Predictika · Consulting engagement quotes

An AI sales agent's consulting engagement quote, checked before it goes out

An AI sales agent prepares a consulting engagement quote on the Reply rate card: the SFIA category and grade of the consultants, the number of consultants and half-days, Time and Materials, Fixed Price or Managed Service delivery, onshore, nearshore or offshore, and a Reply accelerator (Neurons, Reply Model Factory, Brick Cognitive or LEA Reply WMS), with a risk contingency and the quote total. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of how those choices fit together and returns a verdict, every reason and the total it computed.

Scope: One Reply consulting engagement quote: category, grade, effort, commercial model, shoring, accelerator, risk contingency and the stated total. See everything this validator covers

This validator models Reply consulting engagement quotes, not just the scenarios shown below.

  • Rate card — six SFIA categories across grades 1 to 7, a day rate for each grade, a minimum charge of half a day and no discounts.
  • Commercial model — Time and Materials, Fixed Price with an optional risk contingency, and Managed Service with a management fee.
  • Shoring — onshore, a reduced nearshore rate, and offshore only as an exception that a person approves.
  • Expenses — travel and subsistence billed separately rather than folded into the day rate.
  • Accelerators — Neurons, Reply Model Factory, Brick Cognitive and LEA Reply WMS, each with a fee and with limits on the sector or resources it fits.
  • Approvals — a high risk contingency and a large engagement go to a person.
  • Stated total — the total the quote states against the total computed from the modeled rates.

Any Reply engagement quote that touches these rules is in scope — not only the scenarios pictured here. Not covered: other Reply services outside this rate card. Amounts are in British pounds, exclusive of VAT and expenses, and are illustrative.

The AI sales agentBuilds the engagement quote from the conversation with the customer and says it is ready.
Predictika validatorChecks every rule at once and returns the verdict, each finding, and the computed figures.

7 scenarios in 3 groups · each group runs from the agent’s first attempt to the outcome · click one to switch

What the agent proposes

The AI sales agent says

Illustrative agent statement. The validator receives the structured request below.

Proposing agent: AI sales agent (scripted)

Before sending, the agent must call Recorded run

Predictika validator


      

        
        
        
      

      
Waiting for the call.

      
    

  

  
  

    
Where rules-based CPQ gets it wrong
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Our assessment of what a typical rules-based CPQ (product rules, price rules and validation rules, as in Salesforce CPQ) does with the same cases. It is a judgment about effort and reliability, not a claim that nothing can be built.

    
What the validator caughtTypical rules-based CPQPredictika
A rate card with no discountsOnly with care
Discounts are a normal field on a quote, so a rule has to say that this rate card allows none and that a quoted day rate cannot go above the maximum for the grade or below the starting rate.		The discount, the quoted rate and the grade are fields of the same request and are checked against the rate card on every call.
An accelerator that fits some sectors and resources onlyOnly with care
Brick Cognitive is for manufacturing, LEA Reply WMS is for logistics and Model Factory needs build or strategy resources, so each accelerator has to read the sector and the category.		The accelerator, the sector and the resource category are checked together on every call.
Expenses and contingency that depend on the commercial modelOnly with care
Expenses must be billed separately, and a risk contingency exists only on Fixed Price work, so each choice depends on the commercial model.		The model, the expenses and the contingency are checked in the same pass.
A total built from shoring, fees and add-onsOnly with workarounds
The total depends on the grade rate, a nearshore or offshore factor, a management fee, an accelerator and a contingency, and has to be recomputed before it can be compared with the stated one.		The total is computed in the same pass and the stated total is checked on every call.
Approvals that depend on the dealOnly with workarounds
Offshore delivery, a contingency above fifteen percent and an engagement above a threshold each send the quote to a person, alongside the blocks.		Blocks and approvals come back together, whatever order the choices arrived in.
Every problem returned in one answerOnly with workarounds
Rules tend to fire as the quote is saved or a step is completed, so a rep often fixes one error and meets the next.		All findings come back together, whatever order the choices arrived in.

  

  

    
What this validator catches: findings from its test cases
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Every rule is checked on every call, in any order the choices arrive; one problem never hides another. Blocking findings stop the quote; approval findings need a person to sign off; everything else is computed.

    
1The quote states a total of 60,100 GBP; the engagement adds up to 60,000 GBP.
2The quote uses grade 8; the rate card has SFIA grades 1 to 7.
3The quote has 0 half-days; the minimum charge period is half a day.
4The quote applies a 5 percent discount; the rate card offers no discounts.
5The quoted day rate is 1,100 GBP; the rate card maximum for this grade is 1,000 GBP.
6The quoted day rate is 450 GBP; the rate card starts at 500 GBP.
7The rates exclude travel and subsistence expenses; the quote includes them in the day rate instead of billing them separately.
8A risk contingency of 10 percent can be added only to Fixed Price work.
9The risk contingency of 20 percent is above 15 percent; a person should confirm it.
10Brick Cognitive is for manufacturing and LEA Reply WMS is for logistics; the customer sector does not match the accelerator.
11Reply Model Factory is quoted only with Development and Implementation or Strategy and Architecture resources.
12Reply does not normally deliver offshore; a person should approve this exceptional case.
13The engagement total of 640,000 GBP is above 250,000 GBP; a director should approve it.

  

  

    
Scenarios and results
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The recorded result of the validator for each scenario on this page: the request the AI agent sent, the verdict, and every finding, in the order they appear above.

    
1. Managed Service: A nearshore Managed Service engagement with a stated total

    
The agent's request. Please quote a Managed Service engagement with 3 consultants on Development and Implementation resources at grade 4 for 40 half-days, delivered nearshore. Travel and subsistence expenses are billed separately. The quote total is 54,580 GBP. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Stated total does not match. The quote states a total of 54,580 GBP; the engagement adds up to 55,080 GBP.
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2. Managed Service: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote a Managed Service engagement with 3 consultants on Development and Implementation resources at grade 4 for 40 half-days, delivered nearshore. Travel and subsistence expenses are billed separately. The quote total is 55,080 GBP. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Engagement summary. 40 half-days x 3 consultant(s) at 850 GBP per day, fees 51,000 GBP, total 55,080 GBP excluding VAT and expenses.
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3. Accelerator: A logistics engagement with the Brick Cognitive accelerator

    
The agent's request. Please quote a Time and Materials engagement with 3 consultants on Development and Implementation resources at grade 4 for 40 half-days, delivered onshore for a logistics customer. It includes the Brick Cognitive accelerator. Travel and subsistence expenses are billed separately. The quote total is 80,000 GBP. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Accelerator does not fit the sector. Brick Cognitive is for manufacturing and LEA Reply WMS is for logistics; the customer sector does not match the accelerator.
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4. Accelerator: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote a Time and Materials engagement with 3 consultants on Development and Implementation resources at grade 4 for 40 half-days, delivered onshore for a logistics customer. It includes the LEA Reply WMS accelerator. Travel and subsistence expenses are billed separately. The quote total is 85,000 GBP. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Engagement summary. 40 half-days x 3 consultant(s) at 1,000 GBP per day, fees 60,000 GBP, total 85,000 GBP excluding VAT and expenses.
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5. Fixed Price: A Fixed Price engagement with expenses in the day rate

    
The agent's request. Please quote a Fixed Price engagement with 3 consultants on Development and Implementation resources at grade 4 for 40 half-days, delivered onshore. The day rate includes travel and subsistence expenses. The quote has a risk contingency of 8 percent. The quote total is 64,800 GBP. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Expenses inside the rate. The rates exclude travel and subsistence expenses; the quote includes them in the day rate instead of billing them separately.
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6. Fixed Price: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote a Fixed Price engagement with 3 consultants on Development and Implementation resources at grade 4 for 40 half-days, delivered onshore. Travel and subsistence expenses are billed separately. The quote has a risk contingency of 8 percent. The quote total is 64,800 GBP. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Engagement summary. 40 half-days x 3 consultant(s) at 1,000 GBP per day, fees 60,000 GBP, total 64,800 GBP excluding VAT and expenses.
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7. High contingency: A Fixed Price engagement with a 20 percent risk contingency

    
The agent's request. Please quote a Fixed Price engagement with 3 consultants on Development and Implementation resources at grade 4 for 40 half-days, delivered onshore. It includes the Neurons accelerator. Travel and subsistence expenses are billed separately. The quote has a risk contingency of 20 percent. The quote total is 84,000 GBP. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Needs approval.

    
    
      
  • High risk contingency to confirm. The risk contingency of 20 percent is above 15 percent; a person should confirm it.
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  • Engagement summary. 40 half-days x 3 consultant(s) at 1,000 GBP per day, fees 60,000 GBP, total 84,000 GBP excluding VAT and expenses.
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Narration transcript
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The text of the narrated walkthrough, step by step.

    
    
      
  1. Welcome to a demo of Predictika's Validator. An AI sales agent prepares a consulting engagement quote on the Reply rate card: the SFIA category and grade of the consultants, the number of consultants and half-days, Time and Materials, and more. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of how those choices fit together and returns a verdict, every reason and the total it computed.
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  2. I will start with the first request by the agent.
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  3. The agent says. Please quote a Managed Service engagement with 3 consultants on Development and Implementation resources at grade 4 for 40 half-days, delivered nearshore. Travel and subsistence expenses are billed separately. The rest of the request is on screen. The quote total is 54,580 GBP.
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  4. Before it goes out, the agent calls the validator.
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  5. Blocked, with one finding, all in one answer. The quote states a total of 54,580 GBP; the engagement adds up to 55,080 GBP.
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  6. The validator returned one blocking finding in one answer. A check that reads one field at a time would pass most of this; it shows only when the choices in the quote are checked against each other and against the stated total.
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  7. What this shows: for a total built from shoring, fees and add-ons, a rules-based CPQ can do this only with workarounds.
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  8. Now the agent resubmits.
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  9. The corrected request. It changes the stated quote total to 55,080 GBP.
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  10. It calls the validator again.
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  11. This time the validator clears it.
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  12. The earlier finding is cleared.
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  13. One problem caught in one call, fixed in one pass, and a clean quote. That is the value of Predictika's validator: catching mistakes before they reach the customer. Now you can try the other scenarios yourself.
    14.