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21.5. Configure Opportunity Stages, Steps, Suggestion Thresholds, and Numbering
Set the steps your MSP sales team works through at each opportunity stage, tune the renewal, T&M, whitespace, and asset-refresh suggestion generators, and configure opportunity numbering.
Opportunity settings are where a sales process stops living in one person's head. Navigate to Settings > Opportunities (/msp/settings/opportunities).
Four tabs cover the setup: Stages and Steps, Suggestions, Opportunity Numbering, and Email Drafting.
Stages and Steps
Each stage carries a list of steps your team works through. When an opportunity plans that stage, these steps are offered, so every deal follows the same process without anyone having to remember it.
Figure 1: Stage steps. Each step carries a name and a due-in offset in days.
Every step has two fields:
| Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Step name | What the salesperson actually does |
| Due in (days) | How long after the deal reaches this stage the step is due |
The due-in offsets are what keep the Queue honest. A step due in 3 days appears in someone's day three days after the deal lands in that stage — nobody has to set a reminder.
Writing good steps
Steps should name a completed action, not a state of mind:
| Write this | Not this |
|---|---|
| Schedule discovery call | Qualify the lead |
| Confirm the decision-maker | Build rapport |
| Book assessment | Understand needs |
| Confirm requirements and budget | Check fit |
| Review assessment findings | Follow up |
| Prepare quote | Move to proposal |
A step someone can mark done without ambiguity is a step that reports accurately.
Use Add a step to extend a stage and the trash icon to remove one. Removing a step from settings does not remove it from deals that already planned it.
Suggestions
The Suggestions tab controls the four generators described in deal suggestions, and the thresholds that decide what qualifies.
Figure 2: Suggestion sources. Each generator can be run on demand with Run now.
| Threshold | Default | What it controls |
|---|---|---|
| Renewal lead time (days) | 120 | How far ahead of the renewal decision date a contract surfaces |
| T&M conversion threshold (monthly) | 1,200.00 | The monthly billed support spend above which a client is worth an agreement conversation |
| Asset refresh age (years) | 6 | The age at which client assets are flagged for refresh |
Below the thresholds, the four generators — Renewals, T&M conversion, Service whitespace, and Asset refresh — each have a Run now button. Use it after changing a threshold, or after a data import, rather than waiting for the next scheduled run.
Remember to Save changes after editing thresholds.
Tuning the thresholds
- Renewal lead time should match how long your renewal conversations actually take. An MSP that renegotiates scope annually needs more than 120 days; one that auto-renews with a price adjustment needs less.
- T&M conversion threshold should sit near your entry-level agreement price. Set it far below and you will get suggestions for clients who genuinely only need break-fix.
- Asset refresh age depends on what you sell. Six years suits general office hardware; set it lower for clients running design, clinical, or manufacturing workloads.
Opportunity Numbering
Opportunities get their own auto-numbering sequence, configured on the Opportunity Numbering tab — the deals in this documentation carry identifiers such as OPP-0010. Numbering works the same way as the other billing-document sequences described in tenant billing defaults.
Email Drafting
The Email Drafting tab configures the Pro-tier AI Assistant that drafts follow-up emails on a deal. It controls the voice and constraints the assistant writes to, so drafts read like your team rather than like a template. Drafts are always reviewed before they are sent.
Email drafting requires Pro and the AI add-on.
Permissions
Opportunity settings are administrative. Day-to-day sales users work the Queue and deal detail screens and do not need access to this area. Grant the settings permission through roles and permissions.