# Pipeline and Forecast Review: [Team] [Quarter]

> The working document for a sales team's weekly or monthly forecast call:
> shared stage definitions with exit criteria, forecast categories (closed,
> commit, best case, pipeline, omitted), the roll-up by seller, coverage,
> deal inspection and a record of forecast accuracy over time. Based on
> common sales operations practice. Replace every `[bracketed]` value and
> every row marked *Example*.

<!--
Guidance: How to use this template
- Agree sections 1 and 2 once for the whole sales organisation and change
  them only through sales operations. Everyone must mean the same thing by
  "Stage 4" and "Commit".
- Copy sections 3 to 6 for each review. Take the numbers from the CRM at a
  fixed cut-off time, so the call discusses one set of figures.
- Inspect deals, not people: each commit deal must show its exit criteria
  evidence and a dated next step agreed with the buyer.
- Common pitfall: moving a deal's stage because of time spent, not because
  the buyer did something. Stages follow buyer actions.
-->

## Document control

<!-- Guidance: One review per file, or one file per quarter with a section per week. Record the CRM cut-off. -->

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Review ID | [FCR-YYYY-QN-WNN] |
| Team | [Team name] |
| Quarter | [Q4 2026] *(Example)* |
| Review date | 2026-11-13 *(Example, week 7 of 13)* |
| CRM cut-off | [YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM] |
| Owner | [@sales-manager] |
| Attendees | [@sellers], [@sales-operations] |
| Currency and measure | [New ARR, EUR] |

### Revision history

| Version | Date | Author | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 *(Example)* | 2026-11-13 | Sales manager | Week 7 review |

## 1. Stage definitions and exit criteria

<!-- Guidance: Each stage ends when the buyer has done something verifiable. The probability is the historical win rate from that stage, recalculated from closed deals at least once a year. Pitfall: probabilities set by opinion and never checked. -->

| Stage | Name | Exit criteria (buyer-verified) | Evidence in CRM | Probability *(Example)* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | Qualify | Buyer confirms a problem, a sponsor and a timeframe | Qualification record (`business/opportunity-qualification`) | 10% |
| S2 | Discover | Buyer shares requirements, decision process and budget range | Discovery notes, named decision makers | 20% |
| S3 | Solution | Buyer agrees the solution fits, after demo or pilot | Demo or pilot outcome, success criteria | 40% |
| S4 | Proposal | Buyer has the proposal and agrees a mutual action plan to decision | Proposal sent, `sales/mutual-action-plan` shared | 60% |
| S5 | Negotiate | Buyer's procurement and legal are working on contract terms | Redlines, approval path confirmed | 80% |
| Won | Closed won | Contract signed by both parties and booked | Signed order | 100% |
| Lost | Closed lost | Buyer chose another option or no decision | Loss reason coded (`sales/win-loss-analysis`) | 0% |

## 2. Forecast categories

<!-- Guidance: Stage measures where the deal is. Category is the seller's call on whether it closes this period. Keep both and inspect where they disagree, for example a commit deal still in S3. -->

| Category | Meaning | Test |
|---|---|---|
| Closed | Booked this period | Signed and approved |
| Commit | Seller expects it to close this period and will be held to it | Would you bet your own money on it? Signature date inside the period agreed with the buyer, path to signature written down |
| Best case | Could close this period if open items go well | Named items that must happen, each with a date |
| Pipeline | Open, expected to close in a later period or not yet qualified for this one | Real opportunity, but not this period |
| Omitted | Excluded from the forecast | Stalled, duplicate or kept for reference only |

Forecast call = Closed + Commit. Upside = Closed + Commit + Best case.

## 3. Forecast roll-up

<!-- Guidance: One row per seller, in the measure used for quota. Compare with last week to see movement. -->

| Seller | Quota | Closed | Commit | Best case | Pipeline | Call (Closed + Commit) | Call vs quota |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seller 1 *(Example)* | 300,000 | 120,000 | 100,000 | 80,000 | 160,000 | 220,000 | 73.3% |
| Seller 2 *(Example)* | 300,000 | 90,000 | 120,000 | 40,000 | 200,000 | 210,000 | 70.0% |
| Seller 3 *(Example)* | 300,000 | 140,000 | 60,000 | 90,000 | 120,000 | 200,000 | 66.7% |
| Seller 4 *(Example)* | 300,000 | 70,000 | 100,000 | 50,000 | 160,000 | 170,000 | 56.7% |
| Team *(Example)* | 1,200,000 | 420,000 | 380,000 | 260,000 | 640,000 | 800,000 | 66.7% |

*Example:* the team call is 800,000 (66.7% of quota) and the upside is
1,060,000 (88.3%). The manager's call to leadership may differ from the
sum of seller calls; record it and the reason in section 6.

```mermaid
xychart-beta
  title "Team forecast build, Q4 2026 (Example)"
  x-axis ["Closed", "Plus commit", "Plus best case", "Quota"]
  y-axis "New ARR" 0 --> 1300000
  bar [420000, 800000, 1060000, 1200000]
```

## 4. Coverage

<!-- Guidance: Coverage is open pipeline that can still close this period divided by quota still to close. A ratio under your historical need (often taken from your own win rates) is an early warning. Pitfall: including pipeline dated for next quarter. -->

| Measure | Value *(Example)* |
|---|---|
| Quota still to close (1,200,000 minus 420,000) | 780,000 |
| Open this-period pipeline (commit + best case + pipeline) | 1,280,000 |
| Coverage | 1.64 times |
| Coverage needed from history | [Value from your win rates] |

## 5. Deal inspection

<!-- Guidance: Inspect every commit deal and the largest best case deals. Note the evidence for the current stage and the next buyer action. Pitfall: next steps owned only by the seller. -->

| Deal | Seller | Value | Stage | Category | Exit evidence | Next buyer action and date | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEAL-101 *(Example)* | Seller 2 | 120,000 | S5 | Commit | Redlines received | Legal sign-off, 2026-11-27 | Low |
| DEAL-102 *(Example)* | Seller 1 | 80,000 | S3 | Best case | Pilot passed | Proposal review with CFO, 2026-11-20 | Budget not confirmed |
| DEAL-103 *(Example)* | Seller 4 | 100,000 | S4 | Commit | Mutual action plan agreed | Budget approval, 2026-12-04 | Signature 2026-12-18, close to period end |
| [ID] | [Seller] | [Value] | [Stage] | [Category] | [Evidence] | [Action, date] | [Risk] |

Inspection checklist for each commit deal:

- Signature date agreed with the buyer, not assumed.
- Economic buyer named and engaged.
- Paper process known: procurement, legal, security reviews and their dates.
- Price and terms inside discount authority, or approval obtained.
- Stage and category consistent, or the difference explained.

## 6. Decisions and actions

<!-- Guidance: Record the call submitted, changes since last week and the actions agreed. -->

| Item | Record |
|---|---|
| Call submitted to leadership | [800,000] *(Example)* |
| Change since last review | [Movements in and out of commit, with reasons] |
| Deals moved to omitted | [IDs and reasons] |

| ID | Action | Owner | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACT-01 *(Example)* | Confirm CFO meeting for DEAL-102 | Seller 1 | 2026-11-16 |
| ACT-[NN] | [Action] | [Owner] | YYYY-MM-DD |

## 7. Forecast accuracy

<!-- Guidance: Compare the call made at a fixed point (for example week 7) with the final result. Bias in one direction over several quarters is a signal to fix definitions or inspection, not to blame sellers. -->

| Quarter | Quota | Week 7 call | Actual | Error vs call | Attainment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2026 *(Example)* | 1,000,000 | 820,000 | 870,000 | +6.1% | 87.0% |
| Q2 2026 *(Example)* | 1,050,000 | 900,000 | 840,000 | -6.7% | 80.0% |
| Q3 2026 *(Example)* | 1,100,000 | 960,000 | 1,010,000 | +5.2% | 91.8% |

Error vs call = (actual minus call) divided by call. Related templates:
Rolling Forecast (`finance/rolling-forecast`), Strategic Account Plan
(`sales/account-plan`), Sales Compensation Plan
(`sales/sales-compensation-plan`) for the booking definition.

## Standard and licence note

Based on common sales operations practice for pipeline stages and
forecast categories. No standard governs this document; the stage
names, probabilities and figures are illustrative. All text and examples
are original. Template licence: MIT.