Pricing Exception Approval

# Pricing Exception Approval

## When this skill fires

- AE requests a discount > standard tier
- Customer asks for non-standard billing terms (currency, frequency, multi-year)
- Deal stalls at "we want X price" in `#deal-desk`

## Approval matrix (in order)

### Standard tier — no approval needed
- Annual contracts under $100k ARR
- Discount ≤ 20% off list
- USD billing
- AE can close same day

### Manager (chen) approval
- Discount 20–25% off list, any deal size
- Multi-year deal at any discount

### CRO (maria) approval — REQUIRED
- Discount > 25%
- Deal > $100k ARR with > 20% discount
- Non-USD billing (EUR, GBP) for any deal
- Custom contract terms (case study rights, exclusivity, etc.)

## Decision rules

### Multi-year discount headroom
> *@maria, 2026-03-25: "anything multi-year is +10% discount headroom"*

So a 2yr deal can take a 30% discount where annual would cap at 20%. Use this when the customer is committable but price-sensitive.

### Strategic logo exception
> *@maria, 2026-03-25: "Quantum is a logo we want. happy to give 30% — but need 2yr commitment + case study rights."*

For named logo wins: extra discount in exchange for non-monetary value (case study, joint marketing, customer reference, multi-year lock).

### Non-USD billing
**Allowed for ARR > €50k (or local equivalent), with weekly spot rate by default.**

> *@maria, 2026-04-04: "must lock the rate for the contract term unless customer accepts re-strike."*

Default: contract-term locked. Alternative: weekly spot, but customer must opt in explicitly.

### Month-to-month
**Hard no for any deal under $60k ARR.** Only annual or longer for sub-enterprise.

> *@chen, 2026-03-18: "month-to-month is a hard no for sub-$60k. our policy: only annual contracts under $100k ARR."*

## Common counter-offers (templates)

| Customer ask | Standard counter | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| "I want 30% off annual" | "15% off annual + 1 month free trial" | Same effective ARR, easier sign-off |
| "Can we do month-to-month?" | "Annual with quarterly invoice" | Cashflow ≈ M2M, commitment locked |
| "Match competitor X's price" | "We can match if you commit 2 years + case study" | Logo value > price |
| "EUR pricing please" | "Yes, weekly spot, locked at signing for term" | CFO + legal already approved structure |

## Escalation paths

- AE-level: 0–20% off, annual, USD → close immediately
- Manager: 20–25%, multi-year, anything weird → ping @chen in `#deal-desk`
- CRO: > 25%, > $100k + > 20%, non-USD, custom terms → ping @maria
- Legal: any custom contract language → ping @melissa (separate channel)

## Source

Extracted from `#deal-desk` Slack between 2026-03-18 and 2026-04-04. Three real deals (Riverbend, Quantum, plus an EUR billing precedent). Cross-references `pricing/discount-grid-v2.xlsx` (last revised 2026-02 by @maria).

## See also

- [[companies/acme-logistics]] — tenant context
- [[people/maria]] — CRO sign-off authority
- [[people/chen]] — deal-desk routing
- [[skills/refund-decision-policy.skill]] — sibling threshold/sign-off pattern