Manage your sales pipeline effectively with our comprehensive tracking and forecasting template
✓ Free to download · ✓ Excel 2016+ and Google Sheets · ✓ Custom version in 24h
A pipeline number is only as good as its stage definitions. This template ties each stage to an objective entry criterion and weights the forecast by observed conversion, not by how a deal feels.
The actual columns, with sample rows
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deal | Stage | Value | Prob. | Weighted | Close |
| 2 | Meridian – platform | Proposal | 48,000 | 45% | 21,600 | 2026-09-30 |
| 3 | Kestrel – migration | Discovery | 22,500 | 15% | 3,375 | 2026-10-15 |
| 4 | Halcyon – rollout | Negotiation | 91,000 | 70% | 63,700 | 2026-08-29 |
| 5 | Ardent – pilot | Qualified | 15,000 | 25% | 3,750 | 2026-11-01 |
Why each one is written the way it is
=VLOOKUP([@Stage],Stages[[Name]:[Prob]],2,FALSE)
Stage probability from a table derived from your own win history, not from the rep's confidence.
=[@Value]*[@Prob.]
Weighted value. Summed across the pipeline this is a forecast; summed without weighting it is a wish list.
=COUNTIFS(Hist[Stage],[@Stage],Hist[Outcome],"Won")/COUNTIFS(Hist[Stage],[@Stage])
The stage probability itself, recalculated from closed history each quarter so the forecast stays calibrated.
=SUMIFS(Deals[Weighted],Deals[Close],">="&QStart,Deals[Close],"<="&QEnd)
Weighted forecast for the quarter, the number to commit to.
A worked example with real numbers
A team used textbook probabilities — 25/50/75 across three stages — and missed forecast for four quarters running. Recomputing from two years of closed deals gave 15/45/70, and proposal-stage conversion in particular was far worse than assumed. The pipeline number fell 18% overnight and the forecast has been within 8% every quarter since.
Tab by tab
| Tab | Contents |
|---|---|
| Deals | Deal, stage, value, probability and close date. |
| Stages | Stage definitions with entry criteria and conversion rates. |
| History | Closed deals, the source of the probabilities. |
| Forecast | Weighted forecast by period and owner. |
| README | Entry criteria for each stage, in writing. |
What is included, and what to look at next
Specific to this workbook, not generic
Your own closed-won history, recalculated quarterly. Standard 25/50/75 numbers are a placeholder until you have enough deals to compute your own — usually 30 or so per stage.
Objective entry criteria. "Proposal" means a written proposal has been sent, not that one is planned. Without that, every stage drifts upward and the forecast inflates with it.
Both, as two numbers. Weighted is the statistical expectation across the pipeline; committed is the list of deals the rep will stake their quarter on. They should converge as the quarter closes.
"This pipeline tracker has transformed our sales process. The forecasting accuracy and insights have helped us exceed our targets consistently."