---
title: "Deal lifecycle overview"
description: "How a deal moves from write-up to drafts, the sales log, pipeline, delivery, or cancellation."
source: "https://docs.aplt.ai/docs/deal-lifecycle-overview"
updated: "2026-06-25T06:56:03.796+00:00"
product: Autopilot
content_type: documentation
---

# 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.