Deal Desk Approval Workflow

Why should we replace our email-based deal approval process with this workflow?

Email approvals lack visibility, get lost in inboxes, and leave no consistent audit trail of who approved a deal and why. This workflow captures every deal request, its justification, and each reviewer's decision in one record, so Finance and Legal can act quickly and leadership can see approval status at any time. It also removes the manual chasing that typically delays non-standard deals from closing.

What is the ROI of automating deal desk approvals?

The primary return comes from faster deal cycles, since reps get approved terms back sooner instead of waiting on manual email threads between Finance, Legal, and management. A secondary return is margin protection, because the automatic discount/margin threshold check ensures high-risk deals never bypass senior finance review. Reduced administrative time spent tracking approval status also frees up sales ops and finance staff for higher-value work.

How long does it take to implement this workflow?

There is no implementation project. You publish the template inside assess.one and it is live within minutes, ready for your first deal request submission. Your team can start running live approvals immediately while you refine roles, thresholds, and notifications in parallel.

Can we customise the discount and margin thresholds that trigger senior finance escalation?

Yes, the thresholds used in the Check Discount / Margin Threshold step are configured directly in assess.one and can be adjusted at any time without redevelopment. You can set different thresholds by deal size, region, or product line as your commercial policy evolves. Changes take effect immediately for all new deal submissions.

Who needs access to this workflow, and how are roles assigned?

Sales reps need access to submit deal requests, Finance reviewers need access to the commercial review step, and Legal and senior finance approvers need access to their respective review steps. Roles, notifications, and approval logic are all configured inside assess.one, so you control exactly who sees and acts on each stage of the process. Access can be adjusted per step as your team structure changes.

What happens when Finance rejects a deal request?

The workflow sets the deal status to Rejected (Pending Revision) and notifies the rep with the stated reason via the configured Postmark integration. The rep then revises the deal request within the same record and resubmits it for Finance review, keeping the full history of the original request, rejection reason, and revision in one place. No new record or manual re-entry is required.

How does Legal review get triggered, and can we change the conditions?

The Check for Non-Standard Terms step automatically routes the deal to Legal review whenever terms fall outside standard contract language, without requiring the rep or Finance to flag it manually. The specific conditions that define 'non-standard' are configurable in assess.one, so Legal only reviews deals that genuinely require their input. This keeps legal review targeted and avoids unnecessary delays on standard deals.

What compliance or audit benefits does this workflow provide?

Every deal request, review outcome, rejection reason, and approved term is recorded against the deal record, creating a complete audit trail for internal compliance or external audit purposes. Approval routing through Finance, Legal, and senior finance is enforced by the workflow logic rather than manual discretion, reducing the risk of unauthorized terms being approved. This structure supports SOX-style controls around revenue recognition and discount governance.

How does approval notification work once a deal is approved?

Once the deal passes all required review stages, the Record Approved Terms step logs the final terms and the Notify Rep of Approval step sends confirmation to the rep through the Postmark integration configured in assess.one. This ensures the rep has a clear, timestamped confirmation of exactly what was approved before proceeding to contract execution.

Can this workflow integrate with our existing CRM or contract tools?

assess.one supports integrations such as email notifications via Postmark configured directly within the platform, and additional integrations can be added as your process requires. Rather than a separate development project, these connections are set up inside assess.one's configuration, so your deal desk workflow can align with existing tools without a lengthy technical rollout.