Sales manager
Pricing analyst
Revenue operations lead
Finance director
Account executive
VP of sales
This process is used when a sales representative or account manager prepares a price quote that requires internal validation before it is sent to a customer or prospect. It is triggered when quotes include non-standard pricing, volume discounts, custom configurations, extended payment terms, or any deviation from standard rate cards. Quote approval is especially important when deal size, margin impact, or strategic significance exceeds the originator’s authority. It is common in manufacturing, technology, distribution, professional services, and any industry with configurable pricing or negotiated terms.
The account executive or sales representative originates the quote and submits it for review. The pricing analyst or revenue operations team evaluates the quote against standard pricing, discount guidelines, and margin thresholds. Finance reviews payment terms, revenue recognition implications, and overall deal economics. For quotes that exceed defined value or discount thresholds, sales leadership or executive approvers provide final authorization.
Faster quote delivery by routing approvals based on deal size and discount level, so standard quotes are processed quickly while exceptions receive focused review. Protected margins because every quote is validated against pricing guidelines and margin thresholds before it reaches the customer. Consistent pricing discipline across the sales organization, ensuring that discount authority and approval thresholds are applied uniformly regardless of rep or region. Reduced deal cycle friction because quotes arrive at the customer accurately and on time, with terms that have been fully vetted internally. Clearer deal economics visibility for leadership, who can see where quotes stand in the approval pipeline and intervene early when strategic deals require attention.
Your version of this process may vary based on roles, systems, data, and approval paths. Moxo’s flow builder can be configured with AI agents, conditional branching, dynamic data references, and sophisticated logic to match how your organization runs this workflow. The steps below illustrate one example.
Quote preparation and submission
The process begins when a sales representative prepares a quote for a customer and submits it for internal approval. The submission includes the quoted products or services, pricing, any discounts applied, payment terms, deal context, and competitive considerations. An AI agent can assist by validating the quote against the current rate card, flagging any discounts that exceed standard thresholds, and checking whether the customer has existing contract pricing that should apply.
Pricing and margin review
The pricing team or revenue operations evaluates the quote’s financial terms, including discount levels, margin impact, and alignment with pricing guidelines. If the quote falls within pre-approved parameters, it proceeds to the next stage. If discounts exceed thresholds or the margin falls below acceptable levels, the process branches to require justification from the sales representative or escalation to a senior pricing approver.
Finance and terms review
Finance assesses the payment terms, revenue recognition treatment, and any credit risk associated with the customer. If terms are standard, the review is expedited. If the quote includes extended payment terms, milestone-based billing, or other non-standard financial arrangements, finance may require modifications or additional approval before the quote can proceed. AI agents can surface the customer’s payment history and credit standing to support the review.
Sales leadership or executive approval
For quotes that exceed defined value thresholds, involve strategic accounts, or carry significant margin deviation, the quote is routed to sales leadership or an executive approver for final authorization. The approver reviews the full package—including pricing validation, finance assessment, and deal context—and either approves, requests modifications, or declines. If conditions are attached to the approval, those are documented and communicated to the sales representative.
Quote finalization and delivery
Once all required approvals are obtained, the quote is finalized with the approved pricing and terms. The approved version is locked, and the sales representative is notified that it is cleared for customer delivery. A record of all reviews, decisions, and conditions is retained. Any downstream actions—such as generating a formal proposal, updating the CRM record, or triggering a contract workflow—are initiated as part of the process closure.
This process commonly relies on inputs such as product and service configurations, pricing data, customer records, discount guidelines, and deal history. It may be triggered by a quote submission form, a CRM opportunity stage change, or a direct request from the sales team. Connected systems such as Salesforce, HubSpot, or Microsoft Dynamics provide deal data, while CPQ platforms and ERP systems like NetSuite or SAP supply pricing and financial context.
Key decision points include whether the quoted pricing and discounts fall within pre-approved guidelines, whether payment terms and revenue recognition treatment meet financial standards, whether the deal size or margin deviation requires escalation to sales leadership or executive approval, and whether any conditions attached during review have been satisfied before the quote is delivered. If any review results in a request for modification, the process routes back to the sales representative for revision.
Quotes submitted without current pricing data, causing the pricing team to reject or delay review while confirming rates. Discount authority unclear across the sales organization, leading to repeated escalations for decisions that could be pre-authorized at lower levels. Finance review treated as optional, allowing non-standard payment terms to reach customers without financial validation. Approved quotes not locked before delivery, creating version control risks and potential for unapproved terms being sent. CRM not updated upon quote approval, causing pipeline and forecast data to diverge from actual deal status.
Routes quotes to the correct approval chain based on deal size, discount level, and margin impact, ensuring standard quotes are processed quickly while exceptions receive the right level of review.
AI agents assist with quote validation by checking pricing against current rate cards, flagging threshold-exceeding discounts, and surfacing customer contract pricing before the quote enters the approval flow.
Orchestrates pricing, finance, and leadership reviews within a single structured process, enabling parallel review where possible and reducing the overall quote-to-customer cycle time.
Connects to CRM, CPQ, and ERP systems such as Salesforce, HubSpot, or NetSuite to pull deal context and push approval status back into the systems the sales team uses daily.
Maintains a complete record of every pricing review, margin decision, and approval condition for each quote, supporting deal governance, pricing analysis, and revenue assurance.
