How to manage deals and tasks that auto-post revenue

Step 1: Create a new deal and fill its core fields

Budget: 1 minute. Go to Deals > New deal. Fill in:

• Deal title: a short, recognisable name (e.g., "Initech rollout" or "Globex seats x40"). This label appears on the card and in the finance ledger if the deal is won.
• Value + currency: the numeric deal value and an ISO currency code (USD, EUR, GBP, TRY, or any other). The board shows column totals in the currency you enter; multi-currency deals are displayed as-is without automatic conversion.
• Expected close date: your best estimate. Used for stuck-deal awareness in the weekly review; does not trigger any automation by itself.
• Linked contact: search for and select the contact this deal belongs to. A deal must have a contact.

Save. The deal card appears in the Lead column with the value, contact name, and a probability bar.

Note on Deals vs the contact pipeline: the sales pipeline setup guide covers moving contacts through a funnel as they respond to outreach. Deals are different: they represent a specific dollar-value opportunity you manage by hand on top of that funnel. A deal always links to a contact; a contact does not need a deal.

Step 2: Understand the six stages

The Deals board has six built-in columns. Won and Lost are terminal: moving a deal into either one locks the probability and triggers the finance auto-post (Won) or closes the deal without a revenue entry (Lost).

Stage 1: Lead
  What it means:  A fresh opportunity. Value is rough; need is unconfirmed.
  Probability:    Set manually; typically 10-25%.
  Move out when:  Budget and need are confirmed by the contact.

Stage 2: Qualified
  What it means:  Real budget and a real need confirmed.
  Probability:    Set manually; typically 30-50%.
  Move out when:  A concrete proposal or quote has been requested.

Stage 3: Proposal
  What it means:  Numbers are on the table. A written proposal has been sent.
  Probability:    Set manually; typically 50-70%.
  Move out when:  The contact is reviewing or negotiating terms.

Stage 4: Negotiation
  What it means:  Final terms being worked out. Close is near.
  Probability:    Set manually; typically 70-90%.
  Move out when:  A final yes or no has been given.

Stage 5: Won
  What it means:  Closed. Deal is done.
  Probability:    Locked to 100 automatically.
  Finance:        Income entry auto-posted to finance ledger.

Stage 6: Lost
  What it means:  Closed out.
  Probability:    Locked to 0 automatically.
  Finance:        No income entry created.

Stages are changed with the dropdown on each card, not by dragging. This keeps the board fast and accurate even with hundreds of open deals.

Step 3: Set win probability and read the weighted forecast

Win probability is a number from 0 to 100 that represents your estimate of the chance this specific deal closes. Set it on the deal card. The board computes a weighted forecast from it:

weighted_value = deal_value x (win_probability / 100)

# Example: four open deals
Deal                  Value     Probability  Weighted
Initech rollout       $58,000   60%          $34,800
Globex seats x40      $32,500   45%          $14,625
Northwind trial       $15,000   15%           $2,250
Umbrella renewal      $41,000   80%          $32,800
                      -------   ---          -------
TOTAL WEIGHTED FORECAST         ---          $84,475

The column totals on the board show the live sum per stage. The overall weighted forecast is the number to compare against your monthly revenue target.

If your weighted forecast is less than 2x your monthly target, you need either more top-of-pipeline deals or better conversion. If it is greater than 3x, you have healthy coverage. This is the same coverage framework described in the sales pipeline setup guide, but here probability is set per deal rather than per stage, giving you finer control over deals that are individually stronger or weaker than stage average.

Step 4: Attach tasks to the deal and assign them

Budget: 2 minutes per task. Open the deal and go to the Tasks section. Click Add task and fill in:

• Title: what needs to be done (e.g., "Send signed contract to Initech", "Follow up on Umbrella renewal terms").
• Priority: Low, Medium, or High. High tasks show prominently in the Tasks view.
• Status: Open, In Progress, or Done.
• Due date: any past-due open task turns red in the Tasks list and is flagged as overdue.

The task is automatically linked to this deal and to the deal's contact. The deal card shows a live count of open tasks (e.g., "1 open"). Open the global Tasks view to see all tasks across all deals and contacts. Use the "Overdue only" filter to triage quickly at the start of a day.

# Task hygiene rule of thumb
- 1-3 open tasks per deal is healthy
- 4+ open tasks on a single deal = review if they are all needed
- 0 open tasks + deal in Lead/Qualified = deal may be stale

Step 5: Move the deal through stages

Use the Move to stage dropdown on the deal card. The dropdown appears at the bottom of the card. Select the new stage and save.

Best practices for stage transitions:

1. Only move a deal to Qualified when budget and need are both confirmed by the contact, not just when you think they might have a need.
2. Only move a deal to Proposal when a written proposal or quote has been sent.
3. Only move a deal to Negotiation when the contact is actively reviewing terms, not just because you want to look optimistic in the forecast.
4. Close tasks as you complete them so the open-task count on the card stays accurate.

You can move a deal backward (e.g., Negotiation back to Proposal) without penalty. The probability bar updates to whatever you set manually; only Won and Lost lock it.

Step 6: Mark a deal Won and confirm the finance auto-post

This is the headline feature. Set the stage to Won.

What happens automatically:

• Probability locks to 100.
• ClosedAt timestamp is recorded (used in reporting to know when revenue landed, not just when the deal was created).
• An income transaction is posted to your finance ledger labelled Deal won: [deal title] with the deal value, currency, and a Completed status.

The posting is idempotent: if you accidentally toggle the deal out of Won and back again, only one income row is ever created. You cannot duplicate it.

To verify: open Finance > Ledger and look for the income entry with the label matching your deal title. It should appear within seconds of moving the deal to Won. If you do not see it, check that the Finance module is enabled on your plan (see the CRM Finance setup guide).

# Finance ledger entry (what you will see)
Type:    Income
Label:   Deal won: Initech rollout
Amount:  +58,000 USD
Status:  Completed
Date:    [timestamp of when you moved to Won]

Step 7: Mark a deal Lost and record the reason

Set the stage to Lost. Probability locks to 0. No finance entry is created.

Immediately add a note or tag with the loss reason. Consistent loss-reason tagging is the most valuable data you can collect for improving your sales motion:

Common loss reason tags
-----------------------
Lost: price            - competitor had lower price
Lost: competitor       - lost to named competitor
Lost: no budget        - budget was cut or reallocated
Lost: timing           - right need, wrong quarter
Lost: no response      - contact stopped replying (ghosted)
Lost: not qualified    - need was not real when probed deeper

Open tasks on the deal stay in the task list after a loss. Review them: tasks like "Remove from sequence" or "Update contact status" are still worth completing. Tasks like "Prepare follow-up proposal" can be closed as no longer needed.

Review your loss reasons quarterly. If "Lost: price" accounts for more than 40% of your losses, the problem is either pricing, positioning, or deal qualification, not closing skills.

Step 8: Run a weekly pipeline review

Budget: 20-30 minutes, once a week. A weekly review of the Deals board has three parts:

1. Weighted forecast vs target

Read the weighted forecast from the board column totals. Compare it against your monthly target.

# Weekly forecast snapshot (example)
Stage          Open deals  Total value  Avg prob  Weighted
Lead               3        $39,000      18%       $7,020
Qualified          1        $32,500      45%      $14,625
Proposal           1        $58,000      60%      $34,800
Negotiation        1        $41,000      80%      $32,800
                   -        -------       --      -------
TOTAL WEIGHTED                                    $89,245

Monthly target: $50,000
Coverage:       $89,245 / $50,000 = 1.78x   <-- below 2x, needs attention

2. Stuck deals

A stuck deal is one that has been in the same stage for longer than your typical cycle. Flag any deal where:

• It has been in Lead for more than 14 days with no task completed.
• It has been in Proposal or Negotiation for more than 7 days with no activity.
• The expected close date has passed and the deal is still open.

For each stuck deal: attempt one re-engagement via the contact's primary channel. If no reply in 7 days, move to Lost with reason "Lost: no response" and return to a nurture sequence after 90 days.

3. Task hygiene

Open Tasks > Overdue only. Clear every overdue task: complete it, reschedule it, or close it as no longer needed. Overdue tasks on open deals are the clearest signal that something is slipping.