Transition Rules¶

Control how deals move between stages on your pipeline. Transition rules let you whitelist or block specific stage moves, require manager approval for sensitive transitions, and enforce a minimum dwell time in a stage — all enforced automatically when a deal is moved on the pipeline board.

Note

Transition Rules must be enabled first in Settings > CRM > Pipeline Settings under Advanced Features. While disabled, deals move freely between any stages.

Accessing Transition Rules¶

Go to Settings > CRM > Transition Rules.

The page has two parts:

The Transition Matrix — a read-only grid that visualises the effective result of all your rules for every possible stage move.
The rules list — the individual rules you have configured, which you can edit, enable/disable, reorder, or delete.

The Transition Matrix¶

Rows are the From stage, columns are the To stage. Each cell shows what happens when a deal moves from that row's stage to that column's stage.

Icon	Meaning
✓	Allowed — the deal moves immediately
✗	Blocked — the move is not permitted
🔒	Requires Approval — the move needs sign-off before it can happen
—	Same stage (not applicable)

Sample matrix¶

The grid below reflects two rules: a Block List preventing a brand-new deal from jumping straight to Won, and a Require Approval rule on Proposal Sent → Won (so discounts get a manager's sign-off).

From ↓ \ To →	New	Qualified	Proposal Sent	Won	Lost
New	—	✓	✓	✗	✓
Qualified	✓	—	✓	✓	✓
Proposal Sent	✓	✓	—	🔒	✓
Won	✓	✓	✓	—	✓
Lost	✓	✓	✓	✓	—

Cells with no matching rule default to Allowed (✓). The matrix refreshes automatically whenever you add, edit, or remove a rule.

Rule Types¶

Create a rule with Create Transition Rule, then choose one of four types.

Allow List¶

Only the stages you select are permitted as destinations from the chosen stage — every other move out of that stage is blocked.

Click Create Transition Rule
Give the rule a name
Select type Allow List
Choose the From Stage (the stage you are locking down)
Pick the stages the deal is allowed to move to
Click Save

Example: From New, allow only Qualified and Lost. Any attempt to move a New deal anywhere else is blocked.

Block List¶

The opposite of an allow list — the stages you select are blocked as destinations, and everything else is allowed.

Click Create Transition Rule, name it, select Block List
Choose the From Stage
Pick the stages the deal is blocked from moving to
Click Save

Example: From Contacted, block Negotiation and Won so a deal can't skip the proposal step.

Require Approval¶

The move is allowed only after an authorised approver signs off. Until then the deal stays put and an approval request is raised.

Click Create Transition Rule, name it, select Require Approval
Choose the From Stage and To Stage that define the transition
Select one or more Approver Roles from the searchable list of your organisation's roles
Click Save

Example: Proposal Sent → Won requires approval from the Sales Manager role.

Minimum Time¶

The deal must spend a minimum amount of time in the From stage before it can move on.

Click Create Transition Rule, name it, select Minimum Time
Choose the From Stage (and optionally a To Stage to scope it)
Set the minimum hours the deal must stay before moving
Click Save

Example: A deal must remain in Qualified for at least 24 hours before advancing.

From / To vs. the stage list¶

There are two different concepts on the form, and it helps to keep them apart:

From Stage / To Stage define when a rule applies (its scope). Leaving one as All Stages means "any stage".
For Allow List and Block List, the destination stages come from the stage selector (the chips), not from the To Stage. For that reason the To Stage field is hidden for these two types — the chips already say which stages are allowed or blocked.
For Require Approval and Minimum Time there is no stage list — the From and To stages themselves define the transition the rule governs.

On the rules list, allow/block rules read as "From: Contacted • Blocks To: Negotiation, Won" so you can see the configured stages at a glance.

Tip

A Block List or Allow List rule with no stages selected does nothing — the app prevents you from saving one. Likewise, a Require Approval rule must have at least one approver role.

The Approval Workflow¶

When a deal move requires approval:

The move is held (the deal does not change stage) and the person moving it is prompted to request approval, optionally with a note.
The request appears in CRM > Approvals for review.
Only users who hold one of the rule's approver roles — or an Admin — can approve or reject it. Others are not permitted.
Once approved, the deal can be moved to the requested stage; if rejected, it stays where it is.

On the Pipeline Board¶

When you drag a deal to a new stage on CRM > Deals > Pipeline, the rules are enforced immediately:

Allowed — the deal moves and the change is saved.
Blocked — a dialog explains why the move isn't permitted, and the card returns to its original column.
Requires approval — a dialog appears so you can submit an approval request; the deal stays put until it's approved.
Missing required fields — if the destination stage has required fields the deal hasn't filled, the move is blocked and the dialog lists the fields to complete.

Enforcement happens on the server, so the rules apply no matter how a deal is moved.

Worked Example¶

A team wants this policy:

New deals shouldn't be marked Won without going through the funnel.
Closing a deal as Won from Proposal Sent needs a manager's approval (to control discounting).

They configure two rules:

Rule	Type	From	Target	Approver
No instant wins	Block List	New	Blocks Won	—
Manager signs off wins	Require Approval	Proposal Sent	Won	Sales Manager

The resulting matrix matches the sample above: New → Won shows ✗, and Proposal Sent → Won shows 🔒. On the board:

Dragging a New deal onto Won is rejected with the block reason.
Dragging a Proposal Sent deal onto Won opens the approval dialog; once a Sales Manager approves it from CRM > Approvals, the move goes through.