Your Proposal Is With Finance: Questions to Clarify

Understand the situation before responding

Ask your contact what finance has actually requested. Separate a formal approval step from an unspecified expectation that someone will look at the proposal. Confirm whether the reviewer assesses total cost, cash timing, supplier setup or the business case. Avoid requesting confidential internal budgets or personal financial information unless necessary and appropriately shared. Keep the sponsor involved so you do not create conflicting commercial discussions.

An example message to adapt

What question is finance reviewing: the budget allocation, payment schedule, total commitment or evidence behind the business case? I can provide a factual clarification through you or join a discussion if everyone finds that useful. I would rather answer their actual question than revise the price without understanding the concern.

Illustrative teaching example. Replace the prompts with buyer-confirmed facts; this is not a client conversation, claimed result or message to send automatically.

Prepare a useful next action

Prepare consistent figures using the current proposal, including recurring charges, separately scoped work and applicable tax treatment. Do not offer tax or accounting assurances beyond your role. Where a number depends on an assumption, state it. If finance challenges projected value, distinguish verified baseline data from estimates. Ask who can resolve commercial questions and how any amendment should be recorded.

Record the decision and its limits

Confirm the next finance step and whether it can approve spending or merely recommend it. If an additional committee or executive decision remains, record that separately. Update the forecast based on actual approval rather than the proposal entering a finance inbox. If funding is not available, decide whether a useful alternative or later revisit is realistic before doing more unpaid revision work.