Stages
Stages are the steps your partners and deals move through, from a brand new partner or lead to won or lost. They drive your pipeline views, and they are referenced by commissions, workflows and portal access, so they are worth getting right early.
Where to find it: Go to Settings, then Stages (under Partner Program).
Who can use this: Admins and Partnerships team members, including deleting stages.
Two kinds of stage
The page has two tabs:
Partners: the stages a partnership moves through, such as New, Onboarding, Active, Churned.
Deals: the stages a deal moves through in your pipeline.
If you have more than one partner type enabled, a second row of tabs lets you build a separate set for each. Referral and reseller partners get their own stages; distributor partners do not appear here, because they use the reseller structure.
Partner stages
A partner stage is just a name and a position in the order.
Add a partner stage
Click Create stage.
Type a Name.
Click Add stage.
Reorder, edit or delete
Reorder: drag a stage by its handle.
Edit: click the name and type a new one.
Delete: click the bin icon. See why a stage will not delete below.
Deal stages
A deal stage has a name, a position, and a Lifecycle Stage.
Lifecycle stages
Every deal stage maps to one of six lifecycle stages:
New
In progress
Won
Lost
On hold
Expired
The lifecycle stage is what partners see, and it is what colours the stage everywhere in Journeybee. Several of your own stages can share one lifecycle stage, which is how you keep internal detail without confusing partners: "Legal Review", "Procurement" and "Verbal Yes" can all be In progress to the partner.
Add a deal stage
Click Create stage.
Type a Name.
Pick a Lifecycle stage.
Click Add stage.
Reorder, edit or delete
Same as partner stages, with a lifecycle dropdown on each row that you can change at any time.
Saving your changes
Edits and reordering are held until you save. A Save bar appears at the top when you have unsaved changes: click Save to keep them or Cancel to discard.
Why a stage will not delete
Journeybee refuses to delete a stage that anything still points at. This is deliberate: a deleted stage would silently strip portal access rules, break commission schedules and leave records stranded.
The on-screen message talks about partners or leads sitting on the stage, which is the most common cause but not the only one. Work through the full list.
A partner stage is blocked by
Any partnership currently on that stage.
Any campaign whose audience is gated on that stage.
Any certification whose access is gated on that stage.
Any resource whose access is gated on that stage.
Any portal room whose access is gated on that stage.
Any form using it as the default stage for new partners.
Any workflow whose trigger targets that stage.
A deal stage is blocked by
Any deal currently on that stage.
Any deal whose commission or spiff schedule pays out at that stage.
Any commission rule that pays out at that stage.
Any workflow whose trigger targets that stage.
Workflows count even when they are paused. A paused rule still holds the reference and could be switched back on, so it blocks the delete until you archive it or repoint it.
You also cannot delete the last remaining stage in a list. Add a replacement first.
Troubleshooting
I moved every partner off the stage and it still will not delete
Something else references it. Check, in this order: workflows targeting that stage (including paused ones), portal rooms, resources and certifications gated on it, campaign audiences, and any form using it as a default stage.
A deal stage will not delete and no deals are on it
Check your commission rules. A commission or spiff schedule that pays out when a deal reaches that stage keeps the reference alive, as does a schedule saved on an individual deal.
I cannot see the bin icon
Stage deletion needs the Admin or Partnerships role.
Distributor partners have no tab
That is expected. Distributor partnerships use the reseller stage structure rather than their own. See Distribution Management.
My changes disappeared
Edits and reordering are not saved until you click Save in the bar at the top. Navigating away discards them.
Good to know
Rather than deleting a stage you no longer use, consider moving it to the end of the order. Deleting is blocked precisely because other things depend on it.
Reordering affects every existing partner and deal at once.
Partners see the lifecycle stage, not your stage name, so you can use internal shorthand in your own names.
Around five to eight stages works for most teams. Beyond that, people stop moving records between them.
Related articles
Commissions: rules that pay out when a deal reaches a stage.
Workflows: automations triggered by a stage change.
Portal Access Management: gating portal rooms on partner stages.
Lead and Deal Management: working with your pipeline day to day.