Your CRM board columns come from one active pipeline. Stage Configuration is where you create pipelines, edit their stages, and choose which pipeline the Deals board uses.
Where
Open Stage Configuration (/crm/stage-configuration) from:
- Settings → CRM & sales → Stage Configuration (Configure deal stages)
- The CRM hub card with the same name
You need pipeline management permission (owners, admins, and Sales Account Managers). Other roles can move deals between stages, but they cannot change the pipeline structure. Without access you see Access Denied.
What a new workspace gets
Onboarding usually seeds three pipelines (category Video Production):
| Pipeline | Typical use |
|---|---|
| Simple Pipeline | Short board (Lead, Quote Sent, Won, Lost) |
| Standard Pipeline | Default for most agencies (Lead → … → Won / Lost) |
| Advanced Pipeline | Longer board including Discovery / Intake Call and Contract Signed |
Standard Pipeline is set as Active. Deals and reporting follow that board until you switch.
If nothing is seeded yet, Stage Configuration can show Get Started with Default Stage Templates → Create All Default Pipelines.
Your Pipelines sidebar
The left list is Your Pipelines. Select a pipeline to see its Deal Stages (name, description, order, probability %).
Badges you may see:
- Active: this is the board CRM Deals uses right now
- Global: built-in style template (Simple / Standard / Advanced). You cannot edit or delete those
Selecting a pipeline in the sidebar only opens it for viewing. It does not make it Active until you use Set as Active / Set as active pipeline.
Create a custom pipeline
- Click Create Custom Pipeline.
- Enter Pipeline Name (required). Optional Description.
- Pick Category (Video Production is the default; Animation, Photography, Podcast, or Custom).
- Review Deal Stages. They start as Standard Pipeline stages. Use + Add Stage, edit names / colors / descriptions / probability %, reorder with the arrows, or Reset to Standard.
- Create Custom Pipeline.
Keep a clear Won stage (probability 100%) and Lost stage (0%). Clippter treats those names as the closed outcomes when you win or lose a deal elsewhere. There is no separate “won/lost type” toggle on a stage, only name, color, order, description, and probability %.
Edit stages on a custom pipeline
- Select the custom pipeline.
- Edit Pipeline.
- Change name, description, category, or stages (+ Add Stage, reorder, delete a stage).
- Save Changes.
Deleting a stage asks Delete Stage and cannot be undone. Prefer renaming or reordering when deals already sit in that column.
Global / Simple / Standard / Advanced pipelines do not offer Edit Pipeline or stage delete.
Set the active pipeline
- Select the pipeline you want the Deals board to use.
- Click Set as Active (or the Set as active pipeline control).
- Only one pipeline stays Active. Activating one turns the previous Active off.
The Active Pipeline label on Deals metrics reflects this choice.
Switch pipelines (migration)
If another pipeline is already Active, activating a different one opens Pipeline Migration / Pipeline Switch Warning.
You are switching from the old name to the new name. Existing deals are remapped:
- Exact stage name matches first
- Similar names next (for example Lead → Lead, Quote → Quote)
- Anything unmappable goes to the first stage of the new pipeline
Confirm with Migrate & Switch. Success shows Migration Complete (and how many deals moved; optionally how many could not map cleanly).
Plan the stage names before you switch if you care about clean mapping.
Delete a custom pipeline
Use Delete pipeline on a custom pipeline. Confirm: associated stages go with it.
You cannot delete Global / Simple / Standard / Advanced templates.
Naming note
Pipeline stage labels (for example Contract Signed) are CRM board columns. They are not Company Legal T&Cs and not Team work contracts.
Things that trip people up
- Expecting the Deals board to change after only selecting a pipeline in the sidebar (you must Set as Active).
- Editing or deleting Simple / Standard / Advanced (locked as Global).
- Switching pipelines without aligning stage names, so deals land on the first column.
- Dragging a deal to a stage named like “won” instead of finishing quote → Mark deal as won when you need a proper project. See Companies, contacts, and deals.
- Asking every teammate to “fix the pipeline” when they lack Stage Configuration access.