Sales Pipeline

Overview

The sales pipeline gathers all your open quotes to move them forward to signature. It is built on folders: every folder with the Quote in progress status is a pipeline opportunity.

A Folder's Sales Information

The pipeline reads the information entered on each folder (main tab of the folder):

The status names above are translated for readability; use the labels shown in your instance.

A Folder's Revenue and Margin

Each folder's revenue and margin are calculated automatically from its items and recalculated whenever an item changes:

• one-off fees (initial fees, licences) count once;
• recurring subscriptions are expressed per month, then projected over the chosen valuation period (see below);
• the margin is the difference between the selling price (discounts included) and the purchase price, including the item's operating fees.

Tip: purchase prices on catalog items are essential for accurate margins. See Product Catalog.

Steps Board

The steps board shows open quotes as cards, with one column per sales step, in the order and colour set in the settings (see Configuring the Pipeline).

• Drag a card from one column to another to change its step.
• The + button at the top of a column creates a folder directly at that step.
• Each column header shows the number of folders and the column's total revenue and margin, according to the chosen valuation period.
• A column can be collapsed with the arrow in its header.

Each card shows: the folder name, the customer, the status, the probability, the sales rep, the creation date, revenue and margin, estimated order and delivery dates, category and sector. Hover an item to see its label. The card menu (three dots) opens, edits or deletes the folder.

Projection Board

The projection board shows the same quotes, this time sorted by probability of signature: one column per level, from 0 % to 90 %. Drag a card to update its probability.

Column totals give an instant reading of the potential: what is almost won (90 %), what still needs work, and what is still uncertain.

Good practice: review probabilities every week in the sales meeting. Projected revenue in the statistics and the forecast depends directly on them.

Search, Filters and Valuation Period

Both boards share the same tools at the top of the page:

• search on the folder name, the customer or the sales rep;
• the Filters button: folder category, creation, estimated order and estimated delivery dates, sales rep, sales admin, technician, business finder, manager, technical manager, payer. Your filters are remembered for the session;
• the valuation period, which sets the amounts shown on the cards and in the columns:

The 18-month projection is the default. Your choice is remembered.

The All files button opens the full list of folders, whatever their status.

Statistics

The Stats page measures your sales activity over a period, compared with the previous period of the same length.

Choosing the Period and Filters

• Preset periods: this month, this quarter, this semester, last month, last quarter, last semester, or a custom period.
• The Filter button restricts the figures to some folder categories, sales reps or sales steps, and sets which statuses count as signed. Default: Active, Quote signed and Deployment in progress.

The Indicators

Each indicator shows its value over the period and its change compared with the previous period.

Good to know: statistics are tied to the folder's creation date. A quote created in January and signed in March counts as signed in January's statistics.

The Charts

• 12-month trend: new and signed quotes, revenue and margin, month by month.
• By folder category: new and signed quotes over the period, for each category.

Forecast

The forecast (menu Business → Billing → Forecast) projects expected revenue period by period, combining three sources:

You can show figures by month, quarter, four-month period or year, and filter by item family or folder category. Click an amount to see the items that make it up.

Amounts are placed in time item by item: subscriptions from their service start date, one-off fees on the folder's estimated order date, licences on their renewal date.

Important: only items linked to a family are included in the forecast. Make sure all your items have a family in the catalog.

Configuring the Pipeline

The pipeline reference lists are in Settings → Management:

• Sales → Sales steps: the columns of the steps board. For each step: a title, a colour, a description (shown under the column title) and the Default step option, assigned automatically to new folders without a step. Drag and drop steps in the list to change their order.
• Sales → Sectors: the business sectors offered on folders and customer records.
• Folders → Categories: folder categories, with their colour.

Example steps: Qualification → Needs discovery → Proposal sent → Negotiation → Closing. Keep steps few and unambiguous: every sales rep must know exactly which column a folder belongs in.

Good Practices

1. One folder = one opportunity, created as soon as a need takes shape, with its category and sales rep.
2. Items priced early, even roughly: without items, the folder is worth 0 in every total.
3. Probability and step kept up to date after every exchange with the customer.
4. Realistic estimated order and delivery dates: they place amounts in the forecast.
5. The right status at the end: Quote signed when the customer signs, Quote lost, to close when the deal is lost. An abandoned quote left in progress skews the conversion rate and the forecast.