Free contractor operations tool
A contractor sales pipeline template that shows where every deal really stands
In twenty years I have asked a thousand reps how many deals they have working. I always get a confident number. Then I ask where each one actually stands — and I get a shrug dressed up as optimism. That shrug is what your forecast is built on. This free sales pipeline template ends it: it lays out the deal stages, the rule for moving a deal, who owns it, and the follow-up that keeps it alive — so “I've got a lot going on right now” turns into a board you can actually read.
Pipeline blueprint assistant
Configure the operating rules
Generate a written blueprint, then transfer approved rules into the workbook or CRM.
Working artifact
Blueprint draft
Generated output is a draft. An authorized human must verify every fact, boundary, and next step before use.
Free to use. The workbook is blank and formula-backed; the AI output is a separate written blueprint. Review every stage, threshold, owner, and formula before configuring a live CRM or entering company records.
Tell it how you sell and how long your deals take, and it returns a written stage-and-rule blueprint you can review before manually configuring a roofing CRM like JobNimbus or GiddyUp, or a plain spreadsheet if that is where your crew already works. Every stage includes what it means, who owns it, the next step, and what must be true before a deal moves forward. Download the blank workbook below for the working sheets; use the AI assistant for a written customization blueprint. Neither artifact imports records or syncs live deal data.
This pipeline starts after an accepted opportunity has a booked appointment. For objective intake checks, allowed unknowns, and the pre-appointment owner, use the roofing lead qualification checklist.
If the stages are approved but the CRM is not deployed consistently yet, use the roofing CRM rollout checklist to assign configuration, fictional-scenario pilot, role training, go-live, and adoption-review gates. This page owns the pipeline structure; the rollout checklist owns implementation control.
Keep the jobs separate. This template owns each opportunity's stage, owner, next action, and exit criteria. The sales forecast template owns aggregate revenue projections; the sales KPI scorecard owns rep and team performance measures; and the sales report template owns the weekly management recap. If you are choosing software rather than defining stages, use the roofing CRM comparison.
Created by Tim Nussbeck — founder of GhostRep, 20+ years in home improvement sales and operations, 1,000+ reps trained.
Current
see the latest recorded stage when the team keeps the CRM or sheet updated
Configurable
set stale and close-out thresholds from your cycle, policy, and results
Clean > full
a smaller verified pipeline is more useful than a larger unreviewed one
What real-time visibility actually means
Forget the dashboards for a second. Here, “real-time visibility” means the latest information your team has actually recorded: the current stage, owner, next action, and stale date for each deal. Once this blueprint is configured in a maintained CRM or spreadsheet, that record can show which jobs are waiting on an adjuster, which have gone quiet, and which have a documented next step. The generator itself does not watch opportunities or update that information.
I have never been able to get that out of a rep's gut. “How's it looking?” “Good, real good.” That tells me nothing. A maintained board with stages, owners, and stale dates gives the forecasting process cleaner inputs, but it does not guarantee an accurate projection. Use the sales forecast template for aggregate revenue and probability assumptions, then use the guide to AI sales forecasting for roofing companies for the forecasting method.
The stages, by sales model
The fastest way to kill a pipeline is to copy someone else's stages. I've watched it happen a dozen times: an insurance crew drops in a generic board with no adjuster-meeting stage, and within two weeks the reps who live in that step have quietly stopped updating it. A retail crew crams eight stages onto a two-week deal and all they've built is busywork. Your board has to match the way yourdeals actually move. Here are the two I hand contractors most.
Insurance restoration (storm)
Built around the adjuster milestone, where most claims stall.
- 1Appointment Scheduled
- 2Inspection Complete
- 3Adjuster Meeting Scheduled
- 4Adjuster Meeting Complete
- 5Approved / Scope Confirmed
- 6Contract Signed
- 7In Production
Retail replacement
Shorter motion — the leak is usually the post-estimate follow-up.
- 1Appointment Scheduled
- 2Inspection Complete
- 3Estimate Delivered
- 4Follow-Up Active
- 5Contract Signed
- 6In Production
When the company accepts the signed job and it leaves sales ownership, move the record through the roofing sales-to-production handoff checklist. That boundary records whether production accepted the evidence, returned missing information, or sent an exception for manager or specialist review; it does not add another pre-sale pipeline stage.
What actually moves a deal forward (not what a rep tried)
This is the one that separates a board you can trust from one you can't, and it took me years to get strict about it. A deal only moves when something is true — not when a rep made an effort. Let reps advance deals because they “reached out,” and the whole board drifts toward the close while nothing real is happening. Hold the line on the outcome, and it stops lying to you. Same deal, two very different standards:
The homeowner has the written, line-item proposal in hand — emailed or left on site.
A verbal number isn’t a proposal. Stage on the document, not the conversation.
Adjuster meeting is scheduled and confirmed on both sides, on the calendar.
Effort isn’t an outcome. Confirmation is what actually moves the claim.
Signed contract uploaded and deposit (or insurance approval) collected.
Vague heat inflates the pipeline. A signature is the only thing that closes a stage.
Follow-up rules that keep deals from dying
Almost no deal dies on a “no.” They die in the quiet — somewhere between the inspection and the estimate, when a homeowner went cold and nobody circled back. Set these rules once and the board does the nagging for you, so a deal can't slip under the radar.
- 1
One owner, one next action — always
Every open deal has a single owner and a single scheduled next step. When two people share a deal, each assumes the other has it — and that's how a job sits untouched for three weeks.
- 2
Tim’s configurable 14-day stale flag
I often start by flagging a deal after 14 days without logged activity, then adjust that window to the company's actual cycle and contact policy. A flag should trigger a human review, not prove the deal is dead. Pair an approved follow-up task with the follow-up generator so the task is a real, personal message — not a checkbox.
- 3
Follow-up cadence by stage, not by mood
Tie cadence to the cycle and the company's approved contact process. A day-1, day-3, day-7 retail sequence is one configurable example, not a universal requirement. The stage should trigger the agreed next action so the process does not depend on a rep remembering.
- 4
Tim’s configurable 30-day human review
I may start with a human review after 30 days without movement, but the owner chooses the action from documented context: continue, change the next step, or close with a reason. A separate 90-day re-engagement queue can preserve future opportunities; measure its conversion rate from your own cohort instead of assuming a benchmark.
A clean pipeline beats a full one
Every owner I know is proud of a fat pipeline. It's a trap. With no rule for killing dead deals, the board fills up with jobs that are never going to close — and that fake number is exactly what you build next month's plan on. Decide the kill line before you're attached to a specific job: no answer after three real tries, or no movement past the date that fits your cycle. I'll take a board of 20 deals I believe over 50 where I'm kidding myself, every single time.
What I tell every owner
Your weekly pipeline review isn't paperwork — it's the best coaching hour you've got. Every stale deal is a real conversation about a real job, and every blank stage tells you which rep needs help before the month slips. Run it deal by deal and the board stops being a report you dread and starts being how you actually run the place.
What the visibility looks like
This fictional snapshot shows how a maintained restoration board could summarize stage counts, a separate projection, and an observed bottleneck. It is an illustration, not live customer data or a result produced by this generator.
1 · Appointment Scheduled 34 deals
2 · Inspection Complete 19
3 · Pending Proposal 19
4 · Proposal Presented 22 · projected close 9
5 · Contract Signed 11 · $127,400
30-day projected $218,000
⚠ Bottleneck: Stage 3 inspect-to-proposal lag averaging 4.2 days (target 48 hrs).
Look at what that board just told you without anyone asking: it's not the revenue number — it's the bottleneck. Stage 3 is dragging, and that's where I'd spend Monday. Run that board in your CRM, give every deal real context — property details, owner history, prior claims — with Job Intel, and you stop managing your business on a hunch.
Frequently asked questions
What stages should a roofing sales pipeline have?
Keep intake and qualification outside the sales pipeline. A storm/insurance crew can begin after booking: Appointment Scheduled → Inspection Done → Adjuster Meeting Set → Adjuster Meeting Done → Approved → Contract Signed → In Production. A retail crew runs shorter: Appointment Scheduled → Inspection Done → Estimate Delivered → Following Up → Contract Signed → In Production. Add a stage only where a real post-booking decision or handoff happens, and remove any stage your reps skip in real life.
Can I run this in a spreadsheet instead of a CRM?
Yes. Download the blank GhostRep workbook on this page for a Deal Register, editable Stage Rules, formula-backed review flags, and a Review Dashboard. The AI assistant separately returns a written setup blueprint. Neither artifact imports records, watches live opportunities, or syncs CRM data. Start with the system your team will maintain consistently, then consider a CRM when manual updates become the constraint.
How do I stop reps from inflating their pipeline?
Make every stage move on an outcome, not on effort. “I called him about the adjuster meeting” does not move a deal. “Adjuster meeting is on the calendar, confirmed both ways” does. The day you stop letting reps advance deals because they tried, the board starts telling you the truth — and your forecast stops being a wish list. This one change fixes most bad forecasts I have seen.
How often should I clean the pipeline?
I review it weekly, deal by deal, with the rep and treat the review as coaching rather than a paperwork check. As a configurable starting point, I may flag a record after 14 days without logged activity and require a human review at 30 days. Those are Tim's operating defaults, not universal benchmarks: adjust them to your sales cycle, contact policy, capacity, and actual conversion data before automating anything.
When should I kill a deal?
There is no universal close-out date. Decide the rule before reviewing a specific job, document the reason, and match it to your actual cycle and approved contact policy. Tim's configurable starting point may be three documented attempts or a human review after 30–45 days without movement. A separate 90-day re-engagement queue can preserve future follow-up opportunities, but it does not carry a guaranteed conversion rate; measure that cohort against your own results.
What does “real-time visibility” actually buy me?
It means an actively maintained CRM or spreadsheet can show the latest recorded stage, owner, next action, and stale date for each deal. The visibility is only as current as the team's updates. This generator defines the fields and rules for that system; it does not watch live opportunities, update records, or produce a forecast by itself.