Mar 30, 2026 · 7 min read
The single biggest gain from ConstructIQ comes from setting up the pipeline correctly from the start — specifically, making sure the stages that a lead moves through on the sales side connect cleanly to the stages a project moves through on the delivery side. This guide covers the setup that gets that right the first time.
Define your pipeline stages before you migrate data
Before importing existing leads and projects, spend time defining your pipeline stages explicitly — from initial lead, through quoting, to signed project, through delivery milestones, to handover. Most firms already have an informal version of these stages; the goal here is making them explicit and consistent, so every project moves through the same defined path rather than an ad hoc one.
- Lead in → quoted → signed → in progress → handover, or your firm's equivalent
- Keep sales stages and delivery stages in the same pipeline, not separate systems
- Assign clear ownership at each stage transition — who moves a deal from quoted to signed
- Migrate active leads and in-flight projects separately, since they start at different stages
Migrate active projects first, historical data second
Prioritize migrating your currently active projects and open leads first — this is what your team needs day one. Historical, closed-out projects can be migrated afterward, or kept as a read-only reference if the level of detail available doesn't justify full migration.
Connect the pipeline to reporting from day one
Set up your leadership reporting view as part of initial setup, not as an afterthought once the pipeline is populated. Because ConstructIQ keeps sales and delivery data in the same system, a reporting view configured early will automatically reflect new projects as they move through the pipeline — no separate reporting setup required later.
“Getting the stage definitions right in week one meant we never had to go back and reclassify a backlog of projects later.”
Operations lead, mid-size construction firm