How-to guide

How to set approval rules for sales discounts

In Bunny, go to Settings > Approvals, define your approvers, then create a rule with a discount threshold, such as any line item discount over 15%. Bunny checks every quote against your rules as the rep builds it, and a quote that triggers one can't be shared or applied until its approvers sign off from their email.

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Before you start

  • A discount policy: the thresholds at which someone above the rep has to say yes, and who that is.
  • The approvers as Bunny users.

How to do it in Bunny

  1. 1

    Define your approvers

    In Settings > Approvals, create approvers named for the role, such as VP Sales or CFO, and assign each one to a Bunny user. When someone changes jobs, you reassign the approver and every rule that uses it carries on.

  2. 2

    Create a discount rule

    Add an approval rule with a short name, because reps and approvers see it on the quote. Under Conditions, set Any line item discount % greater than to catch a deep discount on a single product, or Overall quote discount % greater than for the quote as a whole.

  3. 3

    Choose who approves, and when the rule applies

    Pick one or more approvers and decide whether Everyone must approve or One person must approve. Set the From and To dates, which also lets you run a temporary rule for an end-of-quarter push, and switch the rule to Active.

  4. 4

    Combine conditions or stack rules

    A rule triggers only when all its conditions are met. Add the overall quote amount, net payment days, a specific product or plan, a billing period or a ramp to make a rule narrower. For either-or policies, create separate rules: a quote that triggers several goes to every approver involved.

  5. 5

    Let reps quote; Bunny routes the exceptions

    As the rep edits a quote, Bunny re-checks the rules and shows any that fire, with their approvers, in the sidebar. The quote can't be shared until it's approved. The rep clicks Start approval and the quote locks.

  6. 6

    Approve or reject from email

    Approvers get an email with a review quote link that opens a read-only view, including on mobile, with the line items and the reasons it needs approval. A rejection can carry a reason, which is emailed to the deal owner. Cancel approval returns the quote to draft so the rep can rework it and resubmit.

Worked example: two discount tiers and a terms check

Fieldnote’s policy: reps can give up to 15% on their own; over 15% needs the VP of Sales; over 30% needs the VP and the CFO; payment terms longer than Net 30 need the CFO. In Settings > Approvals that becomes two approvers, VP Sales and CFO, and three active rules:

Rule name Condition Approvers When it triggers
Discount > 15% Any line item discount % greater than 15 VP Sales One person must approve
Discount > 30% Overall quote discount % greater than 30 VP Sales, CFO Everyone must approve
Terms > Net 30 Net payment days greater than 30 CFO One person must approve

A rep quotes 80 users of Business Annual at a list price of $600 each, $48,000 in total, and sets a 20% discount: $38,400. The sidebar shows Discount > 15% with the VP of Sales as approver. The rep clicks Start approval, the VP approves from her phone, and the rep shares the quote.

On a second deal, the buyer asks for 35% off and Net 60. All three rules fire, so the request goes to the VP of Sales and the CFO, and the quote can’t go out until both have approved. The CFO rejects with the note “Net 45 max”. The rep cancels the approval, sets Net 45, starts approval again, and the quote goes out once both approvers sign off.

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Which conditions can trigger an approval?
Overall quote amount, overall quote discount %, any line item discount %, net payment days, a specific product or plan in the quote, a billing period, and whether the quote contains a ramp. Within a rule, all of the conditions you switch on must be met.
Can a rep send a discounted quote before it's approved?
No. A quote that triggers a rule can't be shared with the customer or applied to the account until its approval is complete, and it can't be edited while it's in approval.
Do approval rules apply to quotes drafted by AI?
Yes. The RevOps Agent drafts quotes but doesn't send them, and Bunny won't share a quote that triggers a rule until it's approved, so an AI-drafted quote reaches the customer through the same approvals as one a rep builds.
Can approvers be notified in Slack as well as email?
Approvals run on Bunny workflows, so you can edit the approval emails and add other steps, such as a Slack message, alongside them.
What's the difference between overall and line item discount?
Overall discount compares the quote's total with its list-price total, so a deep cut on one small line barely moves it. Line item discount looks at each line on its own. Use line item rules to stop heavy discounting on any single product and overall rules to protect the deal as a whole.