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DocsCreating an Opportunity
Walk through every field in the opportunity creation form and learn best practices for deal setup
Starting a New Deal
Creating an opportunity is the first step in tracking a potential sale through your pipeline. The creation form captures all the essential information about the deal, from the company and value to the expected close date and forecast category. Taking a few moments to fill in each field accurately upfront ensures your pipeline data stays clean and your forecasts remain reliable.
How to Create an Opportunity
Follow these steps to add a new deal to your pipeline.
Navigate to the Opportunities page
Click Opportunities in the sidebar to open the list view. You can also create an opportunity from a company detail page, which automatically links the deal to that company.
Click the Add Opportunity button
The creation form opens as a panel on the right side of the screen. All fields are pre-populated with sensible defaults where possible.
Fill in the required fields
At minimum, provide an Opportunity Name and select a Company. These two fields are required to save the opportunity.
Select a pipeline and stage
Choose the pipeline this deal belongs to, then select the appropriate starting stage. The probability field updates automatically based on the stage you select, but you can override it manually.
Enter the deal value and close date
Set the Amount and Expected Close Date. The weighted value is calculated automatically by multiplying the amount by the probability percentage.
Add optional details and save
Fill in the deal type, forecast category, next step, description, deal source, competitor, and assignment. Click Save to create the opportunity and add it to your pipeline.
Form Fields
A complete reference for every field on the opportunity creation form.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Opportunity Name* | A descriptive name for the deal, e.g. "Acme Corp - Enterprise License". Should be unique enough to identify the deal at a glance. |
| Company* | The company this deal is associated with. Search and select from existing company records. |
| Pipeline | The sales pipeline this opportunity belongs to. Determines which set of stages are available. |
| Stage | The current stage in the selected pipeline. Each stage has an associated probability percentage that auto-populates the Probability field. |
| Deal Type | Categorizes the nature of the deal: New Business, Existing Business, Renewal, or Cross-Sell. |
| Forecast Category | Revenue forecasting classification: Pipeline (early stage), Best Case (likely), Commit (expected to close), or Closed. |
| Amount | The total monetary value of the deal. |
| Currency | The currency for the deal amount. |
| Weighted Value | Automatically calculated as Amount multiplied by Probability. This field is read-only and updates when either Amount or Probability changes. |
| Expected Close Date | The target date by which you expect to close the deal. Used for pipeline forecasting and date-based filters. |
| Next Step | A brief note describing the immediate next action needed to advance the deal, such as "Send proposal" or "Schedule demo". |
| Description | Detailed notes about the opportunity, including background context, requirements, or anything relevant to the deal. |
| Deal Source | How the deal originated, such as Inbound, Outbound, Referral, or Partner. |
| Competitor | The primary competitor you are up against in this deal, if known. |
| Assign To | The team member responsible for this deal. Only admins and managers can assign deals to other users. |
Understanding Weighted Value
How probability and amount combine to produce a forecast-ready figure.
The weighted value gives you a risk-adjusted view of your pipeline. It is calculated automatically using the formula:
For example, a $100,000 deal at the Proposal stage (50% probability) has a weighted value of $50,000. This field is read-only and recalculates whenever you change the amount or move the deal to a different stage.
Deal Types Explained
Choose the right deal type to categorize the nature of each opportunity.
New Business
A deal with a brand-new customer who has not previously purchased from you.
Existing Business
An upsell or expansion within an existing customer account, such as adding more seats or a higher-tier plan.
Renewal
A contract renewal for an existing customer. Tracking renewals separately helps you measure retention and churn.
Cross-Sell
Selling a different product or service to an existing customer. Useful for understanding revenue diversification within your customer base.
Forecast Categories
Classify each deal for accurate revenue forecasting.
Pipeline
Early-stage deals that are being worked but are not yet considered likely to close. These contribute to your overall pipeline total but not to your commit forecast.
Best Case
Deals with a reasonable chance of closing. They are included in optimistic forecast scenarios.
Commit
High-confidence deals that the sales rep expects to close within the forecast period. These form the basis of your committed revenue forecast.
Closed
Deals that have already been won. This category is typically set automatically when a deal moves to the Closed Won stage.