Setting up pipelines
From version 1.30.0 onwards, your office decides which steps a deal goes through. Such a series of steps is called a pipeline. Each step is a stage: one column on the deal board. You can have multiple pipelines, for example one for buyers, one for sellers and one for new-build.
This article is for admins. Only they see Settings > Pipelines. How you work with stages and the board on a daily basis as an agent is described in Pipeline stages and the deal board.
When do you use this?
Section titled “When do you use this?”- Your office works with different steps than Tesoro’s defaults
- You want a separate pipeline for your own workflow, such as new-build or rentals
- You want to collaborate with another real estate office via a co-broker pipeline
- You want a deal to turn orange or red if it stays in one stage for too long
The overview of your pipelines
Section titled “The overview of your pipelines”Go to Settings (the gear icon in the top right) and choose Pipelines in the left menu.
For each pipeline you see:
| Item | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Standard | A pipeline that Tesoro has set up for you. Name and stages are fixed. |
| Default | The preferred pipeline. Tesoro chooses this one when multiple pipelines match a deal type. |
| Co-broker | A pipeline for collaboration with another office. |
| Hidden | The pipeline is hidden. It doesn’t appear in the selection lists for new deals or on the board. |
| Buy / Rent / Sell / Rent out | The deal types (Client types) the pipeline is intended for. |
| … deals | How many deals are currently in this pipeline. |
| … stages | How many stages the pipeline has. |
The top right shows the total number of deals for your office. If there are deals outside every pipeline, you see a red notification … without pipeline.
The pipelines you already have
Section titled “The pipelines you already have”Every office gets three pipelines set up. The names may be in the language in which your Tesoro account was created. Below are the English names.
Buyer pipeline (Standard, Default)
Section titled “Buyer pipeline (Standard, Default)”For Buy and Rent. Nine stages:
| Phase | Stages |
|---|---|
| Orientation | Knowing Property, First Visit, Multiple Visits |
| Negotiation | Offer, Reservation |
| Closing | 10% Contract, Signing DEED |
| Outcome | Won, Lost |
Seller pipeline (Standard)
Section titled “Seller pipeline (Standard)”For Sell and Rent out. Eight stages:
| Phase | Stages |
|---|---|
| Orientation | Mandate, Online |
| Negotiation | Visits, Offer, Reservation |
| Closing | Deposit |
| Outcome | Won, Lost |
Co-broker pipeline (hidden)
Section titled “Co-broker pipeline (hidden)”For Buy and Rent, with External collaboration (co-broker) enabled. This pipeline is hidden until you make it visible. It isn’t Standard, so you’re allowed to modify it.
| Phase | Stages |
|---|---|
| Orientation | Registered, Proposed |
| Negotiation | Visit, Negotiation |
| Outcome | Won, Lost |
You can read more about collaborating with another office in Co-broker deals.
The four phases
Section titled “The four phases”Every stage belongs to one of four fixed phases. The phases are the same for everyone and don’t change. They give the board a fixed order, even if you create your own stages.
| Phase | Where the deal stands |
|---|---|
| Orientation | The client is orienting themselves: getting acquainted, viewings, mandate. |
| Negotiation | Negotiation is underway: offer, counter-offer, reservation. |
| Closing | The closing: contract, deposit, deed. |
| Outcome | The end: Won or Lost. |
Every pipeline always has at least one Won stage and one Lost stage. Without those two you can’t save. You then see: “A pipeline needs at least one Won and one Lost outcome.”
On the deal board, with All pipelines you can view the deals from all your pipelines together, grouped by phase. See Pipeline stages and the deal board.
Adding a pipeline
Section titled “Adding a pipeline”-
Go to Settings > Pipelines and click Add pipeline.
-
Give the pipeline a Name. Tesoro pre-fills “New pipeline”. Replace that with your own name.
-
Under Client types, choose which deal types the pipeline is intended for: Buy, Rent, Sell and/or Rent out. Only deals of those types can be in this pipeline.
-
You start with three stages: “New status” in Orientation, and Won and Lost in Outcome. Adjust the names and add stages (see below).
-
Click Save in the top right. You see “Pipeline created successfully” and return to the overview.
Duplicating a pipeline
Section titled “Duplicating a pipeline”The quickest way to create your own pipeline is to copy an existing one.
-
In the overview, click Duplicate next to the pipeline you want to copy.
-
Tesoro immediately creates a copy with “(copy)” after the name. You see “Pipeline created successfully”.
-
On the copy, click Edit and adjust the name, deal types and stages.
-
Click Save.
The copy is never Standard and never Default. So you can modify it freely, even if you copied a Standard pipeline. The copy is immediately visible. Don’t need the copy? Then delete it, or turn on Hidden.
Organising stages
Section titled “Organising stages”Click Edit on a pipeline. Under Stages you see four blocks: one per phase.
With a Standard pipeline, such as the Buyer pipeline, the same fields are greyed out and locked.
What you set per stage
Section titled “What you set per stage”| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Label | The name of the stage. You see this name as the column header on the board. |
| Colour | The colour of the stage. |
| Max days | Optional. How many working days a deal may stay in this stage. At 80% the deal card turns orange, and once the limit is reached it turns red. Leaving it empty means: no limit. |
| Commits the property | Tick this if a deal in this stage commits the property, such as with a reservation. See What does “Commits the property” mean? |
Max days counts only working days (Monday to Friday). You set when a card turns orange or red under Settings > Deal Settings, under Stage time-limit colouring. See Pipeline stages and the deal board.
Adding, moving and deleting stages
Section titled “Adding, moving and deleting stages”- Adding: click Add stage under a phase. The new stage gets the colour of the stage above it.
- Moving: grab a stage by the handle on the left (the dots) and drag it up, down or to another phase.
- Deleting: click the bin icon to the right of the stage.
- Extra outcome: click Add outcome in the Outcome block. This lets you create, for example, a second Lost stage called “Cancelled”. For each outcome you choose under Outcome whether it’s Won or Lost.
Click Save after every change. Only then are the changes saved.
Deleting a stage that still has deals
Section titled “Deleting a stage that still has deals”If there are still deals in the stage you’re deleting, you can’t simply save. Tesoro first asks where those deals should go:
-
Delete the stage and click Save.
-
The Move deals before removing a status window opens.
-
Under Move deals to status, choose another stage from the same pipeline. You can only choose from existing stages that aren’t Won or Lost.
-
Click Move & remove. Tesoro moves the deals and removes the stage. You see how many deals were moved.
If there’s no other stage to move them to, you see a notification and Tesoro saves nothing.
Settings for the whole pipeline
Section titled “Settings for the whole pipeline”At the top of the editor are settings that apply to the whole pipeline.
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Name | The name of the pipeline. |
| Client types | Which deal types the pipeline is for. |
| Rotting window (days) | After how many days without contact the Recent contact item of the Rotting score counts fully. Empty = your office’s setting. |
| Rotting sensitivity | How strictly deals in this pipeline are assessed. Company default = your office’s setting. |
| External collaboration (co-broker) | On for a pipeline for collaboration with another office. The Rotting score is then off for deals in this pipeline. |
| Hidden | Hides the pipeline. See below. |
You can read what the Rotting score is and how to set it in Rotting: deals that need attention.
Hiding a pipeline
Section titled “Hiding a pipeline”A hidden pipeline no longer appears in the Pipeline selection list for a new deal, nor in the pipeline selector on the board. The pipeline and its settings are kept. You can make it visible again later.
-
Click Edit on the pipeline.
-
Turn on Hidden and click Save.
-
Are there still deals in the pipeline? Then the Move deals before hiding window opens. Under Move deals to, choose a visible pipeline for the same deal type.
-
Click Move & hide. Tesoro moves the deals and hides the pipeline.
When moving to another pipeline, Tesoro looks for the best-matching stage for each deal. First a stage with the same name. Otherwise a stage in the same phase, in a comparable position. A won deal stays won and a lost deal stays lost.
Deleting a pipeline
Section titled “Deleting a pipeline”At the bottom of the editor is the red Delete pipeline block. Deleting is permanent and can’t be undone.
You can only delete a pipeline if:
- it isn’t a Standard pipeline (otherwise: “Standard pipelines can’t be deleted.”)
- it isn’t the Default pipeline (otherwise: “The default pipeline can’t be deleted.”)
- there are no longer any deals in it (otherwise: “This pipeline still has deals. Move them to another pipeline first.”)
Does one of these three apply? Then the Delete button is greyed out and the reason is shown in the Delete pipeline block.
-
Open the pipeline with Edit and scroll to Delete pipeline.
-
Click Delete.
-
Check the name in the confirmation window and click Delete again.
Which pipeline gets a new deal?
Section titled “Which pipeline gets a new deal?”Every new deal ends up in a pipeline and in a stage.
With Add deal. The Pipeline field is already filled in. Tesoro only shows visible pipelines that match the deal type. If the Default pipeline matches, that’s the one shown. Otherwise the first matching pipeline is shown. You can choose a different one yourself. In the Status field you then choose a stage of that pipeline.
With the + on the board. The deal goes into the pipeline and the stage where you clicked +.
When converting a lead. You don’t choose a pipeline here. Tesoro chooses itself, based on the deal type:
- Does one pipeline match the deal type? Then that one.
- Do several match? Then the Default pipeline. If it isn’t among them, then the pipeline that was created first.
- Visible pipelines take precedence over hidden pipelines.
- A co-broker pipeline is never chosen automatically. You always choose that one yourself.
The deal starts in the first stage of that pipeline.
No pipeline for this deal type
Section titled “No pipeline for this deal type”If your office has no pipeline at all for the deal type, Tesoro can’t save the deal. You then see:
“This company has no pipeline serving this deal type. Create one, or run the pipeline seed for this company.”
In that case, create a pipeline with that deal type under Client types, or contact Tesoro support.
What does “Commits the property” mean?
Section titled “What does “Commits the property” mean?”With Commits the property you indicate: from this stage onwards, the deal has committed the property. Think of a reservation, a contract or a deposit. Tesoro uses this in three places:
-
No double sale. A property can only be committed by one deal at a time. If a second deal tries to commit the same property, Tesoro refuses. You then see: “Double-sale guard: deal “…” (…) is already committed to this property. Resolve that deal first, or override explicitly with a reason.“ The notification names the other deal and its owner.
-
An approved property first. A Buy or Rent deal can only move to such a stage if at least one property is set to Approved. Otherwise you see: “A deal must have at least one approved property before it can commit to it.” This rule doesn’t apply to Sell and Rent out deals.
-
No more automatic suggestions. Tesoro no longer automatically suggests new properties for this deal. After all, the buyer has chosen the property.
A new Buy or Rent deal may not start in a stage that commits the property, nor in Won or Lost. You then see: “A new deal cannot start here. Start it on one of: …”, with the stages where it is allowed.
In the standard pipelines, these stages commit the property: Reservation, 10% Contract, Signing DEED, Deposit and Won. Offer doesn’t: with an offer, another buyer can still make an offer.
Frequently asked questions
Section titled “Frequently asked questions”Who can modify pipelines?
Section titled “Who can modify pipelines?”Only users with the admin role. Other users don’t see Pipelines in Settings.
Why can’t I modify the Buyer pipeline?
Section titled “Why can’t I modify the Buyer pipeline?”It’s a Standard pipeline. The name, deal types and stages are fixed. You can hide it, or use Duplicate to make a copy you can modify.
Can I choose the Default pipeline myself?
Section titled “Can I choose the Default pipeline myself?”No, not in this screen. At the start, the Default pipeline is the Buyer pipeline. A copy is never Default.
What happens to my deals if I rename a stage?
Section titled “What happens to my deals if I rename a stage?”Nothing. The deals remain in the same stage. Only the name on the board changes.
I need the Co-broker pipeline. Where is it?
Section titled “I need the Co-broker pipeline. Where is it?”It’s hidden by default. Open it via Edit, turn off Hidden and click Save. See also Co-broker deals.
Why won’t the Delete button work?
Section titled “Why won’t the Delete button work?”The reason is shown in the Delete pipeline block: it’s a Standard pipeline, the Default pipeline, or there are still deals in it. Move the deals first (for example via Hidden and Move & hide) or choose to hide it.