Adding and Understanding Date Properties for Deals
Why are dates important?
Revenue Forecasting
Knowing when we are expected to receive a verbal confirmation of deal outcomes (estimated close date) allows the Finance team to project when revenue will be recognized. This is critical for cash flow planning and for setting expectations with leadership.
For deals with renewal options, entering future dates allows finance to anticipate recurring revenue and plan accordingly.
Resource Planning
Start and end dates help Finance anticipate when projects will begin and end, which informs staffing, budgeting, and resource allocation.
Identifying Stale Deals
The system can flag deals that have not progressed or whose dates are outdated, prompting follow-up and keeping forecasts realistic.
Dates You Want to Know (and Need to Add to Deals)
At every stage, you must confirm the estimated close, start, and end dates, which are required fields in the HubSpot deal pipeline.This ensures that the pipeline reflects the most current expectations for when deals will move forward or close.
Important Note: Only the deal owner, CRL, or GRL can change the dates after the deal has been created.
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Close Date* |
When we expect to know that we’ve won or lost this opportunity/pitch For RFPs, we’ll have this date, so skim the RFP and look for the opportunity decision date on the document! Not sure about the Close Date? |
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Estimated Start Date |
When we believe the contracted work** will begin Not sure about the Start Date? |
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Estimated End Date |
When we believe the work will end Not sure about the End Date? |
*If you know these dates, please list the actual dates!
**This is work done AFTER the contract is signed and the deal is listed as “Closed Won.” This does NOT include work done during the pitch/proposal process.