Track every deal from first contact to closed won

Understanding the pipeline board

The pipeline board organises all your deals into columns by stage. Each column represents a step in your sales process. Deals move left to right as they progress.

Creating a deal

1. 1
   Open Pipeline from the main navigation.
2. 2
   Click Add Deal or the + icon inside any column to start the deal in that stage.
3. 3
   Enter the deal name — something descriptive like "New Website — Blue Sky Media" makes it easy to identify at a glance on the board.
4. 4
   Set the estimated value. Even a rough number is useful — it helps you see total pipeline value and prioritise which deals to focus on.
5. 5
   Link to a client workspace if one already exists in WorkRate. For brand new prospects, you can leave this blank and create the workspace when the deal is won.
6. 6
   Set an expected close date. This creates accountability and helps you identify stalled deals.
7. 7
   Add notes with as much context as you have — where the lead came from, who the decision maker is, budget constraints, timeline, and what the next action is.
8. 8
   Save the deal. It appears on the board immediately in the selected column.

Moving deals through stages

1. 1
   Drag the deal card from one column to another as it progresses. The board updates instantly.
2. 2
   Alternatively, open the deal and change the stage using the stage dropdown inside the deal detail view.
3. 3
   Move deals backwards if a deal stalls or needs re-engagement — drag it back to an earlier stage to reflect where things actually stand.
4. 4
   Reorder cards within a stage by dragging a card up or down inside the same column. This is separate from moving between stages — it lets you prioritize which deals in "Lead" or "Negotiation" you tackle first. The order you set is saved and stays that way until you change it again.

Repeat leads: the ×N counter

If the same contact submits a form or comes in through the same lead source more than once, WorkRate doesn't create a second, duplicate deal card for them. Instead, the new submission stacks onto their existing deal card, and the card shows a small ×N badge — ×2, ×3, and so on — counting how many times that contact has come back.

• The deal's notes get a timestamped log of every follow-up submission automatically, so you can see exactly when and how often someone re-engaged without digging through your inbox.
• A rising counter is a signal. A lead who submits three times is more motivated than one who submits once — treat a high ×N count as a prompt to follow up personally rather than let it sit in the same stage.

Taking action on a deal

Every deal card can carry a contact email and phone number for the lead — captured automatically when a deal comes in through a Lead Form, or added manually when you create a deal by hand. Once a deal has contact info or reaches certain stages, WorkRate surfaces real next-step actions right on the card and in the "Connected Actions" panel at the bottom of the board:

Editing and updating a deal

1. 1
   Click any deal card to open the detail view.
2. 2
   Update value, close date, or notes as the deal evolves. Keep notes current — if you hand the deal off to a team member, they need to be able to pick up the context without a debrief.
3. 3
   Save changes. The board reflects updates immediately.

Closing and removing deals

Letting a client see their own Pipeline (read-only)

If you enable Pipeline in a client's portal access, that client can log in and watch their own deals move through your stages — useful for showing transparency around active upsell or expansion opportunities you're working on with them.

• It's view-only. Clients can see cards, values, and which stage a deal is in, but they can't drag, edit, or create deals themselves.
• They only see their own deals. A client with Pipeline enabled in their portal never sees other clients' deals or your full agency board.
• Turn it on in Client Settings → Client Portal, the same place you enable Tickets, Messages, or Invoices for that client. See the Client Portal guide for the full walkthrough of portal tools.

Tips & best practices

• Update the pipeline every week. A stale pipeline is useless. Block 10 minutes every Monday to move deals, update notes, and flag anything that needs action.
• Set close dates on every deal. Without a close date, deals sit in limbo indefinitely. A date forces a decision.
• Write the next action in the notes. "Send revised proposal by Friday" is actionable. "Follow up" is not.
• Use pipeline value to plan capacity. If you have $40k of deals in Negotiation, you need to know if you have the team capacity to deliver if they all close at once.
• Link to a WorkRate proposal. When a deal reaches Proposal Sent stage, send a formal WorkRate proposal so you get the Accept/Decline tracked automatically.