Odoo CRM Basics: Pipelines and Opportunities

Introduction

A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system tracks every interaction your business has with leads and customers. It compiles all that information in one place, giving you a complete picture of each customer relationship.

For sales teams, a CRM provides visibility into the customer journey and helps plan follow-up activities. On the analysis side, it can process data from web visits, purchase history, and revenue attribution—information that becomes more valuable as it accumulates over time.

This guide covers the fundamentals of Odoo CRM: how to structure your pipeline, create and manage opportunities, and track deals as they progress through your sales process.

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Understanding the CRM Dashboard

When you open Odoo CRM, you see your pipeline in Kanban view—a visual board with columns representing each stage of your sales process.

Default View Settings

By default, Odoo shows only opportunities assigned to you. This is indicated by the My Pipeline filter in the search bar.

To see all opportunities across your team:

1. Look for the "My Pipeline" filter in the search bar
2. Click the X to remove it
3. All opportunities now appear

You can toggle this filter on and off as needed.

What You See on Each Opportunity Card

Each opportunity card displays:

• Customer name — The contact or organisation
• Expected revenue — The projected deal value
• Activity icon — Shows the next scheduled action (call, meeting, etc.)
• Priority stars — Visual indicator of deal importance

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Working with Pipeline Stages

Stages represent the steps in your sales process. Odoo includes default stages, but you can customise them to match how your team actually works.

Customising Existing Stages

Hover over any stage column and click the gear icon that appears. You'll see these options:

Option	What It Does
Fold	Collapses the stage in Kanban view (hides it visually)
Edit	Opens stage settings for detailed configuration
Automations	Configure automated workflows for this stage
Delete	Removes the stage entirely

Folding a stage is useful for stages you don't need to see daily. Folded stages still exist—they're just hidden from the main view. Click a folded stage to expand it again.

Adding New Stages

To add a stage to your pipeline:

1. Scroll to the right of your existing stages
2. Click the + Stage button
3. Enter a title for the new stage
4. Press Enter or click outside to create it

New stages appear at the end of the pipeline. Drag them to reposition.

Example: Adding a Second Proposition Stage

If your sales process involves multiple proposal rounds:

1. Click + Stage
2. Enter "Second Proposition"
3. Drag it between "First Proposition" and "Won"

Now you have a stage to track deals that need revised proposals.

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Creating Opportunities

Opportunities represent potential deals in your pipeline. There are two ways to create them.

Method 1: Quick Create Within a Stage

1. Click the + sign at the top of any stage column
2. Fill in the basic details
3. The opportunity is created in that specific stage

This is fast when you know exactly which stage the opportunity belongs in.

Method 2: Full Form Creation

1. Click New in the top-left corner
2. A full opportunity form opens
3. Fill in all relevant details
4. The opportunity is created in the first stage (typically "New")

This method gives you access to all fields from the start.

Required and Optional Fields

Essential fields:

• Organisation/Contact — Who the opportunity is with
• Opportunity Title — A descriptive name you'll recognise in the pipeline

Recommended fields:

• Email — For automated communications
• Phone — For call activities
• Expected Revenue — The projected deal value
• Priority — Star rating (1-3) for deal importance

If you select an existing contact, Odoo auto-fills their information from your database.

Example: Creating an Opportunity

1. Click New
2. Select "Abigail" from your contacts
3. Title: "Abby wants 200 lamps"
4. Expected Revenue: $2,000 (200 lamps × $10 each)
5. Priority: 2 stars (high priority)
6. Click Add

The opportunity appears in the New stage, ready to be worked.

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Scheduling Activities

Activities are scheduled actions tied to opportunities—calls to make, meetings to hold, documents to send. The activity system ensures nothing falls through the cracks.

Activity Icons on Opportunity Cards

Each opportunity card shows an activity icon indicating its status:

Icon	Meaning
Grey clock	No activity scheduled
Phone	Call scheduled
Person	Meeting scheduled
Other icons	Various activity types

Creating an Activity

1. Click the activity icon on any opportunity card
2. Select Schedule an Activity
3. Choose the activity type from the dropdown:
   • Call
   • Meeting
   • Reminder
   • Email
   • To-Do
4. Fill in the activity details

Activity Fields

The form fields change based on activity type. Common fields include:

• Summary — Brief description of the activity
• Due Date — When it needs to be completed
• Assigned To — Who is responsible
• Notes — Additional context

Saving Options

After filling in the activity details, you have several options:

Button	What It Does
Open Calendar	Opens the calendar to select a specific time slot
Schedule	Saves the activity and closes the form
Mark as Done	Records the activity as already completed
Done & Schedule Next	Completes this activity and opens a new one

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Understanding Activity Status Colours

The coloured bar above each pipeline stage shows the activity status of opportunities in that stage.

Colour	Meaning
Green	Planned activities (scheduled for the future)
Yellow/Orange	Activities due today
Red	Overdue activities
Grey	No activities scheduled

Use these colours to quickly identify which stages need attention. A stage full of red means opportunities are being neglected.

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Moving Opportunities Through the Pipeline

As deals progress, move opportunities to reflect their current status.

Drag and Drop

The simplest method: click and drag an opportunity card from one stage to another.

From the Opportunity Form

1. Open the opportunity
2. Look at the stage buttons in the top-right
3. Click the appropriate stage

Both methods update the opportunity immediately.

Stage Revenue Totals

Each stage column shows the total expected revenue for all opportunities in that stage. This number updates automatically as you add, remove, or modify opportunities.

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The Opportunity Form

Click any opportunity to open its full form. Here you can view and edit all details.

Key Sections

Header area:

• Customer information
• Expected revenue
• Probability (calculated by Odoo)
• Stage selection

Internal Notes tab:

• Free-form notes visible to your sales team
• Use for context, history, or strategy notes

Extra Info tab:

• Contact details
• Marketing attribution
• Tracking information
• Additional custom fields

Probability Score

Odoo calculates a probability percentage for each opportunity based on various factors. This helps prioritise deals and forecast revenue.

The probability calculation considers:

• Stage position in the pipeline
• Historical win rates
• Time in each stage
• Other configurable factors

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Pipeline Best Practices

Keep Stages Simple

Start with 4-6 stages. Too many stages create confusion; too few hide important distinctions in your process.

Typical B2B pipeline:

1. New
2. Qualified
3. Proposition
4. Negotiation
5. Won / Lost

Update Opportunities Regularly

Move opportunities as soon as their status changes. Stale pipelines lead to inaccurate forecasting and missed follow-ups.

Use Activities Consistently

Every active opportunity should have a scheduled activity. If there's no next step, the deal is either won, lost, or stuck.

Review the Activity Colours

Check the coloured bars daily. Red (overdue) activities need immediate attention. Grey (no activities) might indicate forgotten deals.

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Summary

The Odoo CRM pipeline gives you a visual, manageable way to track your sales process:

• Stages represent steps in your sales process—customise them to match how you work
• Opportunities are potential deals, created with customer info, expected revenue, and priority
• Activities are scheduled actions that keep deals moving forward
• Colour-coded indicators show activity status at a glance
• Drag and drop makes it easy to update opportunity stages

Master these basics, and you have the foundation for effective sales tracking in Odoo CRM.

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Next Steps

• Set up your pipeline stages to match your actual sales process
• Create your first few opportunities to get familiar with the interface
• Schedule activities on each active opportunity
• Explore the opportunity form to understand all available fields

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Related Articles

• How to Use Activities in Odoo CRM
• Tracking Won and Lost Opportunities in Odoo CRM
• Odoo 19 New Features Overview