Creating and Managing Pipeline Rules
Pipeline rules in BoldSales allow teams to define, enforce, and maintain consistent behavior across sales pipelines. This article focuses on how users can create and manage pipeline rules to keep pipelines accurate, reliable, and aligned with business needs.
Accessing pipeline rules
Note for non-admin users: If you don’t have access to configure or manage module and fields for Pipelines, contact your BoldSales administrator to request the required permission.
Note for administrators: For managing permissions, refer to Managing User Permissions (Permission Set).
You can access pipeline rules from the pipeline settings.
Follow these steps:
- Go to Setup > Modules and Fields > Pipelines or Setup > Process Management > Pipeline Rules (choose a specific pipeline) or in the search bar, type Pipeline Rules, then select it from the results and choose the pipeline you want to configure.
- Open the Pipeline Rules tab. From here, you can view, create, and manage all pipeline rules associated with the selected pipeline.
Default pipeline rules
You may notice that some pipeline rules already exist in the Pipeline Rules tab. These are default rules created based on earlier pipeline configurations.
For example:
- When you configured the types of sales documents allowed for a pipeline, a corresponding rule was automatically created to restrict the use of other document types.
- When you associated other pipelines in the Process Mapping tab, those configurations were logged as General Association Rules.
These default rules help preserve consistency and prevent data conflicts based on your existing pipeline setup.
How to create pipeline rules
Once you are on the Pipeline Rules tab of the selected pipeline, follow the steps below to create a new rule.
- Under the Pipeline Rules you will see three rule types:
- General Association Rules
- Stage Transition Rules
- Stage-Based Association Rules
- Choose the rule type you want to configure. For Stage Transition Rules, use the available toggle options to enable or disable the available rules. For more information on this, refer to Introduction to pipeline rules.
For General Association Rules and Stage-Based Association Rules, click Create Rule on the right. The following options will be displayed:- Pipeline association rule
- Task association rule
- Sales documents association rule
- Select the appropriate option and configure the rule based on your requirements.
For General Association Rules, the following table summarizes the available pipeline, task, and sales documents association rules:
| Rule Type | What It Controls | Why It Matters | Example Scenarios |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pipeline association rule | Restricts which pipelines can be associated with opportunities. | Prevents incorrect cross-pipeline associations in multi-pipeline environments (Sales, Renewals, Enterprise). | • Only Enterprise Deals pipeline can be associated. • Only Renewals pipelines with specific labels can be linked. |
| Task association rule | Restricts which task types can be associated. | Ensures only relevant and valid task types are used for the pipeline. | • Only To-do tasks allowed. • Prevents task types unrelated to the pipeline. |
| Sales documents association rule | Controls which documents can be generated or attached. | Ensures the correct document types are used based on pipeline context. | • Only Quote-type documents allowed. • Limit number of documents. • Prevent generation of unsupported formats. |
For Stage-Based Association Rules, the following table summarizes the available pipeline, task, and sales documents association rules:
| Rule Type | What It Controls | Why It Matters | Example Scenarios |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pipeline association rule | Restricts opportunity stage movement based on the stage of associated records in other pipelines, with optional filtering by labels and control over the number of associated records required. | Enforces cross‑pipeline dependencies and ensures downstream processes reach required milestones before an opportunity progresses. | • When an opportunity reaches Closed Won, the associated Customer Onboarding record must be at or beyond Welcome Call Completed. • At least one associated onboarding record with a specific label must exist before closing. |
| Task association rule | Restricts stage movement based on task type, task status, and the number of associated tasks completed or created. | Ensures critical sales activities are completed before advancing stages, preventing progress without required execution. | • When the stage is at least Won, all associated To‑do tasks must be Completed. • At Need Analysis, the number of Intro Call tasks must be between 1 and 3. |
| Sales documents association rule | Restricts stage movement based on document type, document status, and the number of associated documents. | Guarantees that required documentation is prepared, approved, or signed before opportunities advance, supporting legal and compliance processes. | • When the stage is at least Contract Sent, the Service Agreement document must be at or beyond Signed status. • A required number of documents must exist before closing. |
- Provide a reason for creating the rule, then click Create. Once created, the rule becomes active immediately and will apply to all relevant actions going forward.
Managing pipeline rules
As pipelines evolve, sales teams often need to introduce new controls, adjust existing rules, or remove rules that no longer reflect their process
Edit pipeline rules
For General Association Rules and Stage-Based Association Rules, you can update the rule configurations for pipeline, tasks or sales documents association rules to reflect your current business processes.
To edit a rule:
- Click the three dots menu at the end of the rule.
- Select
from the menu.
- Make your changes and click
to save.
Deactivate pipeline rules
Deactivating a pipeline rule temporarily stops it from being enforced without deleting its configuration. This allows teams to pause rule behavior when processes change or adjustments are needed, while keeping the rule available for future use. Deactivation provides flexibility without requiring rules to be recreated later.
To deactivate a rule:
- Click the
option for the respective rule.
- In the prompt dialog, confirm the action by clicking
- To activate the rule later, click the toggle option and confirm the action when prompted.
Delete a pipeline rule
Deleting a pipeline rule is appropriate when the rule no longer serves a purpose in the current sales process. This may occur when workflows change, pipeline structures are updated, or a previously enforced requirement becomes unnecessary.
Note: Default pipeline rules cannot be deleted, as they are essential system defined controls that ensure baseline pipeline consistency and data integrity.
To delete a rule:
- Click the three dots menu of the rule.
- Select
from the menu.
- Confirm action when prompted.
