Vic Sol · Decision DeskOne-page sheet · 10 min to use
Before an agent pays: 3 signed permissions
For anyone offered an AI agent that pays invoices who wants the limits on one sheet before granting permission.
When to use it
A vendor offers you an agent to pay invoices.
Every unusual case turns into a debate about whether the agent was allowed to act.
Nobody can say who answers if the agent gets it wrong.
The sheet
Permission
What is written down
Process owner's signature
1. The exact task
Pay invoices already approved by a person. Not decide whether they get approved. Task: ____________
2. The limit and when it stops
Up to what amount, and which cases go to a person, such as a new vendor or an amount that does not fit. Limit: US$ ______ · Stops if: ____________
3. Who answers if it gets it wrong
A named person, not "the system". Name: ____________
The process owner signs it, not the vendor.
My rule: an agent without limits does not save you work. It hands you the risk.
Owner: ____________ · Date: ______ · Next review: ______
How to fill it in 10 minutes
Write the exact task with a verb. If it includes deciding, it is not ready yet.
Set the limit in dollars and list the cases that go to a person.
Write the name of who answers. A shared title or "the system" does not count.
Get the process owner's signature and write down the next review date.
The line that is almost always missing
When it stops. With the case written down, nobody has to reopen what to do when a new vendor or an amount that does not fit shows up: the agent stops and hands it to a person.
Vic Sol · Decision Desk · vicsol.org/resources/ · Free to use with attribution. This sheet structures a conversation; it is not legal, financial or audit advice.
Open the .docx in Word (or the .xlsx in Excel) or print it before the meeting.
Fill the fields with the team; leave the blanks visible, they are the discussion.
Close with one owner, one date and one next action. Nothing else.
Prompt
Generate this sheet for your case
Paste this prompt into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini together with your proposal, process or policy. It reproduces the sheet with your data and flags what is missing.
Act as a process owner about to sign the permissions of an AI agent that makes payments.
Context I am giving you:
- Process and what the vendor proposes: [ ]
- Which steps a person already approves: [ ]
- Usual amounts and cases that fall outside the norm: [ ]
- Who could answer if the agent gets it wrong: [ ]
What I need, one line per permission:
1. The exact task. What it does and what it does not decide.
2. The limit and when it stops: up to what amount, and which cases go to a person.
3. Who answers if it gets it wrong: a named person, not "the system".
Flag what is missing before it can be signed. Output format: a table Permission · What is written down · What is missing. 250 words maximum. No introduction. Do not invent figures.
Vic Sol