Opportunity stages

SECURITY  Security level with Admin permission to configure Sales & Opportunities. Refer to Admin security settings.

NAVIGATION   > Admin > Features & Settings > Sales & Opportunities > Opportunity Stages

Opportunity stages define the steps of your sales process to allow you to accurately forecast future sales.  If you manage your sales effort in Autotask, you will be using opportunity stages. You can customize the opportunity stages in Autotask to fit your forecasting model.

If different sales processes require different opportunity stages, you can establish a default and customize the available list values for opportunities using a particular opportunity category. Refer to Header.

NOTE  Defaults for Lost and Won opportunities will still be applied, even if they are not included in the opportunity category opportunity stage field's customized list.

  1. To open the page, use the path(s) in the Security and navigation section above.
  2. Click New or select Edit from the context menu.
  3. Complete the fields and click Save.
Icon Name Description New or Edit Mode
Icon Displays the current icon selected for the Opportunity Stage in the color specified for the Stage.

Refer to Using icons and colors to identify stages.

 Click to open the icon picker and select an icon.
Color

Displays the color selected for the Opportunity Stage. Defaults to gray.

Refer to Using icons and colors to identify stages.

 Click to open the color picker and select a color.
  Name
(required)

Opportunity Stage name

NOTE  Number the stages and include the number in the Name, for example, Stage 1: First Contact.

Enter a name or edit the current name.
  Description Description of the stage Enter the description of the opportunity stage.
  Default for Lost Opportunities The value that will be used as the stage of the opportunity when it is closed through the Lost Quote dialog or Lost Opportunity wizard.

If this stage is excluded by the opportunity's category, the stage will remain set to the opportunity's stage at the time the opportunity is set to lost.

 Select the check box to choose the stage as the default for lost opportunities
  Default for Won Opportunities The value that will be used as the stage of the opportunity when it is closed through the Won Quote dialog or Won Opportunity wizard.

If this stage is excluded by the opportunity's category, the stage will remain set to the opportunity's stage at the time the opportunity is set to won.

 Select the check box to choose the stage as the default for won opportunities.
Option Description

Edit, Edit [Entity Name]

Puts the selected row into Edit mode or opens the Edit <Option> dialog. The fields that can be edited are usually the ones you populate when you create a new list item. Make your changes and click Save, or Cancel.

NOTE  On some pages, you may not be able to edit System options.

Delete, Delete [Entity Name]

The ability to delete an option is severely restricted. List options cannot be deleted if:

  • The option is a system option
  • The option is the default option where a default is required
  • The option is associated with (has been used for) an entity

IMPORTANT  To preserve data integrity, Autotask prevents deletion of entities that have dependent entities or are referenced elsewhere! If you are unable to delete an entity, you should inactivate it to make it unavailable for use.

If you plan to use the Won Quote or Lost Quote options to quickly close opportunities from an associated quote, you should set up default Won Opportunity and Lost Opportunity stages. The specified default value becomes the stage of an opportunity that is closed using the Won Quote or Lost Quote dialog. They are also the default selection in the Opportunity Stage menu in the Won Opportunity or Lost Opportunity Wizards.

Setting defaults will result in cleaner opportunity reporting. If there is no default opportunity stage specified when you close an opportunity or a quote, the opportunity will remain at the stage assigned when the quote was won or lost.

To easily identify stages on opportunity pages and in lists, you can assign a color and an icon to each stage. The stage and icon are displayed on a badge in the selected color.

Most opportunity lists with a column chooser include a Stage Icon column in the chooser.