When a deal falls outside standard terms — unusual discount, custom contract language, non-standard payment schedule — it routes to the deal desk. They assess margin impact, check legal exposure, confirm the product can deliver what's being promised, and either approve, amend or reject. In smaller companies it's a person; in larger ones a team with a defined SLA.
An AE wants to offer 35% off list for a three-year prepay. The deal desk models the margin, flags that the requested SLA exceeds what support can staff, and approves at 28% with a standard SLA.
A deal desk is the internal function that reviews, prices and approves non-standard sales deals before they reach the customer, coordinating between sales, finance, legal and product.
Usually when non-standard deals become frequent enough that ad-hoc approvals slow the cycle — commonly around the point where enterprise deals become a meaningful share of revenue.