Build a pipeline

To build a pipeline, open the collection's pipeline, add its stages in order, give each a category (open, closed, or archived), and mark which closed stages are won and lost. Stages live only inside a pipeline, and every collection with stages already has a default one to start from.

Requirements

• A role that can edit the collection's stages.
• A collection whose entries move through a process. If you are unsure whether you need stages or an ordinary field, see Stages vs option field vs status.

Steps

1. Open the collection's pipeline. A collection with stages already has a default pipeline (elsewhere: sales pipeline, deal pipeline). A collection without stages gets one when you create its first pipeline.
2. Add the stages in order. An advisory firm tracking pursuits might use: Identified, Qualified, Proposal, Negotiation, Won, Lost, Withdrawn. Give each stage a name and a color; both must be unique within the collection.
3. Set each stage's category.
   • Open: work in progress. Identified through Negotiation.
   • Closed: the outcome is decided. Won and Lost.
   • Archived: set aside without an outcome. Withdrawn.
4. Mark won and lost. Tell the pipeline which closed stage means won and which means lost. A won or lost stage must be in the closed category.
5. Add the forecast, if you use one. Each stage can carry a win probability and a forecast category: pipeline, best case, commit, omitted, won, or lost. Reports weight an entry's amount by the probability of the stage it sits in.
6. Check the order. Reorder stages so they read left to right as the work moves. The first open stage is where new entries land when no stage is chosen.

After the pipeline exists

• Show it as a board: a kanban view arranges entries in columns by stage. See Views and record layouts.
• Act on stage changes: an automation can fire when an entry's stage changes. See Automation triggers.
• Read the flow: a dashboard can show pipeline panels, how many entries sit in each stage and how long they stay. See Build a dashboard.

Notes and limitations

• Stage names and colors are unique within a collection.
• A collection's default pipeline, and its last remaining pipeline, cannot be archived.
• Each entry keeps a history of the stages it moved through.
• Renaming or recoloring a stage keeps the entries in it; they are not moved.
• The collections that come with a new business already have pipelines. Adjust those rather than starting over; see What to do after installing a blueprint.

Related

For how stages fit the rest of the model, see Understanding the Sonta data model.