A pipeline spreadsheet is a fine place to start and a bad place to stay. This template gives you the columns that matter, in an import-friendly shape, so the eventual move to a CRM is a mapping exercise rather than a cleanup project.
Download sales-pipeline-template.csv — opens in Excel, Google Sheets, or LibreOffice.
What is in the file
| Column | What goes in it | Why it earns its place |
|---|---|---|
deal_name | What is being bought, not the company name | Two deals with the same client become distinguishable |
account_name | Legal entity you would invoice | The dedupe key when you import into a CRM |
stage | One of your agreed stages, spelled identically every time | Inconsistent spelling breaks every downstream report |
amount | Numbers only, one currency, no symbols or commas | Formatted currency is the most common import failure |
close_date | ISO format (YYYY-MM-DD) | Locale-dependent dates silently corrupt on import |
owner | One named person—never a team | Shared ownership means nobody follows up |
next_step | The next action with a date | A deal without a next step is not a deal |
source | Where it came from, from a fixed list | Free text destroys attribution within a quarter |
Five stages that cover most B2B motions
- Qualification — need, budget signal, and the right person identified.
- Discovery — problem confirmed with the people who own it.
- Proposal — scope and commercials in writing with the buyer.
- Negotiation — procurement, legal, and security review under way.
- Closed won / Closed lost — with a loss reason, always.
Define what must be true to leave each stage and write it down. Stages without exit criteria are decoration. More on this in sales pipeline management.
The stages, as a machine
Weekly hygiene, fifteen minutes
- Any close date in the past: move it or lose it.
- Any deal with no activity in fourteen days: disqualify or set a next step.
- Any deal missing an owner or amount: fix before the review, not during it.
When you outgrow the spreadsheet
The usual triggers are permissions, history, and mobile access—the moment more than three people edit the file, or someone needs to update it from a client’s office. Because this template already matches CRM field names, migration is a column mapping. Read replacing spreadsheets with CRM and the implementation checklist before you import anything into production.
Frequently asked questions
- What format is the download?
- CSV suitable for Excel, Google Sheets, or import experiments.
- Where is the file?
- Use the CSV download link on this page’s body.