Pricing is rarely a spreadsheet problem. It is a governance problem — who can discount, against what criteria, with what approval, and with what margin floor.
Firms that treat pricing as ad hoc negotiation leak margin slowly. Sales teams learn that the fastest path to close is a concession; finance discovers the damage a quarter later.
A defensible pricing architecture has three layers: list price logic tied to value and cost-to-serve; discount authority mapped to roles and deal size; and a monthly pricing review that examines won/lost deals against margin targets.
When pricing becomes governance, marketing and sales stop working at cross purposes. The firm sells what it can deliver profitably — and leadership stops discovering margin problems after the fact.