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How-to — task-oriented recipe.

Overview

Opportunity Triggers automatically create an Opportunity record when a deal progresses to a specific stage. This ensures every qualified deal has corresponding tracking for forecasting and eliminates manual opportunity creation, while pre-filling key information from the source entry.

Prerequisites

Permissions Required:
  • You must be a List Owner or List Admin to configure Opportunity Triggers
  • To become a List Admin, ask the List Owner to grant you admin access
What You Need:
  • Source list with a Status field (where trigger will activate)
  • Target Opportunity list (where opportunities will be created)
  • Target list must be type “Opportunity”
  • Target list must be shared with users who will create opportunities
  • Understanding of which status values indicate deal qualification

Steps

Step 1: Navigate to Triggers Settings

  1. Open the source list where you want qualified deals to trigger opportunity creation
  2. Click List Options in the top-right corner
  3. Click Triggers
  4. The Triggers configuration panel opens

Step 2: Create a New Opportunity Trigger

  1. Click the Opportunity Triggers tab
  2. Click Create New Trigger (or select existing status to configure)
  3. The trigger configuration form appears

Step 3: Select the Status Value

  1. In the Status dropdown, select which status value will trigger opportunity creation
  • Common examples: “Qualified”, “Term Sheet Sent”, “Follow-on Interest”
  1. When users change an entry to this status, the opportunity creation modal will appear Important: Each status value can only trigger to ONE opportunity list (but different statuses can trigger to different lists)

Step 4: Choose Target Opportunity List

  1. In the Target List dropdown, select which opportunity list will receive new opportunities
  2. Verify the target list:
  • Is type “Opportunity”
    • Is shared with your team members
    • Is not the same as your source list
  • Different status values can trigger to different opportunity lists
    • Example: “Follow-on” → “Follow-on Deals” list
    • Example: “Qualified” → “Active Pipeline” list

Step 5: Save the Trigger

  1. Review your configuration
  2. Click Save
  3. The trigger is now active
  1. Navigate to a test entry in your source list
  2. Change status to your configured trigger value
  3. Opportunity creation modal should appear
  4. Verify pre-filled fields are correct:
  • Name (from source entity)
    • Owners (from source entry)
    • Link to source entity
    • Amount (if available)
  • Complete any additional required fields
  • Click Create Opportunity
  • Verify opportunity appears in target list with proper linking

Expected Outcome

  • When user changes status to trigger value, opportunity modal appears
  • Modal pre-fills with: Name, Owners, Source link, Amount (if available)
  • User completes additional required fields (if configured on target list)
  • New opportunity is created in target list
  • Opportunity automatically links back to source entity
  • Source entry updates to show linked opportunity
  • In New Lists: If Status Trigger also exists, both appear in consolidated modal (Status Trigger first, then Opportunity Trigger)

What Gets Pre-Filled Automatically

When Opportunity Trigger fires, these fields populate automatically: Always pre-filled:
  • Name: Derived from source entity name
  • Link to source entity: Automatic bidirectional linking
  • Owners: Copied from source entry’s Owners field Sometimes pre-filled:
  • Amount: If source entry has Amount field populated
Never pre-filled (you must complete):
  • Custom fields specific to opportunity tracking
  • Additional context or deal-specific information

Where Opportunity Triggers Fire

Surfaces where triggers work:
  • ✅ New Lists (Sheets view)
  • ✅ Kanban/Board view
  • ✅ Entity Profiles
  • ✅ Pathfinder
Surfaces where triggers do NOT fire:
  • ❌ Data imports
  • ❌ API calls
  • ❌ Mobile App

Tips & Best Practices

Configuration Strategy:
  • Choose qualification moments carefully - Trigger at the stage where opportunity tracking becomes valuable
  • One opportunity list per status - Each status can only trigger to one list, so plan your list architecture accordingly
  • Consider multiple triggers - Different stages can create opportunities in different lists (e.g., “New Deal” list vs “Follow-on” list)
  • Test with target list owners - Ensure target list’s Required Fields make sense for triggered entries
Target List Setup:
  • Ensure target list exists and is type “Opportunity”
  • Share target list with all users who will create opportunities
  • Configure Required Fields on target list (will combine with trigger modal)
  • Verify target list won’t create permission issues
Cascade Behavior:
  • If both Status Trigger AND Opportunity Trigger exist on same status:
  • Status Trigger fires first (required fields for status change)
    • Then Opportunity Trigger fires (opportunity creation)
    • Both appear in consolidated modal in New Lists
  • Plan your triggers to avoid overwhelming users with too many fields at once
Workflow Integration:
  • Opportunity Triggers work well with pipeline stages like: “Qualified”, “Term Sheet”, “Committed”
  • Consider when financial tracking becomes necessary
  • Align trigger timing with when ownership/amount information is known

Common Mistakes

  • Don’t trigger too early (before qualification info is known)
  • Don’t forget to share target list with team
  • Don’t set up trigger if target list might be deleted/archived
  • Don’t assume pre-filled fields are sufficient (usually need additional Required Fields)
Maintenance:
  • If target list is deleted, trigger becomes inactive (users see error)
  • Reconfigure trigger to point to new target list if needed
  • Review trigger effectiveness quarterly

Common Use Cases

Sourcing to Pipeline Conversion: “Companies in our ‘Sourcing’ list move to ‘Qualified’ status and should automatically create opportunities in our ‘Active Pipeline’ list.” → Configure Opportunity Trigger on “Qualified” status pointing to “Active Pipeline” list. Term Sheet Tracking: “When we send a term sheet, I want to create an opportunity to track deal value and ownership.” → Configure trigger on “Term Sheet Sent” status, target = “Active Deals” list. Follow-on Investment Tracking: “Portfolio companies raising follow-on rounds should trigger opportunities in our separate ‘Follow-on Pipeline’ list.” → Configure trigger on “Follow-on Interest” status pointing to “Follow-on Pipeline” list.

Troubleshooting

Problem: “The trigger isn’t firing when I change status” Check:
  • Are you on a surface where triggers are supported? (See “Where Opportunity Triggers Fire” above)
  • Are you changing status via import, API, or Lists column? (Not supported)
  • Is target list deleted or inaccessible? (Trigger becomes inactive)
Problem: “Target list disappeared from dropdown” Solutions:
  • List may have been deleted - check with list owner
  • You may have lost access to target list - request access
Problem: “Pre-filled information is incorrect” Solutions:
  • Verify source entry has correct Owners, Name, Amount
  • Pre-fill pulls from source entry at time of trigger - update source first if needed
  • You can edit pre-filled fields in the modal before creating opportunity