Settings and data
Set up the stages and rules of your sales pipelines
Define the stages leads and opportunities move through, with names in both languages, colours, order and probability, and decide which moves are allowed and which need a reason.
3 min readLast updated
In this article
Your pipelines are your sales process written down. The stages are the columns of the leads and opportunities boards; the transitions are the rules for moving between them. A clear pipeline keeps reps consistent and makes the forecast meaningful.
Before you start
You need access to the pipelines screen to open it, and the permission to add pipelines to change stages and transitions.
Every company starts with a default lead pipeline (New, Contacted, Qualified, Proposal, Negotiation, Won, Lost) and a default opportunity pipeline (Prospecting, Qualification, Proposal, Negotiation, Won, Lost), with every move allowed and a reason asked for moves into a lost stage.
Choose the pipeline
Open CRM › Settings & Data › Pipelines. The page is titled Pipeline Configuration.
Select Leads or Opportunities at the top.
Add or edit a stage
Under Stages, select New stage, or open an existing stage to edit it.
Fill the Name and the Name (Arabic). Users see the name in the language they work in.
Pick the Color and set the Order, which decides the column's position on the board.
For opportunities, set the Probability (%). Deals moved into the stage take this probability, which drives the weighted forecast.
Switch on Won stage or Lost stage for the closing stages. Switch off Active to retire a stage without deleting it.
Select Save.
A stage that still has records cannot be deleted: "A stage with records on it can't be deleted. Move them first."
Set the allowed transitions
Under Allowed transitions, a stage move is permitted only when a matching transition exists.
Choose From and To. Choose Initial (on create) in From to set the stage new records start in.
Tick Require reason if the user must explain the move.
Select Add transition.
Remove the transitions you do not want, to enforce a strict pipeline. For example, allow Qualified to go to Proposal but not straight to Won.
How the rules show up for users
A move that has no transition is refused on the board with "That stage move isn't allowed by the pipeline rules."
A move marked Reason required opens a reason box before it is saved, and the reason is kept in the stage history.
A won or lost opportunity never leaves its stage by a move. It comes back with Reopen on the deal page.
Moving a lead into a stage updates its status, and a lead that was converted cannot be moved.
Common questions
We installed an industry pack and now have two won stages. Which one is used? When a deal is marked won, the system uses the active won stage with the lowest order.
Do changes affect existing records? Records stay in their stage. New probabilities apply to deals moved after the change.