Auto-set forecast category based on deal stage

Outcome. The forecast category updates automatically as a deal moves through the pipeline, so forecast rollups reflect actual stage progress instead of a manually maintained rep field that drifts out of sync.

flowchart TD
    A[Deal stage changes, pipeline matches] --> B{Which stage?}
    B -->|Qualified to Buy| C[Set forecast category = Pipeline]
    B -->|Proposal Sent| D[Set forecast category = Best Case]
    B -->|Negotiation| E[Set forecast category = Commit]
    B -->|Closed Won| F[Set forecast category = Closed Won]
    B -->|Closed Lost| G[Set forecast category = Closed Lost]

When to use it / when not to

• Use it when the sales manager currently asks reps to manually tag every deal's forecast category and half of them forget.
• Use it as the default, system-of-record mapping, with a manual override property reserved for genuine exceptions (see Known pitfalls).
• Do not use it if the team relies on HubSpot's native Forecast tool with manual category overrides as the primary input; decide up front which property is the source of truth to avoid the two fighting each other.
• Do not use it across multiple pipelines with reused stage labels without adding an explicit pipeline filter to each branch, or deals in the wrong pipeline get mapped incorrectly.