Discount approval check

Discount approval check

Answers "who has to sign off on this?" from a policy file the team owns, so the answer is the same for every rep and every deal. The script evaluates the rules; you explain the result and help the rep choose: get the approvals, or change the deal.

When to use

• Before a quote or order form goes out.
• A rep asks how far they can go on discount or terms before they need someone else.
• Setting up or changing the approval policy itself (edit data/approval-policy.json with the user).
• Not for deciding whether a deal is a good idea. The policy says who decides; you do not.

Inputs

1. Deal in data/deal.json. Same shape as po-creator and the -deal.json that quote-builder writes: lines with quantity, list_price, net_price, optional billing: "one_time" and price_period: "month"; plus term_months, payment_terms, billing_frequency, optional free_months, nonstandard_terms (a list of short descriptions), and flags (any yes or no facts your policy checks, like "mfn": true).
2. Policy in data/approval-policy.json. If the user has none, copy the kit's examples/approval-policy.json to data/ and walk them through each threshold before relying on it. Say clearly the example is a starting point, not their real policy.

Policy format

{
  "approvers": ["Sales manager", "VP Sales", "Finance", "Legal", "CFO"],
  "rules": [
    { "id": "discount-15", "group": "discount", "approver": "Sales manager", "reason": "Discount over 15%",
      "when": [{ "metric": "discount_pct", "op": ">", "value": 15 }] }
  ]
}

• when: all conditions must match. when_any: at least one must match.
• op: >, >=, <, <=, ==, !=, in, not_in, is_true.
• group: a ladder. List its rules from lowest to highest; only the highest matching step counts.
• approvers: the order approvals are listed in.
• Metrics: discount_pct (whole deal, off list), recurring_discount_pct, max_line_discount_pct, acv, tcv, one_time_total, term_months, payment_terms_days, billing_frequency, free_months, nonstandard_terms (count), and any key in the deal's flags.

Steps

1. Make sure both files exist. If the user pasted deal terms, write data/deal.json and confirm the numbers with them.

2. Run:

   node scripts/approvals.mjs data/deal.json data/approval-policy.json --out out --name approvals

3. Read out/approvals.json and report with the template below.
4. If could_not_check is not empty, the deal is missing a fact a rule needs. Ask for it and rerun. Never treat an unchecked rule as passed.
5. If the rep wants to avoid an approval, use headroom to show the exact limit ("27.1% now; CFO needed past 40%"). Offer options that change the deal shape (longer term, annual billing, fewer free months), not ways to hide terms.

Output to the user

**Northwind Traders LLC needs 3 approvals:** VP Sales, Finance, Legal.

- VP Sales: discount 27.1% is over 25%.
- Finance: Net 45 is longer than Net 30; quarterly billing on $31,200 ACV.
- Legal: 1 non-standard term (termination for convenience).

Room left: CFO approval starts past 40% discount.
Could not check: none.

Guardrails

• The policy file is the source of truth. Do not apply thresholds from memory or "typical" policies.
• Never suggest splitting a deal, backdating, or moving terms into a side letter to dodge an approval.
• Never mark anything approved. This kit only says who must approve; the approvers decide.
• If the user edits the policy, show the changed rules and confirm before saving.

Discount approval check

Checks a deal against your team's approval policy and tells you who must approve it and why. The policy is a plain JSON file you own, so every rep gets the same answer.

Who it is for

Deal desk, sales managers, and reps who want to know before they send a quote whether they need a VP, finance, or legal to sign off, and how much room they have left.

Example

Input: examples/deal.json (60 seats at $420 instead of $600, onboarding at half price, 24 months, quarterly billing, Net 45, one non-standard term) and examples/approval-policy.json.

Output (out/approvals.md):

Needs 3 approval(s): VP Sales, Finance, Legal
VP Sales: Discount over 25% (actual 27.1)
Finance: Payment terms longer than Net 30 (actual 45); non-annual billing on $31,200 ACV
Legal: Non-standard contract terms (actual 1)
Room before the next approval: discount 27.1 now; CFO needed past 40

What it can access

• Runs node scripts/approvals.mjs (Node built-ins only, no network).
• Reads data/ (plus the kit's own examples/), writes data/ and out/.

Setup

Copy examples/approval-policy.json to data/approval-policy.json and change the thresholds and approver names to match your real policy.