Introduction
Pipelines are the backbone of your workflow management in ElloCharlie. Instead of a single flat list of deals, you can now create multiple pipelines—each tailored to a specific business process. Whether you're managing a sales pipeline, hiring pipeline, customer onboarding, or support escalations, pipelines let you visualize and organize your work in a stage-based kanban view.
Each pipeline is self-contained with its own:
Stages (customizable columns like "Lead," "Qualified," "Proposal," "Closed Won")
Entity labels (call items "Deals," "Candidates," "Customers," or anything else)
Color coding (for visual identification)
Custom fields (optionally scoped to just that pipeline)
Managing Pipelines
Viewing Your Pipelines
Navigate to the Pipeline section from the main navigation.
A Pipeline Selector appears in the filter bar (next to Deal Properties / Company Properties buttons).
Click the selector to see all available pipelines with their color dots.
Select a pipeline to view its kanban board with all stages and items.
Note: The pipeline selector is always visible when pipelines exist, even if you only have one pipeline.
Creating a New Pipeline
Go to Settings → Pipelines.
Click Create New Pipeline or Add Pipeline.
Enter the following details:
Pipeline Name — e.g., "Hiring Pipeline," "Customer Onboarding"
Entity Label (Singular) — e.g., "Candidate," "Customer" (defaults to "Deal")
Entity Label (Plural) — e.g., "Candidates," "Customers" (defaults to "Deals")
Color — Choose a color using the color picker for visual identification
Click Create.
Your new pipeline is automatically created with no stages. You'll add stages next.
Adding and Managing Stages
Go to Settings → Pipelines.
Click on the pipeline you want to edit (or click the Edit button next to its name).
You're now on the Pipeline Detail Page.
In the Stage Management section, click Add Stage.
Enter the stage name (e.g., "Lead," "Qualified," "Proposal") and optionally choose a color.
Click Save.
Reordering Stages:
Drag stages up or down in the list to change their display order.
The order persists automatically.
Editing a Stage:
Click the stage name or settings icon to edit its name or color.
Click Save to apply changes.
Deleting a Stage:
Click the Delete button next to a stage.
You can only delete a stage if it has no items in it.
Setting a Default Pipeline
Go to Settings → Pipelines.
Click the star icon next to the pipeline you want to make default.
This pipeline will now load when you navigate to
/pipelinewithout specifying a pipeline ID.
Note: Every tenant must have exactly one default pipeline. When you set a new default, the previous default is automatically unset.
Reordering Pipelines
Go to Settings → Pipelines.
Drag pipelines up or down in the list to change their display order.
The order updates automatically and is reflected in the Pipeline Selector dropdown.
Editing Pipeline Metadata
Go to Settings → Pipelines.
Click Edit next to the pipeline, or click the pipeline name.
Update any of the following:
Pipeline Name
Entity Label (Singular)
Entity Label (Plural)
Color
Click Save.
Deleting a Pipeline
Go to Settings → Pipelines.
Click Edit next to the pipeline you want to delete.
Click the Delete button at the bottom of the Pipeline Detail Page.
Restrictions:
You cannot delete the default pipeline.
You cannot delete a pipeline that contains items. Move or delete all items first.
Moving Items Between Pipelines
Open an item (deal, candidate, etc.) detail page.
Click the Move to Pipeline option (or similar action).
Select the destination pipeline.
Select the stage within that pipeline where the item should land.
Click Confirm.
The item is now part of the new pipeline and appears in the selected stage.
Working with Pipelines in Your Workflow
Viewing and Filtering by Pipeline
Navigate to the Pipeline section.
Use the Pipeline Selector to switch between pipelines.
The kanban board updates to show only stages and items for the selected pipeline.
When you switch pipelines, stage visibility resets and the view re-fetches stages and items.
Creating Items in a Pipeline
When you create a new item (deal, candidate, etc.), you must specify which pipeline it belongs to. The item will be created in the first stage of that pipeline by default.
Dragging Items Between Stages
Open the kanban view for your pipeline.
Click and hold an item card.
Drag it to a different stage column.
Release to drop it in the new stage.
The item's stage is updated immediately, and the change is saved to your account.
Customizing Item Fields
Custom fields can be scoped to a specific pipeline or shared across all pipelines:
Shared fields appear on items in every pipeline.
Pipeline-scoped fields appear only on items within that pipeline.
When creating or editing custom fields, you can choose whether they apply to all pipelines or just one.
FAQ
Q: Can I have multiple pipelines? A: Yes! You can create as many pipelines as you need—one for sales, one for hiring, one for onboarding, etc. Each is completely independent.
Q: What happens to my existing data when I enable pipelines? A: All existing deals and stages are automatically migrated into a default "Sales Pipeline" so your workflow continues without interruption.
Q: Can I move an item from one pipeline to another? A: Yes. Open the item's detail page and use the "Move to Pipeline" option. You'll select the destination pipeline and the stage within it.
Q: Can I delete a pipeline? A: Yes, but only if it's not the default pipeline and contains no items. Move or delete all items first, then delete the pipeline from Settings → Pipelines.
Q: What's the difference between a pipeline and a stage? A: A pipeline is a complete workflow (e.g., "Sales Pipeline"). A stage is a step within that workflow (e.g., "Lead," "Qualified," "Proposal"). Each pipeline has its own set of stages.
Q: Can I customize the names of items in my pipeline? A: Yes! When you create a pipeline, you set the entity label. Instead of "Deal," you can call items "Candidate," "Customer," "Ticket," or anything else. This label appears throughout the pipeline.
Q: Can custom fields be specific to one pipeline? A: Yes. When you create a custom field, you can scope it to a specific pipeline or make it shared across all pipelines. Shared fields appear on items in every pipeline; scoped fields appear only in their assigned pipeline.
Q: What's the default pipeline?
A: Every tenant must have one default pipeline. This is the pipeline that loads when you navigate to /pipeline without specifying a pipeline ID. You can change which pipeline is default from Settings → Pipelines.
Q: Can I reorder my pipelines? A: Yes. Go to Settings → Pipelines and drag pipelines up or down to change their display order. This order is reflected in the Pipeline Selector dropdown.
Q: Can I reorder stages within a pipeline? A: Yes. Go to Settings → Pipelines, select the pipeline, and drag stages up or down in the Stage Management section.
Q: What happens if I delete a stage? A: You can only delete a stage if it contains no items. If items are in the stage, move them to another stage first.
Q: Can I set different permissions for different pipelines? A: Not yet. Pipeline-level permissions are a planned feature but not currently available.
Best Practices
1. Use Pipelines to Match Your Business Processes
Create a separate pipeline for each distinct workflow in your organization. For example:
Sales Pipeline for prospect-to-customer deals
Hiring Pipeline for candidate-to-hire workflows
Customer Onboarding Pipeline for new customer setup
Support Escalation Pipeline for ticket resolution
This keeps workflows organized and prevents unrelated items from cluttering each other.
2. Name Stages Clearly and Consistently
Use stage names that reflect the actual state of an item:
✅ Good: "Lead," "Qualified," "Proposal," "Closed Won"
❌ Avoid: "Step 1," "Step 2," "Step 3"
Clear stage names help your team understand where items are in the workflow at a glance.
3. Use Colors to Visually Distinguish Pipelines
Assign a unique color to each pipeline so team members can quickly identify which workflow they're viewing. For example:
Blue for Sales
Green for Hiring
Orange for Onboarding
Red for Support
4. Keep Stages Focused and Actionable
Each stage should represent a meaningful step in your workflow. Avoid creating too many stages (aim for 4–7 per pipeline) or too few (which can hide important details).
5. Set a Clear Default Pipeline
Choose the pipeline your team uses most frequently as the default. This is the pipeline that loads when team members navigate to the Pipeline section, so it should be your primary workflow.
6. Use Pipeline-Scoped Custom Fields for Workflow-Specific Data
If you have data that only applies to one pipeline, create a custom field scoped to that pipeline. For example:
In your Hiring Pipeline, add a "Salary Expectation" field
In your Sales Pipeline, add a "Contract Value" field
This keeps your data model clean and prevents irrelevant fields from appearing in unrelated pipelines.
7. Regularly Review and Prune Unused Pipelines
Periodically check Settings → Pipelines and delete pipelines that are no longer in use. This keeps your workspace organized and reduces clutter in the Pipeline Selector.
8. Train Your Team on Pipeline Conventions
Ensure all team members understand:
What each pipeline is used for
What stages mean and when to move items between them
Which custom fields apply to which pipelines
This prevents confusion and ensures consistent data entry.
9. Use Drag-and-Drop to Move Items Through Stages
The kanban view is designed for quick, visual workflow management. Use drag-and-drop to move items between stages rather than editing them individually. This is faster and keeps your team focused on the workflow.
10. Archive or Delete Completed Items Appropriately
Once items reach a final stage (e.g., "Closed Won" in Sales or "Hired" in Hiring), decide whether to keep them for historical tracking or delete them. Keeping completed items can clutter your active pipeline, but deleting them removes historical data.