---
title: "Sales Pipeline"
section: "Clients & CRM"
order: 12
availability: oryn
excerpt: "Drive your open quotes with the steps board and the projection board, measure your sales activity with the statistics and anticipate revenue with the forecast."
alternate_slug: pipeline-commercial
alternate_slug_de: vertriebspipeline
---

## Overview

The sales pipeline gathers all your **open quotes** to move them forward to signature. It is built on [folders](/en/docs/folders-configuration): every folder with the **Quote in progress** status is a pipeline opportunity.

| Menu | Answers the question |
|---|---|
| **Business → Pipeline → Steps** | Where does each quote stand in my sales process? |
| **Business → Pipeline → Projection** | How likely am I to sign, and for how much? |
| **Business → Pipeline → Stats** | How many quotes do we create and sign, for what revenue? |
| **Business → Billing → Forecast** | What revenue can we expect in the coming months? |

## A Folder's Sales Information

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

| Field | Role in the pipeline |
|---|---|
| **Status** | Only **Quote in progress** folders appear on the boards. Move the folder to **Quote signed** when it is signed, or to **Quote lost, to close** when the deal is lost. |
| **Sales step** | The folder's column on the steps board. |
| **Probability** | 0 %, 30 %, 50 %, 70 % or 90 %: the folder's column on the projection board and its weight in projected revenue. Only shown while the status is Quote in progress. |
| **Estimated order date** / **Estimated delivery date** | Shown on the cards and usable as filters; the order date places one-off fees in the forecast. |
| **Folder category** and **Business sector** | Tags on the cards, filters and breakdown in the statistics. |
| **Sales rep** (and other roles) | Shown on the cards; filters by sales rep, sales admin, technician, business finder, manager… |

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](/en/docs/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](#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:

| Period | Amount shown |
|---|---|
| **Monthly revenues** | The monthly amount of subscriptions, plus one-off fees |
| **12, 18, 24 or 36-month projection** | One-off fees, plus subscriptions multiplied by the number of months |

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.

| Indicator | Definition |
|---|---|
| **New quotes** | Folders created during the period |
| **Signed quotes** | Folders created during the period and since moved to a signed status |
| **Conversion rate** | Signed quotes ÷ new quotes |
| **One-off revenue** / **Recurring revenue** | Revenue of signed quotes: one-off fees, and subscriptions per month |
| **One-off margin** / **Recurring margin** | The same for margin |
| **Revenue per file** | Average revenue (projected over 18 months) of a signed quote |
| **Projected revenue** | Revenue of quotes still in progress, weighted by their probability |

> **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:

| Column | Content |
|---|---|
| **Active Revenue** | What **active** folders bill |
| **Signed Revenue** | What **signed** folders not yet active will bill |
| **Weighted Revenue** | The total: active revenue, signed revenue, plus open quotes (and folders being deployed) with a probability of at least 30 %, **multiplied by their probability** |
| **Y-1** / **Y-2** | Revenue invoiced (excluding tax) over the same period in previous years, for comparison |

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](/en/docs/product-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.