approval, not the sending. |
| An edit has not started | The footage handover is incomplete. | Check the footage package for missing or failed uploads. |
| An approval is stuck | The approver role may be unassigned, or the holder is away. | Check Settings › Approver roles for who currently holds it; delegate it if needed. |
| A client cannot get in | Their link expired, or it was revoked and never replaced. | Create a fresh link from the client's Portal tab and send it. |
| A client cannot see a video | It has not been released to them — internal QC is not client-visible. | Complete QC and the Creative Director's approval. |