B2B Quote Approval Workflow Template Files

Initial public release

This is the first public release of the B2B Quote Approval Workflow Template by Configure to WIN.

The workbook helps B2B pricing, sales operations, revenue operations, deal desk and CPQ teams document how commercial exceptions become controlled quote decisions before the workflow is automated.

It is designed as a practical workflow-design, documentation and implementation-testing tool for defining:

• approval rules;
• approval groups and decision authority;
• sequential and parallel routing;
• reapproval and change-control behaviour;
• approval SLA, reminders, substitutes and escalation;
• workflow test scenarios;
• implementation and governance requirements;
• decision-trace requirements.

The workbook does not execute live approvals, prescribe commercial thresholds or determine delegated authority.

What is included

The workbook contains eight worksheets:

1. Workflow overview
2. Approval rules
3. Approval groups
4. Workflow paths
5. Test scenarios
6. Implementation checklist
7. Definitions
8. Worked example

Workflow overview

The Workflow overview worksheet provides a structured starting point for the approval design.

It captures:

• workflow name;
• workflow owner;
• quote population;
• policy or version reference;
• default outcome when no rule is triggered;
• intended implementation system;
• effective date;
• notes.

It also summarises the configured design, including:

• active approval rules;
• rules requiring manual approval;
• automatic-stop rules;
• approval groups;
• workflow paths;
• manual approval steps;
• parallel branches;
• reapproval rules;
• test scenarios.

The worksheet includes configuration checks for conditions such as:

• manual rules without a workflow path;
• manual steps without an approval group;
• active groups without a primary role;
• groups without a substitute;
• active paths without an SLA definition;
• active rules without a policy version;
• reapproval rules without a documented change condition;
• test scenarios not yet executed;
• failed test scenarios.

The resulting design status can be:

• Not configured
• Configuration gaps remain
• Ready for scenario testing
• Test failures remain
• Ready for implementation review

These statuses describe workbook completeness according to the configured checks. They are not maturity scores, audit opinions or certifications.

Approval rules

The Approval rules worksheet supports up to 100 commercial approval rules.

Each rule can document:

• Rule ID;
• Rule name;
• Rule category;
• Scope;
• Field or measure;
• Operator;
• Threshold or value;
• Unit or currency;
• Action if triggered;
• Approval path ID;
• Priority;
• Change condition or reapproval trigger;
• Reapproval requirement;
• Rule owner;
• Policy version;
• Effective dates;
• Active status;
• Notes;
• Configuration check.

Supported rule categories include:

• Deal value
• Discount
• Margin
• Floor price
• Terms
• Rebate or incentive
• Risk or policy
• Other

Supported triggered actions include:

• Manual approval
• Automatic stop
• Return for revision
• Warning only

The workbook does not provide or recommend the commercial threshold entered in a rule.

Approval groups

The Approval groups worksheet supports up to 50 decision groups.

For each group, the workbook can document:

• Group ID;
• Group name;
• Decision scope;
• Primary role;
• Authority description;
• Primary reviewer or role;
• Substitute reviewer or role;
• Escalation group;
• Default SLA hours;
• Reminder after hours;
• Escalation after hours;
• Business owner;
• Active status;
• Notes;
• Configuration check.

SLA, substitute and escalation fields are user-defined requirements. The workbook does not provide a recommended approval time or delegated-authority policy.

Workflow paths

The Workflow paths worksheet supports up to 100 workflow-step rows.

Each step can document:

• Path ID;
• Path name;
• Path purpose;
• Step number;
• Step name;
• Step type;
• Approval group ID;
• Execution mode;
• Parallel branch ID;
• Required status;
• Decision options;
• SLA override;
• On-approve behaviour;
• On-reject behaviour;
• On-change-requested behaviour;
• Reapproval behaviour;
• Next step;
• Active status;
• Notes;
• Configuration check.

Supported step types include:

• Manual approval
• Automatic check
• Automatic stop
• Return for revision
• Release

Supported execution modes include:

• Sequential
• Parallel
• Not applicable

The workbook documents the intended routing. It does not execute the workflow.

Sequential and parallel approval

The template can document single-level, sequential, parallel and mixed approval paths.

Sequential approval

Use sequential routing when one required decision depends on completion of an earlier decision.

:::text
Trigger
   ↓
Approval group 1
   ↓
Approval group 2
   ↓
Release

Parallel approval

Use parallel routing when independent commercial questions can be reviewed at the same time.

:::text
                 ┌→ Pricing review ────┐
Trigger ─────────┤                     ├→ Completion gate → Release
                 └→ Terms review ──────┘

For parallel designs, the workbook can document:

• parallel branch IDs;
• required branches;
• completion logic;
• rejection behaviour;
• change-request behaviour;
• reapproval behaviour.

The workbook does not prescribe whether an organisation should use sequential or parallel routing.

Reapproval and change control

The template treats an approval as applying to a defined commercial state rather than permanently to a Quote ID.

A material change can affect:

• quote value;
• quantity;
• sales price;
• discount;
• cost;
• margin;
• floor-price position;
• product mix;
• currency;
• payment terms;
• service terms;
• expected rebate or vendor incentive;
• another policy-relevant field.

The workbook allows teams to document:

• which changes are material;
• which commercial measures must be recalculated;
• which rules must be re-evaluated;
• whether reapproval is required;
• whether a path or complete workflow restarts;
• whether an earlier decision becomes superseded.

The organisation remains responsible for defining materiality and approval policy.

Approval SLA, reminders and escalation

The workbook can document operating controls for pending approvals, including:

• default SLA hours;
• step-specific SLA overrides;
• reminders;
• substitute reviewers;
• escalation timing;
• escalation groups.

These fields describe intended workflow behaviour.

The workbook does not send notifications, perform escalation or guarantee faster approval.

Test scenarios

The Test scenarios worksheet supports up to 50 workflow and user-acceptance test cases.

For each scenario, document:

• Scenario ID;
• Scenario name;
• Scenario purpose;
• Quote conditions or input summary;
• Expected triggered rule IDs;
• Expected action;
• Expected path ID;
• Expected approval groups;
• Expected sequence;
• Expected reapproval;
• Observed triggered rule IDs;
• Observed action;
• Observed path ID;
• Observed approval groups;
• Observed sequence;
• Observed reapproval;
• Test owner;
• Test date;
• Notes.

The workbook returns:

• Not tested
• Pass
• Fail

A Pass means that observed workflow behaviour matches the documented expectation.

It does not prove that the underlying commercial policy, threshold, authority or SLA is appropriate.

Implementation checklist

The workbook includes a practical implementation checklist covering:

• quote population;
• revision and supersession policy;
• approval triggers;
• operators and threshold ownership;
• policy versions;
• rule precedence;
• approval groups;
• substitute authority;
• sequential and parallel routing;
• parallel completion conditions;
• rejection and return-for-revision behaviour;
• reapproval;
• SLA and escalation;
• decision context;
• decision rationale;
• audit evidence;
• workflow testing;
• access control;
• reporting ownership;
• change and version governance.

Status values include:

• Not started
• In progress
• Blocked
• Ready for validation
• Complete
• Not applicable

Definitions

The Definitions worksheet documents controlled terminology for:

• quote approval workflows;
• approval rules and triggers;
• approval paths and steps;
• approval groups and decision authority;
• manual and automatic workflow states;
• sequential and parallel approval;
• decision context and rationale;
• quote revisions;
• material changes;
• reapproval;
• superseded decisions;
• approval SLA;
• reminders;
• substitutes;
• escalation;
• workflow testing;
• implementation status.

The worksheet also contains:

• implementation methodology;
• workbook limitations;
• Configure to WIN resources;
• workbook metadata;
• controlled validation lists.

Worked example

The workbook contains one fully fictional end-to-end example.

The illustrative quote contains:

Input	Illustrative condition
Quote value	€80,000
Discount	18%
Front-end margin	21%
Floor-price status	One quote line below the applicable floor
Payment terms	60 days instead of standard terms
Vendor incentive	Expected incentive included in the deal economics

The example documents two independent commercial questions:

1. a floor-price deviation requiring pricing review;
2. non-standard payment terms requiring finance or commercial review.

It demonstrates:

• two approval rules;
• two approval groups;
• two parallel branches;
• a completion gate;
• a requested quote change;
• recalculation and rule re-evaluation;
• reapproval;
• a superseded earlier decision;
• workflow test scenarios;
• a fictional decision log.

The worked example is not customer data, benchmark data, recommended thresholds, commercial advice or a universal approval policy.

Workflow-testing model

The workbook separates expected and observed workflow behaviour.

:::text
Quote conditions
→ Expected trigger
→ Expected action
→ Expected route
→ Expected groups
→ Expected sequence
→ Expected reapproval

The observed implementation can then be compared with that documented expectation.

Recommended scenario types include:

• no exception;
• one manual approval;
• operator boundary conditions;
• several simultaneous rules;
• sequential routing;
• parallel routing;
• rejection;
• return for revision;
• material quote change;
• reapproval;
• inactive or expired rules;
• substitute or escalation behaviour.

Important implementation notes

• Define the quote population before designing rules.
• Use stable Rule IDs, Path IDs and Group IDs.
• Preserve the applicable policy version.
• Define exact operators and boundary behaviour.
• Do not treat every quote change as automatically material.
• Recalculate affected commercial measures before re-evaluating rules.
• Do not automatically restart unrelated approval decisions unless policy requires it.
• Define rule precedence when several rules can trigger.
• Separate sequential dependencies from independent parallel decisions.
• Define approve, reject and return-for-revision behaviour explicitly.
• Preserve quote revision and decision context.
• Use controlled representations in expected-versus-observed test fields.
• Treat optional SLA or substitute fields as governance choices rather than universal requirements.
• Test representative workflows before production implementation.

Documentation

This release is supported by repository documentation covering:

• workbook usage;
• workflow methodology;
• controlled definitions;
• approval-rule design;
• workflow-path design;
• workflow and user-acceptance testing;
• the complete fictional worked example;
• limitations and interpretation boundaries;
• contribution guidance.

Important limitations

The workbook does not provide:

• live approval execution;
• approval task routing;
• approval notifications;
• an industry benchmark;
• a recommended approval SLA;
• recommended discount or margin thresholds;
• a recommended floor price;
• delegated-authority policy;
• an approval decision;
• automatic CPQ, CRM or ERP integration;
• legal, financial, pricing or commercial advice.

A configuration check or passing test validates workbook completeness or expected-versus-observed implementation behaviour only.

It does not prove that the commercial policy is appropriate.

Download

Download the Excel workbook from the release assets below:

b2b-quote-approval-workflow-template.xlsx

Online template and planner

Use the browser-based resource:

https://configure.win/resources/quote-approval-workflow-template

The online planner helps identify which parts of the workflow need to be documented before completing the Excel workbook.

Planner selections remain in the browser and are not intended to execute or approve live quotes.

Quote approval workflow guide

Read the vendor-neutral workflow-design guide:

https://configure.win/resources/quote-approval-workflow

Further resources

• Quote approval software:
  https://configure.win/quote-approval-software

• Approval matrix software:
  https://configure.win/approval-matrix-software

• Pricing governance software:
  https://configure.win/pricing-governance-software

• CPQ Metrics KPI Dictionary:
  https://configure.win/resources/cpq-metrics

• Quote turnaround time:
  https://configure.win/quote-turnaround-time

Citation

Preferred citation:

:::text
Configure to WIN. (2026). B2B Quote Approval Workflow Template (Version 1.0.0).

Detailed citation metadata is available in CITATION.cff.

License

The workbook and accompanying original repository documentation are licensed under the terms described in LICENSE.md.

When sharing or adapting the material, follow the attribution and modification requirements stated in that file.