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Understanding and customizing the project pipeline
Understanding and customizing the project pipeline

All about the pipeline and how to customize it to fit your business's needs

Updated over a week ago

In HoneyBook, your pipeline is a tool that lets you view and organize your projects by where they are in their lifecycle (their “stage”).

And, when it comes to your business process, we understand there’s no one-size-fits-all. That’s why you can completely customize your pipeline–add, edit, and delete any and all stages; with full control over the settings that automatically move projects through your pipeline, too.

📣 Note

Don't see these customization options yet? They're coming to your account very soon!


Finding your pipeline

Your full pipeline is visible in the Projects tab of your HoneyBook account. From there, you can:

  • Click on Active Projects to view everything that's currently in the works*

  • Click on an individual stage to see all projects in that stage

  • Click on Archived to view projects you've archived

📚 Tip*

All projects except those that are archived will appear under the Active tab.

View your team members' pipelines

If you have team members that are part of your company in HoneyBook, you'll see some additional details in your pipeline to help with project management. This feature is available for account owners, super admins, and admins.

From the top of your pipeline, just click the drop-down and select the team member's pipeline you'd like to view, or select View all to view all projects under the company.


Customizing your pipeline

📣 Note

Any changes that you make to your pipeline will take effect company-wide. This means that:

  • If other team members are added to the company, the pipeline changes will take effect for them, too

  • If you have other companies in HoneyBook, the pipelines for those companies will not be impacted

Add a pipeline stage

📣 Note

At this time, you can add up to 20 custom stages.

1. From your HoneyBook home page, click the Projects tab.

2. Click the Customize button above your pipeline.

3. Click + Add stage.

4. Enter the stage name.

📚 Tip

Clients can see the pipeline stage names associated with their projects (though they cannot view your pipeline or any of the other projects and stages in it). Make sure the name you enter is client-appropriate.

5. If needed, hover over the stage > click the 6 dot icon > drag and drop to move the stage's place in your pipeline.

6. When you’re finished making changes, click Save.

Rename a stage

1. From your HoneyBook home page, click the Projects tab.

2. Click the Customize button above your pipeline.

3. Hover over the name of the stage you’d like to change > type in the new name.

📚 Tip

Clients can see the pipeline stage names associated with their projects (though they cannot view your pipeline or any of the other projects and stages in it). Make sure the name you enter is client-appropriate.

4. When you’re finished making changes, click Save.

Reorder stages

1. From your HoneyBook home page, click the Projects tab.

2. Click the Customize button above your pipeline.

3. Hover over the stage you’d like to move > click the 6 dot icon and drag and drop the stage to the new place in your pipeline.

4. When you’re finished making changes, click Save.

Delete a stage

1. From your HoneyBook home page, click the Projects tab.

2. Click the Customize button above your pipeline.

3. Hover over the stage you’d like to delete > click the trash can icon > Delete Stage to confirm.

📣 Note

Deleting a pipeline stage will cause any projects in the stage to move to the previous stage.

If a stage is tied to a pipeline automation, deleting the stage will also disable the associated pipeline automation.

If a stage is tied to an automation action, deleting the stage will skip the step in the automation in all associated projects.

4. When you’re finished making changes, click Save.

Manage pipeline automations

Pipeline automations are certain actions that you or your clients take, which will automatically cause the associated project to move to a particular pipeline stage.

Setting up pipeline automations lets projects move effortlessly through your pipeline, at the appropriate triggers–and saves you the manual work of tracking each and every project!

Don't see this feature? It's coming to your account very soon!

1. From your HoneyBook home page, click the Projects tab.

2. Click the Customize button above your pipeline.

3. Click Manage pipeline automations to open the drop-down.

4. From the pipeline automations editor, you can:

  • Toggle each pipeline automation ON or OFF

  • From the drop-downs, select the pipeline stage that each action will cause projects to automatically move to

Pipeline automation

Action

Suggested stage

New projects

Lead/contact form submission or manual project entry created

Inquiry, or whatever stage comes first in your pipeline

First email sent

When the first email follow-up is sent

Follow-up, or whatever stage reflects first communication

Invoice/contract sent

When the first invoice and/or contract is sent

Proposal sent, or whatever stage reflects a booking file sent but not yet signed/paid

Contract signed

When the contract is signed

Proposal signed, or whatever stage reflects this stage of the contract

First payment received

When a client makes their first payment or it's marked as paid

Planning, or whatever stage reflects this stage of the payment schedule

Second payment received

When a client makes their second payment or it's marked as paid

Planning, or whatever stage reflects this stage of the payment schedule

5. When you’re finished making changes, click Save.


FAQ

How many pipeline stages can I add?

At this time, you can add up to 20 custom stages.

Are pipeline automations different from the automations feature?

Yes, pipeline automations are different from the automations feature. Pipeline automations are specific to your pipeline, and they refer to certain actions that you or your clients take, which will automatically cause the associated project to move to a particular pipeline stage.

The automations feature allows you to automate tasks in your project's lifecycle, sending out emails or files, and creating internal tasks, at the cadence of your choice.

If I manually move a project, will it stay in the stage?

If you manually move a project's stage, it will stay there until an action occurs in the project that is tied to a pipeline automation. At that point, the project will automatically move to the associated new stage.

Can I have multiple pipelines?

At this time, each company can have only one pipeline. The same pipeline will appear for all team members added to the company.

However, if you use HoneyBook's multiple companies feature, each company can have its own unique pipeline.


🚀 Want to level-up your workflow? HoneyBook Pros are pipeline experts that can simplify and streamline your process.


Still have questions? Feel free to send us a message by clicking the Question Mark icon on any HoneyBook page. Our team is always happy to help!

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