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Smart approvals

The most common approval in most organizations is the re-approval: a quote that was already blessed comes back with a slightly better price, a shorter term, one fewer product — and the whole chain runs again to approve a deal that's strictly safer than the one it already approved.

Smart approvals eliminate that round trip.

The idea: precedents​

When a quote reaches an approval step, Dealops checks whether a precedent exists — a previously approved quote on the same deal that is equal or better on every dimension that particular group reviews.

If it does, the step auto-passes, recorded as such, and the chain moves on. If anything that group cares about got worse — a deeper discount, a riskier term — the step requires human review as usual.

"Better" is judged per group​

Each approval group evaluates the dimensions relevant to its mandate. A finance group might care about discount depth and payment terms; a deal desk group about product mix and volumes. A change that's material to one group and irrelevant to another routes accordingly — only the groups whose concerns changed see the quote again.

What this looks like in practice​

  1. A rep submits a quote: 18% discount, 24-month term. Deal desk and finance approve it.
  2. Negotiation continues; the customer accepts 15% on the same structure.
  3. The rep updates and resubmits. Both groups' prior approvals stand as precedents — 15% is strictly better than the approved 18% — and the quote auto-passes both steps in seconds.
  4. Later the customer asks for 22% instead. That's worse than any precedent, so the chain runs for real.

Why it's safe​

  • Auto-passes are explicit. Every smart approval is recorded as an auto-approval with its precedent, distinguishable from human decisions in the audit trail.
  • Strictly equal-or-better only. Any dimension a group reviews getting worse disqualifies the precedent for that group.
  • Scoped to the deal. Precedents apply to the deal where the approval happened — approving one customer's discount doesn't waive review for another's.

The payoff​

Negotiations iterate; approval chains shouldn't. Smart approvals make quote revisions cheap — reps resubmit freely, approvers only see changes that matter, and cycle time drops without loosening governance.