Within a Team Pipeline, each stage can have a Sub-Pipeline: a set of ordered steps that must be completed before the deal advances to the next stage. Sub-Pipelines are visible on the record detail view and can be assigned to different users. They act as a structured checklist with their own mini-stages, giving managers visibility into exactly which sub-steps are pending and who is responsible for each one, all without leaving the main deal record.
Use Sub-Pipelines when a single stage in your process involves multiple sequential actions performed by different people, such as a legal review, a finance approval, and a technical assessment all happening before a deal closes. Avoid Sub-Pipelines for purely individual tasks that a single person completes: a simple activity or note is sufficient in those cases and keeps the interface lighter.
Sub-Pipelines are part of the Team Pipelines feature set, so they require a Bigin plan that includes Team Pipelines. The parent stage will not auto-advance to the next stage just because all Sub-Pipeline steps are done: that movement still requires a deliberate drag or stage update by the user. Sub-Pipeline steps should be kept concise, typically three to six steps, to avoid confusion with the top-level pipeline stages.
A Sub-Pipeline is similar to a checklist but more structured. Each Sub-Pipeline step can be assigned to a specific user and has its own status, making it closer to a mini-pipeline with ownership than a simple tick-box list. This distinction is important when multiple team members are responsible for different steps.
Bigin does not automatically prevent stage advancement when Sub-Pipeline steps are incomplete. The restriction is informational and depends on your team’s discipline. If you need hard enforcement, combine Sub-Pipelines with a Workflow that checks completion status before allowing the stage change, though this requires careful configuration.
Aaxonix is a certified Zoho implementation partner based in Pune. Architecture-first, no surprises.