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Sales - Initial Setup Guide

6 min. readlast update: 07.08.2026

Purpose

Before users can start working with the Sales Management module, several configuration elements must be defined within the Control Center.

These configurations establish the commercial structure, workflows, classifications, approval responsibilities, and business rules used throughout the entire sales lifecycle.

This guide provides the recommended implementation sequence together with the location of each configuration and explains how each one is used during daily operations.

Sales Management Operational Lifecycle

Once the initial setup has been completed, the typical commercial process follows this lifecycle:

System Configuration
        │
        ▼
Create Contacts
        │
        ▼
Create Accounts
        │
        ▼
Create Opportunities
        │
        ▼
Create Estimations
        │
        ▼
Create Proposals
        │
        ▼
(Optional)
Create Subscriptions

Every stage of this process depends on one or more configuration elements created beforehand.

Global Prerequisites

Before configuring the Sales module itself, verify that the following global configuration already exists.

Configuration Control Center Path Why it is Required
Companies System → Companies Setup All Sales records belong to a company.
Users, Profiles & Access Rules System → Users, Profiles and Access Rules Grants users access to the Sales module.
Currencies General → Currencies Required by Sales Markets, Budgets, Opportunities, Estimations and Proposals.
Notifications (Optional) General → Notifications Enables Sales-related notifications and reminders.

Sales Management Configuration Matrix

Order Configuration Control Center Path Used By Mandatory Purpose
1 Sales Exercise Sales Management → Opportunity → Sales Exercise Budgets, Opportunities ✅ Defines the commercial planning period.
2 Contact Segmentation Sales Management → Contact → Contact Segmentation Contacts Recommended Groups contacts into business segments.
3 Contact Lifecycle Sales Management → Contact → Contact Lifecycle Contacts ✅ Defines the commercial lifecycle of contacts.
4 Contact Reason Codes Sales Management → Contact → Contact Reason Code  Contacts Recommended Standardizes contact classifications.
5 Opportunity Type Sales Management → Opportunity → Opportunity Type Opportunities ✅ Classifies different business opportunities.
6 Opportunity Pipeline Sales Management → Opportunity → Opportunity Pipeline Opportunities ✅ Defines the commercial sales workflow.
7 Opportunity Source Sales Management → Opportunity → Opportunity Source Opportunities ✅ Records where opportunities originate.
8 Opportunity Outcome Reasons Sales Management → Opportunity → Reason for Opportunity Outcome Opportunities Optional Standardizes Won/Lost reasons.
9 Proposal Pipeline Sales Management → Proposal → Proposal Pipeline Proposals ✅ Defines the proposal approval workflow.
10 Proposal Outcome Reasons Sales Management → Proposal → Reason for Proposal Outcome Proposals Recommended Standardizes proposal outcomes.
11 Proposal Commercials Sales Management → Proposal → Commercials Proposals Depends Assigns commercial users.
12 Proposal Supervisors Sales Management → Proposal → Supervisors Proposals Depends Defines proposal supervisors.
13 Proposal Managers Sales Management → Proposal → Managers Proposals Depends Defines proposal managers.
14 Proposal Integrations Sales Management → Proposal → Integrations Proposals Optional Configures integrations with external systems.
15 Proposal Allowed Status Sales Management → Proposal → Allowed Status Proposals Recommended Controls which statuses can be used.
16 Estimation Preparers Sales Management → Estimation → Preparers Estimations Depends Defines users allowed to prepare estimations.
17 Estimation Supervisors Sales Management → Estimation → Supervisors Estimations Depends Defines estimation supervisors.
18 Estimation Managers Sales Management → Estimation → Managers Estimations Depends Defines estimation managers.
19 Estimation Boards Sales Management → Estimation → Boards Estimations Optional Supports estimation approval workflows.
20 Sales Budget Approvers Sales Management → Sales Budget → Approvers Sales Budgets Depends Defines users responsible for approving budgets.

Configuration Explained

Sales Exercise

The Sales Exercise defines the commercial planning period used by the organization (for example Annual or Quarterly).

It is referenced by Sales Budgets and later inherited by Opportunities for forecasting and reporting.

Used in

  • Sales Budgets

  • Opportunities

Contact Configuration

Before commercial activities begin, Contacts should follow a standardized structure.

This consists of:

  • Contact Segmentation

  • Contact Lifecycle

  • Contact Reason Codes

These configurations ensure that contacts are consistently classified across the organization.

Used in

  • Contacts

Opportunity Configuration

The Opportunity configuration establishes how business opportunities are classified and managed.

It includes:

  • Opportunity Type

  • Opportunity Pipeline

  • Opportunity Source

  • Reason for Opportunity Outcome

These settings determine both the commercial workflow and the quality of reporting.

Used in

  • Opportunities

Proposal Configuration

Proposal configuration controls how commercial proposals are processed after an estimation has been completed.

It defines:

  • Pipeline

  • Commercial roles

  • Managers

  • Supervisors

  • Allowed statuses

  • Outcome reasons

  • Integrations

Used in

  • Proposals

Estimation Configuration

Estimations rely on organizational roles rather than commercial classifications.

The configuration specifies:

  • Preparers

  • Supervisors

  • Managers

  • Boards

These settings control who can prepare, review and approve estimations.

Used in

  • Estimations

Sales Budget Approvers Configuration

Sales Budgets support planning and forecasting activities.

Budget approvers ensure that budgets are validated before they become available to Opportunities.

Used in

  • Sales Budgets

Operational Dependencies

After the configuration phase, business users begin working with operational records.

Step 1 – Contacts

Users create Contacts using:

  • Contact Lifecycle

  • Contact Segmentation

  • Contact Reason Codes

↓

Step 2 – Accounts

Accounts represent customer organizations.

Each Account becomes the commercial entity to which Opportunities, Estimations and Proposals are linked.

↓

Step 3 – Opportunities

When creating an Opportunity, users consume multiple configuration elements:

  • Sales Exercise

  • Opportunity Pipeline

  • Opportunity Type

  • Opportunity Source

  • Sales Budget

  • Account

  • Contact

↓

Step 4 – Estimations

Estimations calculate:

  • Cost

  • Sales Price

  • Margin

  • Profitability

Each Estimation belongs to an Opportunity.

↓

Step 5 – Proposals

Proposals transform approved Estimations into commercial offers.

They inherit information from the Opportunity and progress through the configured Proposal Pipeline.

↓

Step 6 – Subscriptions (Optional)

Accepted proposals may generate recurring Subscriptions, depending on the organization's commercial model.

Recommended Implementation Sequence

For new implementations, configure the Sales module in the following order:

Phase 1 – Global Configuration

  1. Companies

  2. Users & Access Rules

  3. Currencies

  4. Notifications (Optional)

Phase 2 – Sales Configuration

  1. Sales Exercise

  2. Contact Segmentation

  3. Contact Lifecycle

  4. Contact Reason Codes

  5. Opportunity Type

  6. Opportunity Pipeline

  7. Opportunity Source

  8. Opportunity Outcome Reasons

  9. Proposal Pipeline

  10. Proposal Outcome Reasons

  11. Proposal Commercial Roles

  12. Proposal Supervisors

  13. Proposal Managers

  14. Proposal Integrations (if applicable)

  15. Proposal Allowed Status

  16. Estimation Preparers

  17. Estimation Supervisors

  18. Estimation Managers

  19. Estimation Boards

  20. Sales Budget Approvers

Phase 3 – Operational Usage

Once the configuration is complete, users can begin working with the Sales module following this sequence:

Contacts
     │
     ▼
Accounts
     │
     ▼
Sales Markets
     │
     ▼
Sales Budgets
     │
     ▼
Opportunities
     │
     ▼
Estimations
     │
     ▼
Proposals
     │
     ▼
Subscriptions (Optional)

Related Articles

Sales Management Overview
Sales – Contacts
Sales – Accounts
Sales – Managing Opportunities
Sales – Estimations
Sales – Proposals
Sales Management – Sales Exercise
Sales Management – Opportunity Pipeline
Sales Management – Opportunity Type
Sales Management – Opportunity Source
Sales Management – Contact Lifecycle Stages
Sales Management – Contact Segmentation
Sales Management – Contact Reason Codes

 

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