Getting a Snapshot: Your Royalty Landscape

• Roughly how many active license agreements are you currently responsible for? Options: 1–10, 11–30, 31–75, 76–150, 151–300, 300+
• Which vertical best describes the bulk of your portfolio? Options: Consumer brands / retail, Entertainment / studio, Sports properties, Licensing agency / MSO, Mixed / other
• How do you most often receive sales reports from licensees today? Options: Excel (.xlsx/.xls), CSV, PDF (scanned or generated), EDI, SFTP/API feed, Manual email with attachments, Licensee portal download, Other
• Who owns royalty reconciliation day-to-day inside your organization (title or team)? Options: Licensing Director, Finance Manager / Controller, Revenue Operations, Shared between Licensing & Finance, External consultant / auditor, No clear owner / ad-hoc
• What triggered your interest in a royalty management platform right now? (brief story or event)

Are You Still Counting on Spreadsheets?

• How much of your reconciliation workflow still relies on manual spreadsheets rather than an automated system? Options: Almost entirely (>75%), Mostly (50–75%), Partially (25–50%), Minimal (<25%), We don’t use spreadsheets
• Walk me through a recent incident where a manual process caused a missed payment, audit finding, or significant rework—what happened and what was the impact?
• On average, how long does it take from receiving a licensee report to posting the related revenue (days)? Options: Same day, 1–7 days, 8–14 days, 15–30 days, 30+ days, Varies widely
• Which parts of the spreadsheet workflow create the most anxiety or fear of error for your team? Options: Manual rate lookups, Merging multiple reports, Ad hoc formula fixes, Version control / who edited what, Aggregation into ERP, Other
• Would increased automation make you worried about losing manual control or auditability? Why or why not? Options: Yes, Somewhat, No

Where Money Is Slipping Through Cracks

• If a conservative industry benchmark suggests 3–10% leakage in manual royalty programs, does that number feel believable for your portfolio? Options: Yes, believable or worse, Somewhat believable, No, we expect lower leakage, Unsure / no data
• Do you have historical audit results or spot-checks that estimate leakage or recovery amounts? If so, give timeframe and percent recovered or missed.
• Which discrepancy types do you see most often from licensees? Options: Late or missing reports, Incorrect unit counts, Wrong or outdated royalty rates, Missing SKUs or product mappings, Incorrect territories/periods, Manual discounts not accounted, Other
• Describe how disputes are initiated, tracked, escalated, and closed today (tools, SLAs, visibility).
• How frequently do you conduct formal audits or reconciliation reviews, and who typically requests them? Options: Quarterly, Biannual, Annual, Event-driven only, Never/irregular

Who Holds the Keys (and Who Gets Blamed)?

• If a major royalty error appears tomorrow, which roles would be expected to fix it—and which roles would own the fallout? Options: Licensing team, Finance / Accounting, Revenue Ops / BI, Legal / Contracts, COO / CFO, External audit firm, Licensee point of contact
• Which external stakeholders regularly participate in reporting or disputes (licensee finance, third-party distributors, auditors)? List by role or organization type.
• How often does turnover cause loss of royalty process knowledge, and how does that show up operationally? Options: Often / frequent, Occasionally, Rarely, Almost never
• What approvals or checkpoints must occur before adjustments or credit memos are posted to your ledger? Options: Finance approval, Licensing approval, Legal sign-off, Executive sign-off, No formal approvals, Other
• Who would be the primary project lead and who are the final decision-makers for a platform purchase and acceptance?

Is Your Data a Foundation or a House of Cards?

• If we tried to ingest your contracts and historical reports tomorrow, how consolidated and clean would that data be? Options: Well-structured and consolidated, Partially consolidated with gaps, Mostly fragmented in spreadsheets, Scattered across multiple systems with no single source
• Which systems currently hold contract and payment information? Select all that apply. Options: ERP (Oracle, NetSuite, SAP), Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM), CRM, Data warehouse / BI, Shared drives / spreadsheets, Third-party service provider, Other
• How are contract terms captured today: structured fields, free-text clauses, or spreadsheet notes? Options: Structured system fields, Free-text in contracts, Spreadsheet notes, Mixture of the above, We don’t have contracts digitized
• Give an example of a contract term that consistently causes confusion when you try to encode it (e.g., tiered rates, cross-product credits, minimum guarantees).
• How standardized are licensee report formats across partners, and which formats are the most common?
• What level of data access can licensees provide for ongoing automation (API/SFTP, scheduled exports, manual uploads, none)? Options: API/SFTP integration possible, Scheduled automated exports, Ad hoc emailed reports only, Portal access only, No access / must rely on invoices

What Would Truly Change Your Quarter?

• If this project delivered one clear, measurable win in the next quarter, what single outcome would make it undeniably successful?
• Which KPIs will your leadership use to judge success? Select all that apply. Options: % reduction in leakage, Days to recognize revenue, Time to reconcile a report, Number of disputes closed, Collections uplift / recovered revenue, Audit findings reduced, User adoption metrics
• What accuracy thresholds would feel acceptable for automated ingestion and royalty calculations? Options: >99% (required), 97–99% (acceptable with manual review), 95–97% (needs monitoring), <95% (not acceptable)
• What is a realistic timeline for you to expect ROI or clear business value (months)? Options: <3 months, 3–6 months, 6–12 months, 12+ months, Undetermined / depends
• Who must sign off on those KPIs, and what concerns might they raise when evaluating results?

Change Drivers and Risks: What's on the Table?

• What single internal reason concerns you most about this project stalling or being deprioritized? Options: Budget constraints, Competing priorities / projects, Data quality issues, Lack of technical resources, Legal / contract complexity, Licensee resistance
• Tell me about a past tech implementation that went well or poorly—what specifically drove the outcome?
• How tolerant are Finance and Executive stakeholders of parallel-run discrepancies during cutover? Options: Very tolerant (expected), Somewhat tolerant (small variance OK), Low tolerance (must match closely), Unknown
• Are there audit, compliance, or revenue recognition rules we must preserve during an implementation (SOX, GAAP interpretations, local tax requirements)? Please list.
• Is there an executive sponsor or champion for this initiative? If yes, who and what will they expect as proof of progress? Options: CFO, COO, Head of Licensing, Head of Finance, No identified sponsor yet

Next Steps: How Should We Move Together?

• If we proposed a short pilot using sample reports from 3–5 licensees, what internal approvals would be required to greenlight it?
• Which licensees would make the best pilot candidates (describe size, responsiveness, system capabilities)?
• How soon could you share representative sample files for ingestion testing? Options: Immediately / within a week, 1–2 weeks, 3–4 weeks, More than a month, Not sure / need to request
• Who should join an initial technical scoping call from your side (roles and approximate availability)?
• Are you prepared to run a parallel reconciliation cycle for at least one reporting period as part of acceptance criteria? Options: Yes, Maybe (need conditions), No
• What's the best way for our team to demonstrate early value so your stakeholders see momentum (e.g., ingestion accuracy report, recovered revenue estimate, turnaround time improvement)? Options: Ingestion accuracy report, Reconciliation time reduction, Recovered revenue estimate, Demo with live sample data, Audit-ready summary

• Solution Experience Kickoff — Current State, Consequences & Success Signals
• Hands-on Data Ingestion & Parsing Test
• Validation & Discrepancy Workflow Simulation
• Integration & Reporting Sanity Check (ERP / Contract System)
• Outcomes Review & Acceptance Decision

• Decide whether integration concerns block progression to Solution Scope or can be resolved within planned timelines.
• Seller to update mapping rules for the identified edge cases and deliver a new ingestion run within X business days.
• Customer to prioritize licensee file formats by volume/impact and confirm which ones must be supported first.
• Create an 'ingestion exceptions' tracker with example files attached and owners assigned.
• Recap: Contract Rules & Acceptance Criteria
• Demonstrate that the platform enforces contract terms and produces correct royalty calculations for representative scenarios.
• Prove the discrepancy and dispute workflows operate end-to-end and create an auditable trail for each case.
• Obtain customer confirmation that the validation outcomes map to their stated business consequences.
• Customer to confirm any contract interpretations used in calculations or provide clarifying clause language.
• Seller to codify agreed exception rules and update the system's validation rule-set.
• Create sample audit packages for two tested disputes and share with the customer's finance/audit teams for review.
• Required Outputs & Mapping Overview
• Verify that platform outputs satisfy ERP and contract-system input requirements or identify exact gaps to remediate.
• Agree the reconciliation approach and evidence needed for finance to accept parallel-run results.
• Introductions & Meeting Objectives
• Customer IT/Finance to provide a sample of target ERP import templates and GL mapping rules.
• Seller to deliver a mapping spec and sample export file adapted to the customer's ERP within agreed timeframe.
• Schedule a short follow-up integration test once mapping spec is implemented.
• Executive Recap of Pre-conditions and Acceptance Criteria
• Obtain formal customer validation against the Solution Experience acceptance criteria (pass/conditional/fail).
• If conditional, capture a prioritized remediation plan with owners and deadlines to achieve full acceptance.
• Agree next-stage kickoff (Solution Scope or Mutual Commit) and required inputs for that stage.
• Produce a consolidated test-results pack (metrics, exception list, audit packages) and circulate to stakeholders for sign-off.
• If conditional: Seller to deliver remediation plan with timelines; Customer to confirm acceptance or request changes.
• Schedule the Solution Scope kickoff meeting once acceptance is recorded.
• Make the current state crystal clear in one sentence and record the specific report types and stakeholders affected.
• Explicitly quantify the consequence of the current-state problems with at least one metric (revenue, time, or risk).
• Agree a one-sentence future-state outcome and measurable acceptance criteria that will govern test success.
• Confirm the exact sample files and pre-work responsibilities so hands-on sessions can run without delays.
• Customer to upload agreed sample licensee reports, annotated contract excerpts, and a brief statement of current-state cost (metric) to shared folder.
• Seller to prepare ingestion runbook, initial mapping templates, and test plan aligned to acceptance criteria.
• Assign owners for test execution, validation sign-off, and issue triage.
• Recap Pre-conditions & Acceptance Targets
• Prove end-to-end ingestion of representative sample files and measure parsing accuracy against the agreed acceptance target.
• Identify and document format edge cases and mapping fixes required to reach acceptance.
• Agree remediation owners and timelines for unresolved parsing issues.
• Live Ingestion Execution
• Current State — One-Sentence Diagnosis
• Summary of Test Results (Ingestion / Validation / Disputes / Integration)
• Demo: Export to ERP & Contract System
• Run Validation Scenarios
• Customer Feedback & Forced Validation
• Reconciliation & Journal Entry Flow
• Consequence — Quantify Impact
• Review Parsing Results & Error Logs
• Discrepancy Flagging & Triage
• Future State — One-Sentence Outcome
• Dispute Workflow & Communication Simulation
• Map Adjustments & Edge-case Handling
• Integration Gaps & Remediation Plan
• Decision & Next Steps
• Document Sign-off & Communications
• Confirm Sample Dataset & Pre-work
• Audit Trail & Reporting
• Validation: Ingestion Accuracy Check
• Decision: Ready for Solution Scope Inputs
• Define Acceptance Criteria & Success Signals
• Force Validation Check
• Document Remaining Format Variants
• Logistics & Roles for Hands-on Sessions

• Ingest and normalize licensee sales reports
• Encode and validate contract royalty terms
• Configure royalty rate tables and minimum guarantees
• Run automated royalty calculations and allocations
• Generate invoices and distribute billing batches
• Reconcile remittances and match payments automatically
• Flag discrepancies and manage dispute workflows
• Provision licensee portal and onboard users
• Integrate platform with ERP and contract systems
• Cleanse legacy data and normalize contract files
• Backfill historical royalties and run parallel reconciliation
• Produce audit-ready summaries and exportable reports
• Support audits with forensic transaction tracebacks
• Monitor royalties for MG shortfalls and invoice adjustments

Ingest and normalize licensee sales reports

• Which file formats do your licensees submit sales reports in? Options: CSV, Excel/XLSX, PDF (native or scanned), Fixed-width / TXT, EDI, API uploads, Other
• How many unique licensee report templates or formats do you expect to ingest? Options: 1-5, 6-20, 21-100, 100+
• What is the average reporting frequency per licensee? Options: Monthly, Quarterly, Annually, Ad-hoc / As-submitted
• Do reports include SKU-level (line) detail, summary totals, or a mix? Options: Line-level detail (SKU), Summary totals only, Mix of both
• Do you require automated OCR/PDF parsing for scanned or image-based reports? Options: Yes, No
• Describe any non-standard columns, regional/localization (currency/date), or calculated fields that require normalization.

Encode and validate contract royalty terms

• Approximately how many active contracts need to be encoded into the system? Options: <50, 50-200, 201-500, 500+
• Are royalty terms largely standardized or highly variable across contracts? Options: Mostly standardized, Moderately variable, Highly variable
• Which complex clause types are present in your contracts (select all that apply)? Options: Tiered rates, Territory splits, Product-specific rates, Escalators/step changes, Minimum guarantees, Offsets/deductions, Other
• Is there a canonical source for contract terms (e.g., CLM) or are terms spread across spreadsheets and PDFs? Options: Contract Management System (CLM), Spreadsheets / Documents, Both (CLM + files), No single source
• Do you require a legal or commercial pre-processing step to resolve ambiguous or conflicting terms before encoding? Options: Yes, No
• Provide examples of the most common non-standard royalty clauses that will need special encoding rules.

Configure royalty rate tables and minimum guarantees

• Will rate tables and MG schedules be global or vary by contract/licensee/product? Options: Global (one set), Vary by contract/licensee, Vary by product/brand, Mixed
• Do you have existing rate tables and MG schedules available for import? Options: Yes, fully documented, Partial / inconsistent, No
• How many distinct rate tiers or MG schedules are in scope? Options: 1-5, 6-20, 21-50, 50+
• How are minimum guarantees handled contractually (select one)? Options: MG paid upfront and recouped, MG invoiced separately periodically, MG credited at year-end, No MGs, Other
• Do you need support for retroactive adjustments, true-ups, or backdated rate changes? Options: Yes, No
• Describe any rounding, allocation, or proration rules required for rate and MG calculations.

Run automated royalty calculations and allocations

• What calculation cadence do you require for automated runs? Options: Monthly, Quarterly, Annually, Ad-hoc/on-demand
• Do calculations need to support split allocations across multiple owners, brands, or cost centers? Options: Yes, No
• Is FX/currency conversion required as part of the calculation workflow? Options: Yes, No
• What tolerance thresholds should determine auto-posting vs. manual review? Options: Exact only, <1%, 1-5%, >5%
• Do you require detailed, auditable calculation logs showing inputs, formulas, and outputs? Options: Yes, No
• Describe any custom allocation rules (deductions, returns, billbacks, sample reserves) to be implemented.

Generate invoices and distribute billing batches

• Do you require templated invoices with brand-specific layouts or additional legal wording? Options: Yes, No
• Which invoice distribution channels are required? Options: Email, Licensee Portal, SFTP/Managed File, EDI/API, Paper/Postal, Other
• Should invoicing be issued per licensee agreement or consolidated across multiple agreements? Options: Per agreement, Consolidated per licensee, Both depending on licensee
• Do invoices need to be posted into your AR/billing/ERP system automatically? Options: Yes, No
• Any tax, VAT, or jurisdictional invoice fields that must be included (describe)?

Reconcile remittances and match payments automatically

• Which payment methods do licensees use that must be reconciled? Options: ACH/Bank transfer, Wire, Checks, Credit card, Portal payments, Other
• Do you receive bank statement files or remittance advices electronically for matching? Options: Bank statement files (CSV/MT940), Remittance emails/attachments, Portal uploads from licensees, None
• Should the system perform automatic matching (invoice number/amount/reference) and post matches to the ledger? Options: Yes, auto-match and post, Yes, suggest matches for manual approval, No, manual matching only
• What partial-payment or currency tolerance should the matcher allow? Options: Exact only, Small tolerance (<1%), 1-5%, Custom
• Describe typical remittance exceptions that require manual review (e.g., short pays, unapplied funds).

Flag discrepancies and manage dispute workflows

• Which discrepancy types should be auto-flagged by the platform? Options: Underpayment, Missing report, Late report, Unit/quantity mismatch, Rate mismatch, Reporting period mismatch, Other
• Who should own the initial dispute outreach and communications? Options: Licensor finance team, Customer Success/vendor, Platform-automated notifications, Licensee account manager
• What SLA do you require for acknowledgement and resolution of disputes? Options: 48 hours, 5 business days, 2 weeks, Custom
• Should dispute records require attachments, audit trail, and version control? Options: Yes, No
• Should dispute outcomes automatically create ledger entries (credit notes/adjusting invoices) or require manual posting? Options: Auto-create ledger adjustments, Require manual posting after approval, Combine both
• Describe your escalation path and stakeholders involved for unresolved or high-value disputes.

Provision licensee portal and onboard users

• How many licensees and total user accounts are expected to be provisioned initially? Options: <50 licensees, 50-200, 201-500, 500+
• Will licensees submit reports through the portal, only view invoices, or both? Options: Submit reports, View invoices/agreements, Both
• Do you require Single Sign-On (SSO) or SAML integration for licensee users? Options: Yes, No
• What onboarding approach do you prefer for licensees (vendor-led training, self-service guides, or hybrid)? Options: Vendor-led training, Self-service materials, Hybrid
• Do licensee users need differentiated permission levels (submitter, approver, viewer)? Options: Yes, No
• Are there language or localization requirements for the portal UI or communications?

Integrate platform with ERP and contract systems

• Which ERP systems must be integrated for invoice posting and payment posting? Options: NetSuite, SAP, Oracle ERP Cloud, Microsoft Dynamics, QuickBooks, Other
• Which Contract Management or CLM systems must the platform sync with? Options: Icertis, DocuSign CLM, Coupa, SharePoint/Drive exports, Other
• Do you require real-time API integrations or periodic batch exports for ERP/CLM? Options: Real-time API sync, Daily batch, Weekly batch, On-demand/manual export
• Which integration touchpoints are required (invoice posting, vendor master sync, GL mapping, payment status backfeed)? Options: Invoice posting, Vendor/master data sync, GL mapping, Payment status backfeed, Other
• Are there specific IT security, firewall, or VPN requirements for connecting to your systems? Options: Yes, No
• Please provide technical contact and any available API docs/specs to plan the integration.

Cleanse legacy data and normalize contract files

• What formats are your legacy contract and reporting files (spreadsheets, PDFs, scanned images, CLM exports)? Options: Spreadsheets (Excel/CSV), PDFs (native), Scanned images, CLM/DB exports, Other
• Estimate the number of contracts or records that require cleansing. Options: <100, 100-500, 501-2,000, 2,000+
• Do contracts contain conflicting or missing key fields (rates, territories, parties) that require manual resolution? Options: Yes, No
• Would you like the vendor to perform full data cleansing, provide guided tools, or both? Options: Vendor performs cleansing, Self-service tools only, Hybrid approach
• Is historical amendment/version history required to be preserved and linked to the normalized contract? Options: Yes, No
• Describe the most common data quality issues (naming inconsistencies, missing dates, ambiguous rates) encountered in your legacy files.

Backfill historical royalties and run parallel reconciliation

• What historical period needs to be backfilled (select the closest)? Options: Last 12 months, 1-3 years, 3+ years, Custom
• Do you require running a parallel reconciliation in your accounting system for at least one full reporting cycle before cutover? Options: Yes, No

• Statement of Work (SOW)
• Master Services Agreement (MSA)
• Commercial Terms & Fee Schedule
• Payment & Invoicing Agreement
• Data Migration & Ownership Agreement
• Parallel-Run Acceptance Criteria & Sign-Off
• Integration & ERP Connectivity Plan
• Data Processing Agreement (DPA) & Security Addendum
• Licensee Onboarding & Access Responsibilities
• Implementation Timeline & Milestones
• Change Order & Scope Management
• Acceptance & Go-Live Authorization
• Support & Service Level Agreement (SLA)
• Risk Allocation, Insurance & Indemnity Schedule

• Success Metrics Review — Realized Savings & ROI
• Audit Readiness & Evidence Handoff
• Outstanding Issues Triage & Remediation Plan
• Enhancements Governance & Shared Channel Setup
• Operational Health Check & Quarterly Business Review (QBR)

• Create the shared collaboration channel and invite agreed stakeholders with role descriptions.
• Owner to deliver response templates for auditor queries and escalate any critical blockers.
• Issue Inventory & Severity Triage
• Prioritize issues so the team focuses on highest business impact items first.
• Assign remediation owners and commit to delivery dates and verification steps.
• Establish interim controls for any risks until permanent fixes are in place.
• Create remediation tickets in the tracking system with owner, ETA, and acceptance criteria.
• Schedule verification cycles (parallel reconciliation) to validate fixes before closure.
• Implement agreed interim controls for high-risk items and document monitoring steps.
• Communication Channel Decision
• Establish a single shared channel and intake process for all ongoing requests.
• Agree a transparent prioritization model that aligns with customer business outcomes.
• Set release cadence and governance meetings to keep enhancements moving predictably.
• Welcome & Objectives
• Publish the request intake template and link to the ticketing system.
• Schedule monthly roadmap prioritization and quarterly roadmap review meetings.
• Executive Summary & Objectives
• Align executives and operations on current health, KPIs, and next-quarter priorities.
• Identify and escalate high-impact risks that require executive attention.
• Confirm roadmap items that will deliver additional savings or audit improvements in the coming quarter.
• Publish the KPI dashboard and distribute the QBR slide deck to stakeholders.
• Develop a mitigation plan for any red risks including owners and deadlines.
• Confirm next quarter's prioritized roadmap items and resource allocations.
• Validate the realized savings with source data and agree on any required adjustments.
• Obtain agreement on accounting treatment and next steps for finance sign-off.
• Document any open questions that require additional data or rework.
• Deliver a savings workbook with line-item source links and reconciliation notes.
• Finance to confirm GL posting guidance and timing for recognized savings.
• Owner to produce any missing source evidence for flagged variances within 7 business days.
• Audit Scope & Criteria
• Confirm the audit package is complete for the agreed scope or document remaining gaps.
• Assign evidence owners and timelines to close outstanding items.
• Establish an agreed process for auditor access and questions (who, how, SLA).
• Assemble final audit bundle (reports, raw files, reconciliation notes) and place in secure location.
• Grant auditor access or create temporary credentials and document the access window.
• Baseline Recap
• Root-Cause Analysis Samples
• Audit-Ready Reports Walkthrough
• KPI Dashboard Review
• Request Intake Template
• Prioritization Framework
• Remediation Options & ETA
• Adoption & Licensee Onboarding
• Control & Access Mapping
• Savings Delivery Presentation
• Variance & Audit Trail Review
• Open Evidence & Remediation List
• Release Cadence & SLAs
• Risk Register & Mitigations
• Rollback & Risk Mitigation
• Verification & Acceptance Criteria
• Roles & Governance Rhythm
• Accounting & Recognition Discussion
• Handoff Process & Auditor Access
• Goals & Roadmap for Next Quarter
• Decisions & Next Steps
• Wrap-up & Commitments