Deals and pipelines

A pipeline is the list of steps your sales process goes through, such as "Qualified", "Proposal", and "Won". A deal is one sales opportunity moving through those steps. This guide shows you how to set up a pipeline and manage deals day to day.

Before you begin

• You need editor access or higher to create, edit, or move deals.
• Decide on your stages before you start. Write down what must be true for a deal to enter each stage. For example, "Proposal sent" means the customer has the proposal in writing.
• Use more than one pipeline only when processes really differ, such as "New business" and "Renewals". Don't create a pipeline per salesperson; use the owner filter instead.

Set up a pipeline

1. Open CRM → Pipelines and choose New pipeline.
2. Enter a Pipeline Name, for example "New business", and an optional Description.
3. Under Pipeline stages, review the starter stages (Lead, Qualified, Proposal, Negotiation, Closed Won, Closed Lost). Rename them or use Add stage.
4. For each stage, set:
   • Probability: the chance a deal at this stage will close (0–100%). It's used for weighted totals.
   • Target days: how long a deal should normally stay in this stage.
   • Outcome: Open, Won, or Lost.
5. Drag stages to reorder them. Changes apply when you save.
6. Tick Set as default pipeline if most new deals should use it.
7. Choose Create Pipeline.

What you should see: the pipeline appears on Pipelines with its stages, open deals, and weighted value.

Example stages

Stage names that describe something that happened, like "Proposal sent", work better than vague ones like "Warm".

Create a deal

1. Open CRM → Deals and choose New deal.
2. Enter a Deal name, for example "Acme Corp — Pro plan".
3. Add the Value, Currency, and Expected close date.
4. Choose the Pipeline and Stage.
5. Optionally link a lead in Linked lead (optional).
6. Choose Create record.

View and find deals

Choose a layout in the view switch:

• Table: a spreadsheet-style list. Click a cell to edit it in place.
• Kanban: a board with one column per stage. Drag a card to move the deal.
• Forecast: monthly totals against a goal. See sales forecast.

Use Search deals…, filters, and sort options such as Expected close · soonest or Value · high to low. The built-in views All deals, Open deals, and Won deals are a good starting point. Choose Save view to keep your own. You can share a view with the workspace or make it your default.

The tiles at the top show Weighted forecast, Open pipeline, Won, and Lost.

Work on a deal

Select a deal's name to open its panel. Here you can:

• Use quick actions: Add note, Add task, Email, Call, or Collect payment.
• Change the owner, stage, close date, and Forecast category.
• Read the Deal brief. See deal brief, buying roles, and AI fields.
• See activity, tasks, and related records on the other tabs.

Move a deal to a new stage

In Kanban, drag the card to the new column. In Table, click the Stage cell and choose the stage.

After a move to a later stage, Spacebrain may remind you what's missing, for example Deal moved. Still needed: Assign an owner. Add a deal value. The move still counts, but fill in the gaps so reports stay accurate.

Before moving a deal, check whether an automation watches that stage. A stage change can notify teammates, start a sequence, or create tasks.

Mark a deal won or lost

• Won: choose Won on the row. The deal must have a value first. Otherwise you see Add a deal value before marking it won.
• Lost: choose Lost and give a reason, such as "No budget" or "Chose a competitor". A reason is required.

To close several deals at once, select them and choose Won or Lost in the selection bar.

When an edit is refused

If Spacebrain can't save a change, a message explains why. These are the most common reasons:

On Kanban, if a move is refused, the card goes back to its old column. Open the deal and make the change there to see the reason.

Change a live pipeline safely

Editing or deleting a stage that has deals in it can change reports and automations. Before you change a live pipeline:

1. Count the deals in the affected stages.
2. Find automations, sequences, and saved views that use them.
3. Decide where those deals should move.
4. Tell your team when the change happens.

The default pipeline can't be deleted. Set another pipeline as default first.

Run a weekly pipeline review

Filter by owner and look for deals that have stayed in a stage longer than its Target days, deals without a next step, and close dates in the past. Ask what actually happened to put each deal in its stage. Close deals that have gone quiet instead of leaving them open forever.

If something goes wrong

• The board is empty. Check the selected pipeline and filters. If you see Create a pipeline to use the board view., create one first.
• Totals show "Mixed currencies". Add a Currency filter to compare like with like.
• A stage change triggered something unexpected. Check the automation's run history before moving the deal again.

FAQ

What's the difference between stage and forecast category?

The stage says where the deal is in your process. The forecast category says how confident you are it will close this period.

Can I undo an inline edit?

Yes. After a successful edit, choose Undo in the message that appears.

Next step

Review the month in the sales forecast.