Deal lifecycle overview
How a deal moves from write-up to drafts, the sales log, pipeline, delivery, or cancellation.
A deal moves through Autopilot in stages. Start with the write-up, complete the checks that make it a real sold deal, then manage it from the sales log and pipeline until it is delivered or cancelled.
Where to find it
Use Sales Log -> Drafts to review write-ups that have not graduated yet.
Use Sales Log -> Sales log for graduated active deals.
Use Sales Log -> Pipeline to see graduated deals by stage.
Use Sales Log -> Cancelled to review cancelled deals and cancellation reasons.
How it works
1. Write up the deal
Create a deal from the write-up flow. The write-up captures the customer, vehicle, pricing, finance, add-ons, dates, and any other fields your role can access.
If the deal is not ready to count as sold yet, it stays in Drafts.
2. Complete the draft checks
A draft is waiting on three checks:
- Customer signed
- Deposit paid
- Manager approved
Customer signed and deposit paid can be updated by people with access to the deal. Manager approval needs manager sign-off.
When all three checks are complete, the deal leaves Drafts and appears in the sales log and pipeline.
3. Handle approval blockers
Managers may be blocked from approving a deal until required details are complete. The exact blockers depend on the dealership's approval rules.
If approval is blocked, fix the missing or invalid details on the deal, then try the approval again.
4. Work the deal from the sales log
Once a deal has graduated, the sales log becomes the main table view for editing, checking, filtering, and exporting active deals.
The pipeline shows the same graduated deal from a stage-by-stage view, which is useful for tracking progress toward delivery.
5. Mark the deal delivered
When handover is complete, move the deal to Delivered. Delivered deals stay in the record, but they are no longer treated as open work.
6. Cancel or restore when needed
Cancellations can happen before delivery. Depending on permissions, a cancellation may happen immediately or be sent to a manager for confirmation.
Cancelled deals move to Sales Log -> Cancelled with the reason preserved. A manager can restore a cancelled deal if it was cancelled by mistake.
Important details
Drafts are not the sales log
Drafts are incomplete write-ups. They stay out of the sales log and pipeline until the three checks are complete.
Deal history is kept
The deal page keeps a history of edits, status changes, approvals, cancellations, and restores.
Finance status is separate
Finance progress is tracked separately from the main deal lifecycle. Changing finance status does not replace the deal's draft, active, delivered, or cancelled state.
Troubleshooting
The deal is still in Drafts
Check whether customer signed, deposit paid, and manager approved are all complete. If manager approval is blocked, open the deal and complete the details shown by the approval message.
A check cannot be unticked
If the deal is already in the sales log, send it back deliberately before clearing graduation checks. This prevents a live deal from accidentally dropping out of the sales log.
A delivered deal cannot be cancelled
Delivered deals cannot be cancelled from the normal cancellation flow.