How to Create and Work Deals in CrmLeaf
All editions. Core feature - no add-on required. Adding products to a deal requires the products catalogue to be populated.
Availability: All editions. Core feature - no add-on required. Adding products to a deal requires the products catalogue to be populated.
Overview
A Deal is a sales opportunity moving through a pipeline. It carries the value you expect to win, the stage the opportunity has reached, the agent who owns it, the expected close date and the products involved. Deals are where selling actually happens in CrmLeaf: notes, files, follow-ups and tasks all attach to the deal, and every action is recorded on the deal's activity timeline. When a deal is won, it connects forward to estimates, proposals and invoices.
How It Works
You create a deal against a lead contact, place it in a pipeline, and then work it. Movement through the pipeline is by stage change, and the deal keeps a complete history of what was done to it.
Create → Assign → Work notes and follow-ups → Move stages → Convert to estimate or invoice
- One lead can have many deals, so each distinct opportunity is tracked and forecast separately.
- Progression is driven by configurable pipeline stages, not by a fixed status list. The first stage of the pipeline receives new deals.
- A lead agent owns the deal, and a watcher can also be set so a second person follows it without owning it.
- Every action on the deal, including stage moves, notes, files, follow-ups and proposal sends, is written to the deal's activity timeline.
- Products added to the deal feed its value and support quoting.
- Deals connect forward to estimates, proposals and invoices, forming the quote-to-cash chain.
- Deal visibility is ownership-scoped and filtered by organisation.
Who Can Use This Feature?
Administrator
- Configure the pipelines and stages deals move through.
- Set the Deal permission scope per role.
- Reassign deal ownership and review the activity timeline across the team.
User
- Create deals against lead contacts.
- Add notes, files, follow-ups and tasks.
- Add products and maintain the deal value and close date.
- Move deals between stages.
Access depends on the modules and role assigned by your Administrator.
Prerequisites
- At least one pipeline with stages configured.
- At least one lead contact to create the deal against.
- Lead agents created, so the deal can be owned.
- Products in the catalogue, if you intend to add products to deals.
For Administrators
Step 1: Make sure the pipeline supports how your team sells
What to do: Confirm the pipeline's stages, their order and their visibility before the team creates deals in volume. Include stages for your closed outcomes, since CrmLeaf has no built-in won or lost status.
What to verify: A test deal can be created and moved through every stage you expect the team to use.
Step 2: Scope deal visibility per role
What to do: Set each role's Deal scope to none, owned, added, both or all. Remember that board totals and deal reports reflect only what the signed-in user may see.
What to verify: A representative sees their own deals only, and a sales manager sees the full pipeline.
For Users
Step 1: Open the deals list
Review the deals you are permitted to see. Use Search and Filter to find a specific opportunity.
Step 2: Create the deal
Select Add and complete the deal. Select the lead contact, the pipeline and the stage, the owning agent, the deal value and the expected close date. Add a watcher if a colleague needs to follow the opportunity. Select Save.
Step 3: Add the products being sold
Add the products the prospect wants from the catalogue. Products on the deal feed its value and carry through to quoting, so keeping them accurate saves rework when you raise the estimate.
Step 4: Record what happened
After every meaningful contact, add a note describing the outcome and attach any files the prospect sent. Where the content is sensitive, use a password-protected note. Notes are the reason a colleague can pick the deal up without calling you.
Step 5: Set the next action
Set the next follow-up date, and create a task for any work you owe the prospect. Deals with follow-up dates surface on the CRM dashboard, including under overdue follow-ups when the date passes.
Step 6: Move the stage when the criterion is met
Change the deal's stage from the deal itself or by dragging its card on the lead board. Move a deal only when the current stage's exit criterion is genuinely satisfied, because stage position drives the per-stage totals and the forecast.
Step 7: Review the activity timeline
Open the deal's activity timeline before any internal review or handover. It records stage moves, notes, files, follow-ups and proposal sends in sequence, which is the fastest way to understand a deal you did not work yourself.
Step 8: Convert the deal
When the prospect is ready to buy, take the deal forward to an estimate or a proposal. An accepted estimate creates an invoice, which is how a won deal becomes billable work.
Field and Option Reference
| Field / Option | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Lead contact | The person the opportunity belongs to. One lead can carry many deals. | Yes |
| Pipeline | The sales process the deal follows. Determines the available stages. | Yes |
| Stage | The deal's position in the pipeline. New deals default to the pipeline's first stage. | Yes |
| Lead agent | The user who owns the deal. Drives ownership-based visibility. | Yes |
| Watcher | An additional user who follows the deal without owning it. | No |
| Deal value | The expected value of the opportunity. Feeds per-stage totals and deal reports. | Yes |
| Close date | The date you expect the deal to close. | No |
| Products | Catalogue items on the deal. Feed the value and carry into quoting. | No |
| Next follow-up date | The date of the next planned contact. Drives dashboard surfacing of due and overdue follow-ups. | No |
| Notes and files | Activity record and attachments. Notes can be password-protected. | No |
Expected Result
The deal is saved and appears in Deals and on the lead board at the selected pipeline stage, owned by the assigned agent. Notes, files, follow-ups, tasks and stage moves are recorded on the deal's activity timeline.
Why This Matters for Service Organisations
An engagement is sold before it is scoped, and delivered by people who were not in the room. The deal holds the number the firm committed to, the date the client expects to start, and the trail of what was promised. That trail is the handover to delivery; without it, the first week is spent rediscovering the sale.
How It Supports Professional Services
- A deal carries value, expected close date and products, which gives a practice a forward view of committed engagement value by month rather than a list of open conversations.
- Every action — stage moves, notes, files, follow-ups, proposal sends — is logged to the deal history, so the record of what was promised survives a change of owner or a reassignment mid-pursuit.
- Firms that sell defined service items, such as a fixed-scope assessment or a monthly retainer, can hold them as products on the deal and carry them into the estimate or proposal.
- A watcher lets a delivery lead follow a pursuit without owning it, giving delivery early sight of work heading their way.
- An accepted estimate automatically creates an unpaid invoice, so a won engagement becomes billable without re-entering the commercial detail.
Typical Service Workflow
Lead → Deal → Estimate or Proposal → Client → Project → Billing
The deal is the commercial record between the enquiry and delivery. Acceptance of an estimate creating an unpaid invoice is automatic. A won deal leading into a project is a documented workflow relationship, but the project is created as a deliberate step — not silently by the deal reaching a closing stage.
Other Product-Type Use Cases
The same record holds a manufacturer's quotation with its product lines, a solar enquiry ahead of a survey, or any general business opportunity where value and an expected close date need tracking.
Related PSA Capabilities
- How to Create and Send Estimates — acceptance creates the unpaid invoice for the won engagement.
- How to Create and Send Proposals — the design-led document most service firms issue.
- How to Create and Manage Projects — where the won engagement is delivered.
- How to Create and Use Project Templates — turns a repeatable service into a ready-made delivery structure.
Important Notes
- Menu names and their position can differ between product editions and can be customised for your account, so your sidebar may not match these paths exactly. Use Search or your Quick Access items if you cannot find a screen.
- There is no fixed won, lost or open status. Whether a deal counts as won depends on the stage your Administrator configured for that outcome.
- Create a separate deal for each opportunity from the same contact. Reusing one deal destroys the history of what was quoted before.
- Quick actions and bulk actions are available on deals. Confirm what a bulk action will change before applying it to a selection.
- A deal value left empty contributes nothing to per-stage totals, so the board can understate the pipeline.
Common Scenarios
Example: a handover mid-cycle. A representative leaves and their deals are reassigned to a colleague. Because notes, files and the activity timeline are on each deal, the new owner reads the history and continues without contacting the prospect for background.
Example: from deal to invoice. A deal reaches the closing stage. The user raises an estimate from the deal, the client accepts it on the public link, and an unpaid invoice is created automatically, so the won deal becomes billable without re-entering the line items.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Possible Cause | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| The deal cannot be saved. | A mandatory field such as the lead contact, pipeline, stage, agent or value is empty. | Complete every mandatory field, including mandatory custom fields, and save again. |
| No products can be added. | The products catalogue is empty, or you lack access to it. | Ask an Administrator to add products to the catalogue and confirm your access. |
| The expected stage is not available. | The stage belongs to a different pipeline, or its visibility is toggled off. | Confirm the deal's pipeline, and ask an Administrator about the stage's visibility. |
| A colleague cannot see the deal. | Their Deal scope is owned or added and they are neither. | Add them as a watcher, reassign the agent, or ask the Administrator to widen the scope. |
| Deals never appear in overdue follow-ups. | No next follow-up date has been set on them. | Set a follow-up date on each active deal. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a regular User create a deal?
Yes, if the Administrator has granted access to the CRM module with a Deal permission scope that allows adding records.
What is the difference between a lead and a deal?
The lead is the person. The deal is the opportunity. One lead can have many deals.
Does a won deal create a project automatically?
Automatic project creation from a won deal is not documented. Deals connect forward to estimates, proposals and invoices; create the project separately.
Where can I see everything that happened on a deal?
On the deal's activity timeline, which records stage moves, notes, files, follow-ups and proposal sends.
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