Deals & Sales Pipeline
Navigation: Header → Deals
A Deal is a qualified sales opportunity with a monetary value, an expected close date, an owner, and a position in a sales pipeline. Deals remain active until they reach a Won or Lost stage.
How the Deal Architecture Works
Lead or Company account
↓
Deal creation or Convert to Deal
↓
Pipeline + starting stage + amount + target close date
↓
Board/Table views and stage movement
↓
Activities, risk calculation, proposals, and follow-ups
↓
Closed Won/Lost → quota, revenue, and win/loss reporting
The pipeline configuration controls which stages are available. Each deal remains connected to its Company, Contact, Lead history, activities, follow-ups, documents, owner, and reporting data. This allows a representative to work on the opportunity while managers see accurate pipeline and forecast information.
Multi-Pipeline Engine and Custom Pipelines
iSales CRM supports a dynamic Multi-Pipeline Engine. Organizations can run different sales processes side by side, with separate stages, columns, deal metrics, risk indicators, and conversion tracking.
Default Pre-Configured Pipelines
Every organization starts with two standard pipelines:
- Lead/Dedicated Pipeline — for local sales cycles that move quickly with minimal friction.
Typical flow: Discovery → Commercial Proposal → Negotiation → Closed Won / Lost - Prospect/Fixed Cost Pipeline — for fixed-cost or international enterprise projects requiring detailed scope validation, coordination, and currency handling.
Typical flow: Initial Contact → Technical Scope & Feasibility → NDA & Proposal → Final Review → Closed Won / Lost
Custom Pipelines
Admins can create unlimited custom pipelines from Admin Settings → Pipelines:
- Enterprise Retainers: Account Mapping → Pilot Evaluation → SLA Negotiation → Contract Signed. Used for recurring monthly or annual service contracts.
- Channel and Partnership Sales: Partner Intro → Joint Pitch → Margin Agreement → Active Deal Closed. Used for reseller or agency opportunities.
- Inbound SDR Qualifying Funnel: Form Submitted → Discovery Call Booked → BANT Qualified → Handed to Closer. Used to qualify website demo requests before handoff.
Switching Pipelines and Converting Leads
- Instant board switching: Go to
Header → Deals → Board Viewand use the pipeline dropdown. The selected pipeline’s stage columns, cumulative revenue, risk indicators, and progress bars reload together. - Targeted lead conversion: During
Convert to Deal, choose the target pipeline and starting stage so the opportunity enters the correct sales process.
Deal Creation Workflows
Workflow A — Create a Deal with a Company
Use this for an established account with multiple stakeholders:
- Go to Deals → + Add Deal.
- Search for and select the Company Name using autocomplete.
- Enter the Deal Name, Value, Close Date, Stage, and Pipeline.
- Click Save. The deal is linked to the company and its value rolls up into the company’s cumulative pipeline balance.
Workflow B — Convert a Lead without a Company
Use this for a raw prospect, solo founder, or inbound inquiry:
- Open the lead and click Convert to Deal.
- A pre-existing Company record is not required.
- The deal inherits the lead’s contact information, project details, currency, call logs, meeting notes, follow-up history, and AI conversation summaries.
- Select the Pipeline and Stage, enter Amount and Close Date, and click Save.
Pipeline Board
Navigation: Header → Deals → Board View
- Stage Columns: Configured separately for each pipeline, such as Qualification, Discovery, Proposal, Negotiation, Closed Won, and Closed Lost.
- Cumulative Values: Each column shows the number of deals and total monetary value for quick forecast review.
- Drag and Drop: Move a deal between stages. Moving it to a terminal Won or Lost stage triggers the relevant closing workflow.
- Deal Risk Chips: 🟢 Low · 🟡 Medium · 🔴 High Risk. Risk is calculated from days in stage, time since the last interaction, and proximity to the target close date.
- Loss Reason Modal: Moving a deal to Lost requires a reason such as Pricing, Competitor, Feature Gap, Budget Frozen, or Timing. The reason feeds win/loss analytics.
- Won Stage: Updates quota-achievement charts on the Executive Dashboard and prompts for final contract documents.
Deal Table Grid View
Navigation: Header → Deals → Table View
The table is a high-density view for managers and representatives who need to review many deals quickly:
- Inline cell editing: Edit deal value, close date, owner, and priority directly in the grid.
- Multi-pipeline filtering: Filter by pipeline, stage, owner, date range, and custom tags.
- Hover AI tooltips: Hover over the AI icon to see an instant deal briefing without opening the record.
Deal Details Page
Navigation: Deals → Click Deal Name
- Stage Chevron Tracker: Shows the current stage and lets an authorized user advance or revert it while maintaining a timestamped audit log.
- Proposals and Contracts Vault: Stores project proposals, client agreements, quotes, and signed documents inside the deal.
- Deal Notes and Activity Stream: Shows calls, emails, scope changes, internal pricing approvals, and other activity in chronological order.
Mark a Deal Won or Lost
Mark as Won: Open the deal → Mark as Won → enter actual close date and value → add win notes → Save.
Mark as Lost: Open the deal → Mark as Lost → select a loss reason → add notes → Save.
Mark as Lost: Open the deal → Mark as Lost → select a loss reason → add notes → Save.
Common loss reasons include chose a competitor, budget cut, timeline changed, price too high, and found internal solution. A terminal stage updates the appropriate revenue, quota, conversion, and win/loss reporting flows.
Delete and Restore Deals
- Delete: Open the deal → Delete → confirm. The deal moves to trash.
- Bulk delete: Select deals → Delete in the toolbar → confirm.
- Restore: Deals → Trash → find the deal → Restore.
Deals in trash are permanently deleted after 30 days. Confirm the correct record before deletion because the deal is connected to pipeline, company, activity, follow-up, and reporting data.
Deal Notes Management
Navigation: Header → Deals → Click any Deal Name → Deal Details
Deal Notes keep meeting discussions, decisions, requirements, and internal context attached to the opportunity. Notes are displayed in a chronological timeline and can be added, viewed, edited, or deleted from the Deal Details page.
Notes Workflow at a Glance
Step
User Action
What Happens
1. Open the deal
Go to the Deal Details page or use the Notes icon in the left control bar.
The deal's Notes card and existing timeline are displayed.
2. Add a note
Click • Add Note.
The AddNotesDrawer opens on the right.
3. Write and format
Enter the discussion in the React Quill editor.
You can use bold, italics, underline, headings, paragraphs, bullet lists, and numbered lists.
4. Save
Click Add.
The note is saved to the deal and appears at the top of the timeline.
5. Manage later
Open a note or use its three-dot menu.
You can read the full note, edit it, or delete it.
Add a New Deal Note
- Open the Deal Details page.
- Find the Notes card or click the Notes icon in the left control bar.
- Click + Add Note.
- Enter the note in the right-side
AddNotesDrawer. - Format the content with the React Quill rich-text editor if needed.
- Click Add.
View and Expand Notes
Notes View
What the User Sees
Truncated preview
The Notes card shows the first two notes with a preview of up to 125 characters.
Date and time
Each note shows the creation date in DD/MM/YYYY format and a relative time such as 2 hours ago.
Full note
Click the note text to open ViewNoteDrawer and read the complete formatted note.
More notes
If more than two notes exist, click +X More Notes to expand the full list.
Collapse
Click Show Less to return to the shorter list.
Edit an Existing Note
- Find the note you want to change.
- Click its three-dot menu (
...). - Select Edit.
- Review the existing content in the drawer’s Edit Mode.
- Make the changes and click Update.
Delete a Note
- Click the three-dot menu (
...) on the note. - Select Delete.
- Confirm the prompt: Are you sure? You want to delete this note?
The note is permanently removed from the deal timeline. Confirm carefully before deleting because the action cannot be used to restore the note.
Proposals and Documents Vault
The Proposals & Documents Vault stores deal-related files such as proposals, client scopes, NDAs, invoices, presentation decks, contracts, and technical deliverables directly on the Deal Details page.
Documents Workflow at a Glance
Step
User Action
What Happens
1. Open Files
Open the Files card on the Deal Details page or use the file icon in the left control bar.
All documents attached to the deal are listed.
2. Identify the file
Review the filename and file-type badge.
The system distinguishes PDFs, spreadsheets, Word files, ZIP archives, and images.
3. Export or download
Open the file's three-dot menu and choose Export.
The file is downloaded with its original filename or opened securely in a new tab if the browser blocks direct download.
4. Upload a file
Click • Add File, choose a document, and click Upload.
The file is attached to the current deal.
5. Remove an old version
Open the file's three-dot menu, choose Delete, and confirm.
Superseded files are removed so the vault stays clean and audit-ready.
Supported File Types and Badges
File Type
Extensions
Typical Use
📕 PDF
.pdf
Proposals, signed NDAs, and Master Service Agreements (MSAs)
📊 Spreadsheet
.xlsx, .csv
Project cost estimates and bills of materials
📘 Word document
.doc, .docx
Draft contract templates and written scopes
📦 ZIP archive
.zip
Asset bundles and technical deliverables
🖼️ Image
.png, .jpg
Architecture diagrams and design mockups
The file extension determines the visual format badge shown beside each file.
Export or Download a Proposal
- Open the Files card on the Deal Details page.
- Find the PDF or other document you need.
- Click the file’s three-dot menu (
...). - Select Export.
What happens technically:
handleDownloadFilefetches the file from secure storage under the/uploads/path.- The browser creates a temporary in-memory Blob URL.
- The original filename is preserved, such as
Enterprise_Proposal_AcmeCorp.pdf. - The browser starts the native download.
- If direct download is restricted by browser headers, the file opens securely in a new tab.
The note is permanently removed from the deal timeline. Confirm carefully before deleting because the action cannot be used to restore the note.
Upload a New Proposal or Scope
- Click + Add File on the Files card or click the file icon in the left control bar.
- The
AddFileDraweropens. - Select a file from your computer, such as a
.pdf,.docx, or.xlsxdocument. - Click Upload.
The file is attached to the current deal and becomes available in the Files card.
Delete a Superseded File
When a proposal is replaced by a newer contract or scope:
- Find the old file in the Files card.
- Click its three-dot menu (
...). - Select Delete.
- Confirm the deletion.
Remove only files that are no longer needed for the deal's working record or document history.
User-Facing Safety and Review Notes
- Review a note before saving it so the timeline contains clear, useful context.
- Use the full-note drawer when the preview is truncated.
- Keep the latest approved proposal or contract easy to identify in the Files card.
- Confirm the correct note or file before deleting it.
- Downloaded files retain their original names, making them easier to find outside the CRM.
