Capability template for sales

Discount request review

Before a price below list goes to a customer, whoever approves it gets one page: the discount and what it costs in margin, every clause of your own written policy met or missed, who approves and in what order, and what the customer gives in return. A person decides; nothing is sent.

The outcome

Every discount request arrives on the approver's desk in the same shape, already checked against the rules your company wrote. The page shows the real size of the ask, line by line and for the whole deal, and what it takes out of your margin: always a bigger share of the margin than the headline percentage, since delivery costs the same at any price. Each clause of your policy is marked as met, missed or impossible to check, so an exception is visible at a glance instead of buried in an email thread.

The route is clear before anyone is chased: which approval level the request lands in, which other rules bring in another approver and why, and nobody added who the policy does not require. The page sets what the customer offers in return against what they have actually put in writing, and shows how this request compares with the decisions your company has already made. Sales gets a faster answer, finance gets a consistent one, and both are looking at the same facts.

The approvers still decide. The page ends with a blank decision line for each of them; the AI assistant approves nothing, suggests no price and tells the customer nothing.

Who starts the work, and when

The sales lead, a sales operations coordinator or the finance partner who receives discount requests runs it as soon as a salesperson asks for a price their own authority does not cover, before anyone tells the customer yes. It runs again whenever the quote changes, because a changed quote is a new request.

The approvers the policy names read it and decide. The salesperson answers any question it raises.

What they supply

The discount request, on your own form or in an email: each line with its list and proposed price, the term, billing and payment terms, what the customer offers in return and the reason.
Your written discount policy, with numbered clauses. This is the only rulebook the review applies; it brings none of its own.
Cost figures from finance, if you want the margin worked out.
Your discount log, if you keep one, so the review can show this customer's earlier discounts and comparable decisions.
A few facts: the review date, who reads it, who handles contract terms, and what counts as a comparable decision.

What comes out

One review in a fixed order:

The request, line by line, for the first year and the full term, with free months valued at list.
Margin, before and after the discount, and the share of it the discount removes.
Against your policy, every clause in turn, plus any ask your policy does not cover.
The approval route, with the clause behind each approver, how long an approval holds and who records it.
This customer's earlier discounts and comparable decisions from your log.
Outside this review: any contract terms the customer has asked for, listed for the person who handles them.
Questions before deciding, each for the person who can answer it, and a blank decision line for each approver.

A good review lets an approver decide without opening another file, and explain the decision to anyone who asks later.

An invented example

Illustrative example with invented data. The company, its customers, its people, the policy, the prices, the costs and the dates below are all invented. The seller is an invented 50-person company that sells field-service scheduling software to maintenance contractors, as a yearly subscription per user with a one-off onboarding package. Its commercial team is a managing director, a finance director, a sales lead, three account executives and a head of delivery. First come the inputs the sales lead supplied, in full; then the review the capability returned.

The inputs

1. Your facts (typed by the sales lead)

Review date: Thursday 5 November 2026
Reads it: Sales lead
Contract terms: the managing director handles them
Comparable decisions: same product mix, last six months

2. The discount request (the company's request form, filled in by the account executive)

Request: DR-2026-041          Date: Wednesday 4 November 2026
Account: Account K            Salesperson: Account executive
Decision needed by: Tuesday 10 November 2026 (they want to sign by the 13th)

Line 1: Scheduling subscription, 40 users, per user per year.
        List $1,200. Proposed $930.
Line 2: Onboarding package, 1, one-off. List $9,000. Proposed $6,000.
Term: 24 months, price fixed for both years.
Billing: quarterly in advance. Payment terms: 45 days.
Free months or units: none.

What the customer gives in return: a 24-month term. See their email below.

Reason: Account K has a quote from a competitor at about $900 a user.
They are ready to sign for two years if we get close.

Contract terms the customer asked to change: their procurement team
wants their own data protection terms added to the order form.

Attached: email from Account K's operations director, 3 November 2026:
"Thanks for the call. If you can get to $930 a user, we will sign for
two years. Our procurement team will send over our data protection
terms separately."

3. The discount policy

DISCOUNT POLICY, version 3, effective 1 July 2026
Owner: finance director. Approved by the managing director.

1. This policy covers every quote below list price. The discount on a
   deal is the whole deal's first-year value at list minus its
   first-year value as quoted, as a percentage of the value at list.
2. Approval levels, by the discount on the deal:
   2.1 Up to 10%: the account executive.
   2.2 Over 10% and up to 20%: the sales lead.
   2.3 Over 20% and up to 30%: the sales lead and the finance director.
   2.4 Over 30%: the managing director, after the sales lead and the
       finance director.
3. A deal whose first-year value at list is $60,000 or more also needs
   the finance director, whatever the discount.
4. The onboarding package is not discounted by more than 25%. A deeper
   cut also needs the head of delivery.
5. A discount over 15% needs something from the customer, in writing:
   a term of 24 months or more, annual payment in advance, or a written
   agreement to act as a reference.
6. Free months and free users count as discount, at list price.
7. Our payment terms are 30 days. Longer terms also need the finance
   director.
8. The subscription's margin after discount stays at 70% or above.
   Below that, the finance director decides.
9. An approval holds for 30 days from the decision. If the quote
   changes after a decision, it comes back as a new request.
10. The sales lead records every decision in the discount log.

4. Cost figures (from the finance director)

Scheduling subscription: cost of delivery 18% of list price
  (hosting, support and licences), per user per year.
Onboarding package: cost of delivery $4,200 per package
  (delivery team time).

5. The discount log (exported by the sales lead)

decided_on,account,product,list_value,discount_pct,term_months,decision,decided_by,concession,valid_until
2026-05-14,Account K,Subscription,24000,10,12,approved,Account executive,none,2026-06-13
2026-07-22,Account L,Subscription + onboarding,51000,18,24,approved,Sales lead,24-month term,2026-08-21
2026-08-05,Account M,Subscription + onboarding,66000,27,24,approved,Sales lead; finance director,annual prepay,2026-09-04
2026-09-10,Account N,Subscription,30000,32,12,declined,Managing director,none,
2026-10-02,Account P,Subscription + onboarding,45000,15,12,approved,Sales lead,none,2026-11-01
2026-10-20,Account Q,Subscription,12000,8,12,approved,Account executive,none,2026-11-19

The output

DISCOUNT REQUEST REVIEW: Account K, DR-2026-041

For: Sales lead. Reviewed 5 November 2026 against the Discount policy, version 3, effective 1 July 2026. Requested by the account executive on 4 November 2026. Decision needed by 10 November 2026. From: request of 4 November 2026, 2 lines; costs supplied; discount log 6 rows, from 14 May 2026 to 20 October 2026.

The request

Line 1: Scheduling subscription, 40 × list $1,200 = $48,000; proposed $930 = $37,200; discount $10,800 (22.5%).
Line 2: Onboarding package, 1 × list $9,000 = $9,000; proposed $6,000 = $6,000; discount $3,000 (33.3%).
Whole deal, first year: list $57,000, proposed $43,200, discount $13,800 (24.2%), measured as clause 1 defines it.
Over the term of 24 months: list $105,000, proposed $80,400, discount $24,600 (23.4%).
Free months or units: none.
Billing and payment: quarterly in advance, 45 days.
Reason given: "Account K has a quote from a competitor at about $900 a user. They are ready to sign for two years if we get close." (account executive, request form, 4 November 2026).
Competing offer: a competitor's quote at about $900 a user, as stated by the account executive; no copy supplied.
What the customer gives in return: a 24-month term: in writing from the customer: "If you can get to $930 a user, we will sign for two years." (operations director, email, 3 November 2026).

Margin

Line 1, per year: at list $39,360 (82.0%); after the discount $28,560 (76.8%); share of margin removed 27.4%.
Line 2, one-off: at list $4,800 (53.3%); after the discount $1,800 (30.0%); share of margin removed 62.5%.
Whole deal, first year: at list $44,160 (77.5%); after the discount $30,360 (70.3%); share of margin removed 31.3%.

Against your policy

Clause 1, what the policy covers and how the discount is measured: Not a test: used in the figures (first-year value).
Clause 2, approval levels: Not a test: used in the route.
Clause 3, finance director for deals of $60,000 or more at list: Within: first-year value at list $57,000, under $60,000, so the clause adds no one.
Clause 4, onboarding discount no more than 25%: Outside: onboarding discounted 33.3%, over the 25% limit.
Clause 5, something in writing from the customer above 15%: Within: discount 24.2%; the customer's written agreement to a 24-month term is on the clause's list.
Clause 6, free months and users count as discount: Not a test: used in the figures; none requested.
Clause 7, payment terms of 30 days: Outside: 45 days asked, over the 30-day standard.
Clause 8, subscription margin after discount at 70% or above: Within: 76.8%.
Clause 9, approvals hold 30 days; a changed quote is a new request: Not a test: used in the route.
Clause 10, the sales lead records every decision: Not a test: used in the route.
Outside the policy: 2: clauses 4 and 7.
Not covered by your policy: billing quarterly in advance.

Approval route

Lands in clause 2.3 (over 20% and up to 30%) at 24.2%.

Sales lead (clause 2.3) → 2. Finance director (clauses 2.3, 7) → 3. Head of delivery (clause 4).

Added by other clauses: finance director, clause 7: payment terms of 45 days, over the 30-day standard (already required by clause 2.3); head of delivery, clause 4: onboarding discount of 33.3%, over the 25% limit. The policy sets no order; listed with clause 2.3's roles first, then in clause order.
Approval holds: 30 days from the decision, clause 9. Decision recorded by: sales lead, clause 10.

This customer's earlier discounts

14 May 2026, Subscription, 10%, approved, decided by the account executive; expired on 13 June 2026.

Comparable decisions

3 on Subscription + onboarding since 5 May 2026: 2 October 2026, Account P, 15%, approved, concession: none; 5 August 2026, Account M, 27%, approved, concession: annual prepay; 22 July 2026, Account L, 18%, approved, concession: 24-month term.

This request at 24.2% is within the approved range of 15% to 27%.

Outside this review

For the managing director: "their procurement team wants their own data protection terms added to the order form."

Questions before deciding: 1

For the account executive: can you supply the competitor's quote, or say where the figure of about $900 a user comes from?

Decisions, one line for each approver on the route

Sales lead (clause 2.3): [ ] Approve as requested [ ] Approve with changes: ________ [ ] Decline Name: ________ Date: ________
Finance director (clauses 2.3, 7): [ ] Approve as requested [ ] Approve with changes: ________ [ ] Decline Name: ________ Date: ________
Head of delivery (clause 4): [ ] Approve as requested [ ] Approve with changes: ________ [ ] Decline Name: ________ Date: ________

Prepared on 5 November 2026 for the approvers' decision, from the request, the policy and the files supplied. Nothing has been approved, sent to the customer or recorded.

Where it fits

Sales: the moment between a salesperson's ask and the customer's answer, handled the same way every time.
Finance and accounting: the finance partner sees margin and payment terms before a price is promised, not after.
Software technology: subscriptions, onboarding and multi-year terms make the true size of a discount easy to misread.
Professional services: fee reductions on engagements eat directly into thin delivery margins.
Manufacturing: volume pricing requests from distributors and large accounts need a consistent answer.
Logistics and trade: rate requests on contracts and lanes arrive often and need checking against written rules.
Growth & scaling: the founder can no longer approve every discount personally, and the rules have to work without them.

It sits beside Sales proposal preparation, which drafts the proposal the approved price goes into, Stalled-deal review, which shows deals waiting on an internal approval, and Sales pipeline review, which shows the open pipeline those deals sit in.

What has to change for your company

Write the policy down. Approval levels, any further rules, the concessions you accept, and how the discount on a deal is measured. Number the clauses. The review is only as sharp as the policy.
Fix the request form, so every request arrives with the same fields.
Agree the log's columns once. If yours differ from the defaults, write the mapping down; the assistant stops and asks rather than guess.
Name the people: who supplies costs, who handles contract terms, who tells the customer and who records the decision.
Your platform. The instructions are written to be pasted into ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini. It works from files you supply and needs no connection to your sales or accounting systems.

What has been checked

Fully Powered AI wrote this capability template. It was editorially reviewed on 9 November 2026. It was tried on its invented example on 9 November 2026; the record is published with it, and lists the small edits made afterward that have not been run again. It has not yet been tested in a client environment. It has not yet been tested as a packaged version in ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini.

Testing in your environment means running it on past requests your sales lead and finance partner remember well, plus hard cases written in advance, each with its expected behavior: a discount that sits exactly on a boundary, a concession promised but not in writing, a request with free months, an ask your policy does not cover, contract terms tucked into the request. The approvers check every figure and every clause line before anyone relies on it. Pilot acceptance-test preparation builds that test set, and What we test before we call an AI workflow ready shows the record.

The full capability template

Everything above is the outline. The complete capability template is the working version: the roles, the inputs, the procedure, the exceptions and stop conditions, the output format, the reviewer checklist, the acceptance tests, the instructions for an AI assistant and what to customize for your company. It comes with a download and the link to its folder in Fully Powered’s public repository.

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