A pre-send deliverable checklist dropped rejected files from 19% to 3%

A pre-send deliverable checklist dropped rejected files from 19% to 3%
Over one quarter, 19% of our first sends bounced back for a fixable technical reason — wrong codec, audio peaking, no captions, missing safe-zone. Pure rework.

We standardized a 7-item pre-send checklist:
— Export H.264, correct aspect ratio
— Audio peaks under -3 dB, no clipping
— Captions burned in, spell-checked
— First frame is not black
— Safe zones clear of TikTok/Reels UI
— File named [brand]_[concept]_[v]
— Watermark-free master + preview copy

Next quarter: rejections fell to 3%. Same creators, same output — the checklist just caught it before the client did.

Hang this one on the wall.