# CRM pipeline stages: set up your sales funnel and client alerts

Your own sales stages, colors, an archive and an SMS or email to the client when a lead reaches a stage — a video and a step-by-step guide.

Section: CRM and leads · Updated: 2026-11-03 · http://my.lptracker.ru/land/lk/faq/?a=crm-funnel-steps&lang=en

> **In short:** CRM pipeline stages are the steps a client goes through from request to payment, and together they make up your sales funnel. They are set up on the “Sales funnel” screen: the “Leads” → “Funnel stages” menu or the “Set up” button above the CRM list; you need the “Funnel settings” right.

An online school sees that there are few payments but doesn't know where requests get lost: on the call, at the trial lesson or at the invoice. It means the CRM pipeline stages don't match the client's real path, and managers move leads around at random. Then it's unclear what to fix, and the school buys more ads instead of closing the gap in sales.

A funnel stage is a step of the sale. Stages follow your client's path, for example: “New lead” → “Reached” → “Meeting” → “Invoice” → “Payment”. Based on these stages, [sales funnel analytics](http://my.lptracker.ru/land/lk/faq/?a=analytics-funnel&format=md&lang=en) calculates conversion — the share of leads that reached the next stage. And stage notifications message the client on their own when a lead moves to the right stage.

Watch the two-minute video, and below you'll find the step-by-step setup.

[Video: CRM pipeline stages: set up your sales funnel and client alerts](http://my.lptracker.ru/land/n/multic/faq_media.php?f=2026-11/crm-funnel-steps-en-713278.mp4)
- 0:03 Pipeline stages
- 0:20 Funnel screen
- 0:36 New stage
- 0:49 Stage order
- 1:04 Notifications
- 1:19 Reminders
- 1:34 Archive
- 1:49 Client case
- 2:06 Summary

## Why a business needs a sales pipeline

- The head of sales sees at which stage clients drop off and fixes exactly that one: the call script, the meeting or the invoice.
- Clinic or salon: a day before the visit, an autofunnel based on the “Stage date” reminds the client by SMS or a voice bot call. There are fewer no-shows.
- Online school: at the “Invoice sent” stage, the client gets an email reminding them to pay, with no manager involved.
- Sales department: stages can be turned on separately for leads and for deals. Each list shows only the stages it needs.
- The head of sales can forbid a manager to move leads to certain stages. This is set in the employee's access rights.

> A dental clinic in Samara. Before: the CRM had three stages — “New”, “In progress”, “Closed”, and nobody knew where patients were lost. What we did: between “New lead” and “Payment”, they added the “Reached”, “Booked for a consultation”, “Came in” and “Treatment plan” stages, and the day before the visit, a voice bot calls the patient through an autofunnel based on the “Stage date”. Result: the “Funnel analytics” report showed that almost a third of those booked never made it to the consultation. After the reminders, no-shows fell from 30 to 18%.

## How funnel stages work

The “Sales funnel” screen is a table of stages with tabs:

- “Funnel stages” — the main funnel;
- “Archived stages” — appears when there is at least one stage in the archive;
- “System stages” — service stages: “Repeat lead”, “Rejected”, “Call back”, AI call stages. They can't be renamed, deleted or archived, but you can change their order, color and notifications.

“New lead” is always first, and “Deal closed” is always last. Stages are shared by leads and deals, and the “in leads” and “in deals” checkboxes decide where a stage is available. The stage color is visible in the kanban, in the stage menu and on labels.

![CRM pipeline stages: order, colors and notifications](http://my.lptracker.ru/land/n/multic/faq_media.php?f=2026-11/crm-funnel-steps-1-en-e24b11.webp)

## How to set up a sales pipeline in CRM

1. **Open the funnel** — The “Leads” → “Funnel stages” menu. In the CRM list, the “Set up” button above the list leads there too.
2. **Add a stage** — On the “Funnel stages” tab, click “Add stage” at the bottom of the table.
3. **Name it and pick a color** — Enter a name, click the colored circle and choose a color.
4. **Mark where to show it** — “in leads”, “in deals” or both.
5. **Put it in place** — Drag the stage by the “⇅” handle.
6. **Save** — Click “Save” on the bar at the bottom.

Before saving, a new stage sits after “Deal closed”. After saving, it moves in front of it.

## How to send an SMS or email to a client when the stage changes

1. In the “Client notification” column, choose “SMS”, “E-mail” or “SMS + E-mail”.
2. Expand the stage with the “⌄” arrow.
3. Enter the text in the “SMS template for the client” or in the email template. You can insert data into the text: {name} — client name, {step_name} — stage name, {time} — next stage date, {manager} — manager name, {site} — website.
4. If the message should be tied to the moment a stage date is set for the lead, tick “Notify the client after the date is set”.
5. Click “Save”.

An SMS costs from $0.0748 depending on the carrier; Beeline and MegaFon have their own rates.

![SMS to a client on stage change: a template with name and date](http://my.lptracker.ru/land/n/multic/faq_media.php?f=2026-11/crm-funnel-steps-2-en-9afaad.webp)

> For reminders at an exact time and message chains, use an autofunnel — it can [message clients automatically](http://my.lptracker.ru/land/lk/faq/?a=autofunnels-messages&format=md&lang=en). You can set up any scenario in it: an SMS, an email, a messenger message or a voice bot call — at the right time, for example a day before the visit based on the “Stage date”. Messenger messages from an autofunnel are free if no AI is used in them.

## Archiving and deleting stages

It's easier to move an unneeded stage to the archive: the “List” column → “Move to archive” → “Save”. To bring it back: the “Archived stages” tab → “List” → “Funnel stages” → “Save”.

You can only delete stages you created. Before deletion, the system checks where the stage is used: in autofunnels, voice and chat bots, the inbound call scheme. If it is used, choose a replacement in “Replace with”. Then type the phrase “delete these items”. Cards from the deleted stage will move to “Unsorted”.

![Deleting a pipeline stage: the system finds where it is used](http://my.lptracker.ru/land/n/multic/faq_media.php?f=2026-11/crm-funnel-steps-3-en-f37c31.webp)

> You can add or rename a stage right in the kanban — with the “Add a stage” button at the end of the board or by clicking a column name. This also requires the “Funnel settings” right. How the lead kanban works is covered in the article [CRM for small business](http://my.lptracker.ru/land/lk/faq/?a=crm-leads-list&format=md&lang=en).

> Archiving and other edits are saved only with the “Save” button. But deleting a stage takes effect immediately.

## Frequently asked questions

### Why don't I have access to sales funnel settings?
If there is no “Set up” button or you see “No access to funnel settings”, you need the “Funnel settings” right, which an administrator turns on in the “Users” section. On a phone, there is no “Set up” button — open the “Leads” → “Funnel stages” menu.

### Why can't I rename or delete a stage?
Fixed stages (“New lead”, “Payment”, “Deal closed”) and system stages can't be renamed and have no trash icon.

### Why did a new stage land after “Deal closed”?
It's not an error: that's how it looks before saving. After “Save”, it moves in front of “Deal closed”.

### Why didn't the stage go to the archive, and why is there no “Archived stages” tab?
Archiving is saved only with the “Save” button: if the stage is back in its old place after a reload, move it again and save. The “Archived stages” tab appears after the first archiving and save.

### Can I stop a manager from moving leads to certain stages?
Yes. In the employee's access rights in the “Users” section, you set which stages they can move leads to. The other kanban columns will be dimmed for them.

### Where do leads from a deleted pipeline stage go?
Cards from the deleted stage move to “Unsorted”. That's why it's safer to archive a stage that still has leads.

**Read also:** [CRM for small business: how to never lose a single lead](http://my.lptracker.ru/land/lk/faq/?a=crm-leads-list&format=md&lang=en), [Sales funnel conversion rate: at which stage you lose clients](http://my.lptracker.ru/land/lk/faq/?a=analytics-funnel&format=md&lang=en), [How to set up Telegram lead notifications and SMS to clients](http://my.lptracker.ru/land/lk/faq/?a=autofunnels-messages&format=md&lang=en), [Win back lost customers](http://my.lptracker.ru/land/lk/faq/?a=lost-clients-reactivation&format=md&lang=en)