An outcome definition says exactly what counts as one completed piece of work, what evidence proves it, and how long it has to hold. Write one for every unit you pay for. If a result is not covered by a definition, it should not be on the invoice.
Definitions are where outcome pricing succeeds or fails. Some AI vendors count a support conversation as resolved when the customer confirms it, or when the customer leaves without asking for a human. The second condition can include customers who gave up. Others have moved to billing only verified resolutions. The difference is written in the definition.
Step 1: Name the outcome in business terms
Use the words your team uses: "certificate of insurance issued", "invoice matched and posted", "renewal file complete". Avoid system words like "task processed" or "workflow run". If a manager would not recognize it as finished work, it is not an outcome.
Step 2: State the conditions that make it complete
List what must be true. For "invoice matched and posted":
- Matched to a purchase order and goods receipt within agreed tolerances
- Posted to the ledger in the correct period and cost center
- Supplier and bank details verified against the vendor master
Each condition should be something a person could check.
Step 3: List the evidence that proves it
Say what the record must contain: the source documents, the checks run and their results, the system reference where the result landed, and any human approval with a name and time. If the evidence is not in the record, the outcome is not billable.
Step 4: Set how long it must hold
Some outcomes can be reversed. An invoice can be reversed, a certificate can be reissued because it was wrong. Add a holding period: "not reversed within 30 days". Billing waits until the period has passed, or is credited back if the outcome fails.
Step 5: Write down what does not count
Be explicit: duplicates, items the client had to redo, items that failed a check and were sent back, retries by the agent. Listing exclusions up front prevents most disputes later.
Step 6: Agree who can dispute it and how
Name who on each side can challenge an outcome, the time limit for doing so, and how it is settled. With a full record behind every item, most disputes take minutes.
Template
- Outcome: name in business terms
- Complete when: conditions, as a list
- Evidence: what the record must contain
- Holds for: holding period, if any
- Does not count: exclusions
- Disputes: who, how, time limit
At Agentic MSP, every billable outcome has a definition like this, agreed before go-live. See how outcome pricing works and what the Evidence File records.