GoHighLevel Tutorial: How to Set Up a Sales Pipeline (2026)

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By Brody Babb, Workflow Dynamics LLC · Updated Oct 9, 2026 · Steps checked against HighLevel’s official help center that day. We haven’t built this in a live account for this page, and menus can differ by account, so use this alongside HighLevel’s own articles (linked at the end).

The short version

A GoHighLevel pipeline is more than a Kanban board. It is the structure your follow-up automations, reporting and team accountability hang on. This tutorial walks through six steps: create the pipeline, plan and add stages, create opportunities automatically from new leads, trigger automations when an opportunity changes stage, and control who can see the pipeline. If you’re still deciding whether GoHighLevel is the right CRM, read our GoHighLevel review first.

What you need first

• A GoHighLevel account and a sub-account to work in
• Admin access to that sub-account, since you’ll edit pipelines, workflows and permissions
• A rough outline of your real sales process, even on paper

Step 1: Create the pipeline

Open your sub-account, select Opportunities in the left sidebar, then choose Pipelines from the top menu. Click Create new pipeline in the top-right corner, enter a descriptive Pipeline Name and click Save. Pipeline names must be unique within the sub-account, so name it for what it tracks (for example “Inbound Leads” or “New Business Sales”) rather than just “Sales Pipeline.” If you run several lead sources or sales motions, separate pipelines are easier to report on than one crowded one.

Step 2: Plan your stages

Before you add anything, map the stages to how a lead really moves. A common structure for service businesses:

• New Lead
• Contacted
• Qualified
• Proposal Sent
• Negotiation

You don’t add Won and Lost yourself. HighLevel creates those automatically. Keep the list short: every stage should mark a point where something changes, like a different action, owner or automation. If you’re past eight or ten stages, some of them are probably better as tags or custom fields. That’s our rule of thumb, not a HighLevel limit.

Step 3: Add and order the stages

In the pipeline editor, type a Stage Name and click Add stage. Repeat until the flow is complete. Stage names must be unique within the pipeline. To reorder, use the up and down arrows on each stage. Get the order right before leads are in the pipeline, because reordering later makes older reports harder to read. Each stage also has funnel and pie chart icons that control whether it appears in those reports, and on the Stages tab you can pick a color per stage so the board is easier to scan.

Step 4: Create opportunities automatically

Pipelines track opportunities, which are separate records attached to contacts. A new lead from a form or booking can sit in your CRM as a contact only, invisible to the pipeline, unless something creates the opportunity. A workflow does that:

1. Go to Automation > Workflows and create or open your lead-intake workflow.
2. Add the Create Opportunity action (HighLevel’s help center also lists a Create/Update Opportunity action; use whichever your account shows).
3. Choose the pipeline and the starting stage (usually New Lead).
4. Set the opportunity name, source and status, then save and publish.
5. Test with dummy data and confirm the opportunity lands in the right stage before you turn it on for real leads.

Step 5: Add stage-based automations

This is where the pipeline does real work. In Automation > Workflows, create or open a workflow, click + Add New Trigger, search for Pipeline Stage Changed and select it. Name the trigger, set its filters, add your actions (notifications, tasks, field updates, emails), then click Save Trigger and Publish. Filters you can combine include In Pipeline, Pipeline Stage, Status, Assigned To, Tag, Lead Value and Lost Reason.

Example uses, which are our suggestions rather than HighLevel presets:

• Proposal Sent: create a follow-up task for the owner.
• Negotiation: notify the sales manager.
• Won: start your onboarding workflow and stop nurture messages.
• Lost: tag the contact and move them to a long-term follow-up list.

Step 6: Control who sees the pipeline

Pipeline access is set on the pipeline itself. In Opportunities > Pipelines, click the Key icon next to the pipeline name to open Manage permissions. Pick a sharing mode (all users, selected users or roles, or everyone except specific users), then give each user or role an access level and click Save.

• Edit: full control, including stages and the pipeline itself.
• View Only: can move and update opportunities but can’t add, edit or delete stages or pipelines.
• No Access: the pipeline is hidden in the web app, mobile app and API responses.

The admin user always has full access, and HighLevel won’t let you remove access from a user who still owns opportunities in that pipeline until you reassign or delete them. Existing automations keep running after you change permissions.

Settings that are easy to miss

• Set the pipeline and stage explicitly in every intake workflow. Don’t assume new opportunities will land in the pipeline you just built. Check each workflow that creates opportunities.
• Manual moves fire automations too. If someone drags an opportunity to a new stage and it matches your filters, the workflow runs. Moving one back to an earlier stage can trigger it again.
• The Pipeline Stage Changed trigger only works in real time. It can’t find past stage movements. Use the opportunity’s activity log for history.
• Lost reasons. The trigger can filter on Lost Reason, so capturing a reason when you mark an opportunity Lost makes both automations and reporting more useful.
• Test before you publish. Move a dummy opportunity through each stage so you don’t send real messages while you’re still setting up.
• Sending messages needs a configured sending setup. If your stage automations send email or texts, set up your sending domain and number first. See HighLevel’s deliverability articles for the exact steps, because we haven’t verified them for this page.

Frequently asked questions

Where do I create a pipeline in GoHighLevel?

In your sub-account, go to Opportunities, choose Pipelines from the top menu and click Create new pipeline. HighLevel’s help center also mentions an updated Pipelines design under Sub-account > Labs, so your screens may look different.

How many pipeline stages should I use?

There’s no right number in HighLevel’s documentation. Our rule of thumb is to keep it short and add a stage only where an action, owner or automation changes.

Do I need separate pipelines for different lead sources?

Not required. Separate pipelines make sense when the sales process differs, such as inbound leads versus outbound prospects. Pipeline names must be unique within a sub-account.

Do manual stage moves trigger automations?

Yes. HighLevel says manual stage changes trigger a workflow when they match its filters, and moving an opportunity back can trigger it again.

Do I need a paid plan to use pipelines?

The help articles we read don’t state a plan requirement for pipelines. You do need a GoHighLevel account, and our GoHighLevel free trial page covers the trial terms. Check current plan details before you commit.

Sources and next steps

Sources, checked Oct 9, 2026: HighLevel’s pipeline creation guide, Pipeline Stage Changed trigger, Automating Opportunities and pipeline permissions articles.

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