Sign-off
Sign-off is the readiness gate — the explicit signal that a reviewer has looked at an entry's evidence and considers it ready for QSA review. Independent of state.
Sign-off is the readiness gate in the Ankos ledger. It's how your team (and your dashboard) knows an entry is ready for QSA review.
State vs. sign-off
These are two orthogonal signals on every entry:
- State describes where the evidence came from:
not_started,evidence_collected,evidence_uploaded,carried_forward,not_applicable,needs_attention. - Sign-off describes whether a reviewer has green-lit the entry. Independent of state.
An entry with evidence_collected is not yet "ready" — a scan populated it,
but nobody has reviewed the output. Once a reviewer inspects the evidence
and signs off, the entry counts toward your cycle's readiness percentage.
The dashboard shows both: how many entries have evidence attached and, of those, how many have been signed off.
Who can sign off
| Role | Can sign off |
|---|---|
| Admin | Yes, on any entry |
| Editor | Yes, on entries they own or are assigned |
| Viewer | No |
See Team and roles for the full role matrix.
The sign-off flow
- Open the entry.
- Scroll to the Sign-Off section.
- Click Sign off as ready.
- Enter an optional note (recommended for carry-forward or
needs_attentionitems). - Confirm.
The entry is now marked signed_off_by = <your email> with a timestamp. The
cycle's readiness percentage updates immediately.
State-based gating
Sign-off has rules based on the entry's current state:
not_started— sign-off is blocked. You can't sign off an entry with no evidence.not_applicable— sign-off is allowed and expected. Signing off an N/A entry confirms the justification holds.needs_attention— sign-off requires a force override with a written note. This makes reviewer judgment explicit and auditable.- All other states — sign-off is allowed.
Sign-off is a judgment by a member of your team, not a compliance determination. Your QSA makes the final compliance determination.
Revoking sign-off
If you discover an issue after signing off — new evidence contradicts the original, or the policy has changed — revoke sign-off from the same section. The entry remains in whatever state it was in; only the readiness signal is cleared.
Readiness percentage
The cycle dashboard shows two related numbers:
- Evidence attached = entries in a state other than
not_started - Readiness % = signed off ÷ total entries in cycle (excluding
not_applicable)
When the readiness percentage is high enough for your comfort, export the evidence package for your QSA.