Closing an opportunity
The close options depend on where you are — and "won" is never one of them.
The options depend on which side you are on
Before the contract, an opportunity can be lost, disqualified, or put on hold. After the contract none of those mean anything — a signed contract is not "lost"; it is cancelled.
So the close dialog offers two different lists on the two sides. The restriction is deliberate: offering the full list on both sides produces data no report can ever be built from.
"Won" is on neither list, because winning is not chosen; it is derived from crossing the contract boundary.
What happens when you close
- A reason is required, and the reasons offered are scoped to the outcome you chose
- The stage freezes — a closed record does not move
- The moment of closing is stamped
- The record becomes read-only
- One row is added to the stage history
On hold is the round trip
On hold is the one closed outcome that naturally comes back: the client said three months. Closing this way takes the engagement out of open reporting without claiming a loss.
Reopening it erases no history; it simply adds another row to it.
Read this next
- Pipeline & opportunitiesPipeline reportingThe seven questions this page answers, and one decision that makes the numbers defensible.
- Pipeline & opportunitiesThe stage historyEvery move is one row. It is never edited or deleted — which is what makes it worth having.
- Pipeline & opportunitiesMoving an opportunityOne step forward is free. A skip or a step back needs a note — and here is why.
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