--- title: Understanding Pipeline Stages description: "Pipeline stages are the steps in your sales process, and each opportunity sits in one stage at a time as it moves from first contact to closed deal. Your stages are your own: every business sets up the list that…" url: "https://help.onesuite.io/docs/understanding-pipeline-stages/" updated: "2026-10-01" category: CRM --- # Understanding Pipeline Stages Pipeline stages are the steps in your sales process, and each opportunity sits in one stage at a time as it moves from first contact to closed deal. Your stages are your own: every business sets up the list that matches how it sells, so you can see at a glance where each deal stands and where deals get stuck. **In this guide you'll learn how to:** - Move an opportunity from one stage to another - Add a new stage - Rename or recolour a stage - Reorder your stages - Delete a stage you no longer need ## Before you start - If you don't see **CRM** in the sidebar, an admin can switch it on in **Settings**, **Customize Navigation**. - You manage stages on the **Opportunities** tab in **Kanban view**. To switch, click the view switcher (**Change view**) in the toolbar and choose **Kanban view**. ## What are pipeline stages? Stages are the checkpoints in your sales process. Each stage is a column on the **Opportunities** board, and each opportunity sits in exactly one of them. Stages help you: - see where each deal stands at a glance; - spot which deals need attention; - forecast revenue by stage; - find where deals get stuck. OneSuite doesn't fix your stages. You add, rename, recolour, reorder and delete them to match how your business sells. ## What does each stage column show? Each column header shows the stage name in its colour, the number of opportunities in the stage and its **Forecasted Revenue**. The same stages appear wherever you pick a stage for an opportunity, and on the **Pipeline Overview** dashboard widget. ![Opportunities tab in Kanban view, with a stage column's ⋯ menu open showing Edit stage, Move right, Move left and Delete stage](https://help.onesuite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/understanding-pipeline-stages-1.webp) ## How to move an opportunity between stages Drag the opportunity's card to another column to change its stage. The change saves as soon as you drop the card. 1. Open **CRM**, then the **Opportunities** tab in **Kanban view**. 2. Click and hold an opportunity card. 3. Drag it to the new stage column. 4. Release it. The stage updates at once. You can also change the stage in the **Stage** column in **Table view**, or in the **Stage** field on the opportunity's own page. You can move a deal backwards as well as forwards. To add a deal straight into a stage, click **+** at the top of the column, or **Add new** at the bottom, and type its name. ## How to add a stage Click **Add stage** after the last column, then give the stage a colour and a name. 1. Open the **Opportunities** tab in **Kanban view**. 2. Scroll right past your last column and click **Add stage**. 3. Pick a colour from the colour picker. 4. Enter a name in **Enter stage name**. 5. Click **Create**, or **Cancel** to stop. The new stage is added as the last column. OneSuite confirms with **Stage created successfully**. To place it elsewhere, reorder it as described below. ## How to rename or recolour a stage Use **Edit stage** in the column's **⋯** menu to change a stage's name or colour. 1. Click the **⋯** menu at the top right of the stage column. 2. Click **Edit stage**. 3. Change the colour, the name, or both. 4. Click **Update**. OneSuite confirms with **Stage updated successfully**. ## How to reorder stages Move a stage with **Move left** or **Move right** in its **⋯** menu, or drag the column header to a new position. 1. Click the **⋯** menu at the top right of the stage column. 2. Click **Move left** or **Move right** to shift the stage one place. 3. Or click and hold the column header and drag the whole column to a new position. **Move left** is unavailable on the first column and **Move right** on the last. The new order saves automatically. ## How to delete a stage Use **Delete stage** in the column's **⋯** menu. A stage can only be deleted once it is empty, so move its opportunities to other stages first. 1. Move every opportunity out of the stage by dragging the cards to other columns. 2. Click the **⋯** menu at the top right of the stage column. 3. Click **Delete stage**. There is no confirmation step: an empty stage is deleted straight away, and OneSuite confirms with **Stage deleted successfully**. If opportunities are still in the column, OneSuite stops the deletion and shows **Cannot delete a stage that has opportunities.** Not using OneSuite yet? Start your free trial → ## FAQs ### Can I change the pipeline stages in OneSuite CRM? Yes. Stages are set per business, and you can add, rename, recolour, reorder and delete them from the **Opportunities** tab in **Kanban view**. Your list can be as short or as long as your sales process needs. ### Why can't I delete a pipeline stage? The stage still holds opportunities. OneSuite shows **Cannot delete a stage that has opportunities.** Drag every card into another stage, then choose **Delete stage** again. ### Can I move an opportunity back to an earlier stage? Yes. Drag the card to any column, including an earlier one, or pick another stage in the **Stage** field. Moving backwards is useful when a deal stalls or a client reopens talks. ### Should I create a "Lost" stage? It helps. A stage for lost deals keeps them visible, so you can look for patterns in why deals don't close instead of losing that history. ### Where do I add a new stage in the Kanban view? Scroll to the right of your last column and click **Add stage**. Pick a colour, enter a name and click **Create**. ### Can I just use a spreadsheet instead of pipeline stages? You can, but a spreadsheet won't total the value in each stage, flag stalled deals on your dashboard, or let you drag a deal forward in one move. Stages in the **CRM** do all three and keep each deal linked to its company and contact. ## What to do next **Add deals to your pipeline:** Create opportunities and place them in a stage with [Creating Opportunity](https://help.onesuite.io/docs/creating-opportunity/). **Tailor the board:** Adjust filters and fields on your pipeline with [Customizing Your Opportunities View](https://help.onesuite.io/docs/customizing-your-opportunities-view/). **Watch your pipeline from Home:** Track value by stage and stalled deals with [CRM, Client & Pipeline Widgets: OneSuite Dashboard Guide](https://help.onesuite.io/docs/crm-client-and-pipeline/).