A project stage is a named step a project moves through, from a new inquiry to a closed job. You rename stages on the Project stages page in Settings. The four milestones, Leads, Booked, Complete and Closed lost, are locked, and the stages inside each one are yours to name.
Before you start
By default only the account owner can change project stages. Admins can open the page and read it, but the stage names become plain text and the editing controls disappear.
Steps
- Open Settings, then Project stages. It sits under Clients & events.
- Find the milestone that holds the stage. The sections are Leads, Booked, Complete and Closed lost. Click its name to open it if it is closed.
- Click the name of the stage you want to change. A text box opens.
- Type the new name and press Enter, or click the check mark. To cancel, press Escape or click the X.
What a rename changes
A rename changes only the name. Every event in the stage stays where it is, and the Leads board, the Events board and the stage menu on each event show the new name. Automations that use the Current stage is… condition follow the stage through a rename, except an older rule that matches by name (see the last section below).
A rename never moves an event. It cannot trigger the pricing check that stops a lead moving into Booked or Complete without an event date, hours and a guest count. Move a lead through your stages covers moving cards.
What the other controls do
- Create adds a stage. Type a name in the box at the top of a milestone, then click Create.
- The drag handle on a row reorders the stages inside that milestone.
- The Default badge marks where a project lands when it reaches the milestone. Every milestone has exactly one, so to move it you click Default on a different stage.
- The Accepted badge appears on Leads only. It marks where a lead lands the moment the client accepts a quote.
- The trash button deletes a stage.
- Reset to defaults deletes every custom stage, your renames included, and restores the starting stages. It cannot be undone, so skip it unless you want the original names back.
Something look off?
Work through each check in order. Most fixes take under a minute.
A stage won't delete
- 1 · Read the message that appears. If it says the stage is the default for its milestone, click Default on another stage, then delete again.
- 2 · If it says the stage is in use by projects, move those projects to another stage first.
- 3 · If it names an automation, open Workflows under Emails & automation, change that automation to a different stage, then delete again.
- 4 · The last stage in a milestone can't be deleted. Rename it instead.
An older automation stops firing
- 1 · Open the automation in Workflows under Emails & automation.
- 2 · Look at its Current stage is… condition for the warning "This rule matches the stage by name". An older rule matches the stage by its name, so a rename turns it off.
- 3 · Pick the stage in the Pick a stage… list under the warning. The rule then follows the stage through any later rename.