W-40: Commercial Ways of Work¶

Field	Value
Document	W-40
Title	Commercial Ways of Work
Status	Draft
Owner	Commercial Head
Created	2026-04-05
Review	Quarterly
Depends On	W-01 (Company Operating Rhythm), W-21 (Partner Management Ways of Work), W-30 (Finance Ways of Work), STD-GOV-137 (Department Mandates and Decision Rights), MERCHANT-ONBOARDING-STANDARD

Purpose¶

Define how Simpaisa's commercial function manages the sales pipeline, acquires merchants, secures pricing approvals, reviews revenue performance, develops new markets, and feeds merchant insights back into the product organisation. This document applies to all commercial staff across PK, BD, NP, IQ, EG, and AE.

Simpaisa's commercial success depends on acquiring high-volume merchants, maintaining competitive pricing, and ensuring merchants have a seamless integration and operational experience. The commercial function is the bridge between the market and Simpaisa's platform capabilities.

1. Sales Pipeline Management¶

1.1 Pipeline Stages¶

Stage	Definition	Owner	Exit Criteria
Lead	Initial contact or inbound enquiry	Business Development (BD) rep	Qualified: merchant meets minimum criteria
Qualified	Merchant meets volume, market, and regulatory criteria	BD rep	Discovery meeting completed
Discovery	Merchant's requirements understood; solution scoped	BD rep + Solutions Architect (CDO)	Technical feasibility confirmed; commercial proposal drafted
Proposal	Commercial proposal and pricing presented	BD rep	Merchant confirms interest; negotiation begins
Negotiation	Terms, pricing, and SLAs under negotiation	BD rep + Commercial Head	Agreed terms; pricing approved per W-30 §6
Contracting	Legal agreement drafting and execution	BD rep + Legal	Contract signed
Onboarding	Handed off to Operations for technical onboarding	Operations (W-21 §1)	Merchant live in production
Live	Merchant processing transactions	Account Manager	Ongoing relationship

1.2 Pipeline Hygiene¶

Pipeline is reviewed weekly at the Commercial team stand-up (Monday 10:00 GST).
Deals with no activity for 30 days are flagged for follow-up or archival.
Deals in "Proposal" or "Negotiation" for >60 days are escalated to the Commercial Head.
Pipeline data is maintained in the CRM system. Manual spreadsheets are not permitted.

1.3 Lead Qualification Criteria¶

A lead is qualified if it meets all of the following:

Criterion	Minimum Threshold
Monthly transaction volume (projected)	>1,000 transactions or >USD 50,000 value
Market	Simpaisa has an active licence in the merchant's primary market
Use case	Pay-in and/or pay-out via Simpaisa's supported channels
Regulatory status	Merchant is a licensed or registered entity
Technical capability	Merchant can integrate via API (or uses a supported e-commerce platform)

1.4 Pipeline Reporting¶

Report	Frequency	Audience	Owner
Pipeline summary (stage, value, probability)	Weekly	Commercial Head	BD reps
New leads and conversions	Weekly	Commercial Head	BD reps
Pipeline forecast (weighted by stage)	Monthly	CEO, CFO	Commercial Head
Win/loss analysis	Monthly	Commercial Head, CPO	BD reps

2. Merchant Acquisition Process¶

2.1 End-to-End Flow¶

Lead identified (inbound / outbound / referral)
    │
    ▼
Lead qualified (§1.3 criteria)
    │
    ▼
Discovery meeting (BD rep + Solutions Architect)
    │
    ▼
Technical feasibility confirmed (CDO Engineering)
    │
    ▼
Commercial proposal prepared (BD rep)
    │
    ▼
Pricing approved (W-30 §6: standard → CFO; non-standard → CFO + CEO)
    │
    ▼
Negotiation and contracting (BD rep + Legal)
    │
    ▼
Contract signed
    │
    ▼
Handoff to Operations for onboarding (W-21 §1.3)
    │
    ▼
Integration and UAT (CDO Engineering + SQA)
    │
    ▼
Merchant live → Account Manager assigned

2.2 Handoff to Operations¶

Upon contract signature, the BD rep completes a handoff form including:

Merchant name, entity details, and primary contacts.
Agreed products and channels.
Agreed pricing (with CFO approval reference).
Integration requirements and merchant's technical contact.
Expected go-live date.
Any special terms or conditions.

Operations acknowledges receipt within 1 business day and initiates the onboarding process per W-21 §1.

2.3 Acquisition Targets¶

Acquisition targets are set annually per market as part of the budget cycle (W-30 §5).
Monthly acquisition is tracked against targets in the monthly commercial report.
Country Heads and BD reps are jointly accountable for market-level acquisition targets.

3. Pricing Approval Workflow¶

Pricing approvals follow the process defined in W-30 §6. The commercial team's specific responsibilities are:

3.1 Standard Pricing¶

Commercial maintains a published rate card per market and product.
Rate cards are reviewed annually (Q4, as part of budget cycle).
BD reps use the published rate card for standard proposals — no approval needed beyond the rate card.

3.2 Non-Standard Pricing¶

Triggers for non-standard pricing:

Merchant requests a discount below published rates.
Volume-based pricing tiers apply (per rate card, but requires Finance modelling).
Bespoke pricing structure (e.g., revenue share, tiered success fees).
Strategic merchant where pricing is below break-even to establish market position.

Process:

BD rep submits a pricing request to Finance via the pricing approval form, including: merchant name, projected volumes, requested pricing, business justification, competitive context.
Finance models the margin impact (3 business days).
CFO reviews (2 business days).
If discount >20% below standard: CEO approval required (3 business days).
Approval (or rejection with rationale) communicated to BD rep.

3.3 Pricing Governance¶

No verbal pricing commitments to merchants. All pricing must be in writing and approved.
Retroactive pricing changes require CFO and CEO approval.
Annual pricing review: all non-standard pricing arrangements are reviewed for continued viability.

4. Quarterly Revenue Review¶

4.1 Cadence¶

Held in the 3rd week of each quarter (aligned with W-01 Company Operating Rhythm).
Participants: CEO, CFO, Commercial Head, Country Heads, COO.
Duration: 2 hours.

4.2 Agenda¶

Item	Owner	Time
Revenue performance vs. target (group and per market)	Commercial Head	20 min
Top 10 merchants: volume trends and health	Account Managers (pre-read)	15 min
Pipeline forecast for next quarter	Commercial Head	15 min
Pricing effectiveness (margin analysis)	CFO	15 min
Churn analysis (merchants lost, at risk)	Commercial Head	15 min
Market development update (new markets, new products)	Commercial Head	15 min
Actions and decisions	CEO	15 min

4.3 Output¶

Updated revenue forecast for the remainder of the year.
Action items assigned with owners and deadlines.
Escalated items to ELT or Board if revenue is materially behind target.

5. Market Development Cadence¶

5.1 Existing Markets¶

For each active market, the commercial team maintains a market development plan:

Component	Content	Review Cadence
Total addressable market (TAM)	Market size, growth rate, Simpaisa's share	Annual
Competitive landscape	Key competitors, their strengths, market positioning	Quarterly
Channel coverage	Which payment channels are available vs. market demand	Quarterly
Merchant segmentation	Target segments, penetration per segment	Quarterly
Partnership opportunities	Potential platform partners, referral channels	Monthly

5.2 New Market Entry¶

Commercial leads the business case for new market entry (see W-22 §7):

Market sizing and opportunity assessment.
Competitive analysis.
Revenue projection (3-year model).
Commercial requirements for CDO (which payment channels, which partners).
Presentation to CEO and CFO for go/no-go decision.

5.3 New Product Commercialisation¶

When CDO launches a new product or capability:

Commercial is briefed at least 30 days before launch.
Commercial prepares: pricing recommendation, target merchant segments, go-to-market plan.
Pricing approved per W-30 §6.
Commercial trains BD reps and Account Managers on the new product.
New product included in pipeline tracking within 7 days of launch.

6. Merchant Feedback Loop to Product¶

6.1 Structured Feedback Channels¶

Channel	Mechanism	Cadence	Recipient
Merchant feature requests	CRM ticket tagged "product-feedback"	Ongoing	CPO via Product Managers
Merchant complaints	CRM ticket tagged "complaint"	Ongoing	COO (operational) or CDO (technical)
Win/loss analysis	Post-deal debrief documented in CRM	After every lost deal	CPO + Commercial Head
Merchant satisfaction survey	CSAT survey per touchpoint (onboarding, settlement, API integration, support). Target: CSAT > 4.2/5.	Annual	CPO + Commercial Head
Top merchant advisory board	Quarterly call with top 10 merchants	Quarterly	CEO + CPO + Commercial Head

6.2 Product Feedback Review¶

CPO reviews aggregated merchant feedback monthly.
Top themes are presented at the ELT Monthly Business Review.
Feature requests that align with the product roadmap are prioritised in the product backlog.
Feature requests that do not align are documented with rationale and communicated back to the requesting merchant via the Account Manager.

6.3 Churn Prevention¶

Merchant churn signals are tracked by Account Managers:

Signal	Definition	Action
Volume decline	>30% month-over-month decline	Account Manager contacts merchant within 48 hours
Integration issues	>3 support tickets in 30 days	CDO Engineering review; Account Manager engagement
Competitor activity	Merchant mentions evaluating alternatives	Commercial Head engagement; retention offer if warranted
Contract renewal approaching	90 days before contract expiry	Account Manager initiates renewal discussion
Payment delays	Merchant delays settlement collections	Finance + Account Manager review

7. Tooling¶

Tool	Purpose	Owner
CRM (Salesforce / HubSpot)	Pipeline management, merchant records, feedback tracking	Commercial
Rate card system	Published pricing by market and product	Finance + Commercial
Merchant portal	Merchant self-service (transactions, reports, API docs)	CDO
Analytics dashboard	Merchant volume and revenue reporting	Data team (CDO)

Appendix: RACI¶

Activity	Commercial	Commercial Head	COO	CDO	CFO	Country Head	CEO
Pipeline management	R	A	I	I	I	I	I
Merchant acquisition	R	A	C	C	I	C	I
Pricing (standard)	R	A	I	I	A	I	I
Pricing (non-standard)	R	C	I	I	A	I	A (>20% discount)
Quarterly revenue review	R	R	I	I	C	C	A
Market development	R	A	I	C	C	C	I
Merchant feedback to Product	R	A	I	C	I	I	I
Churn prevention	R	A	C	C	I	C	I