The CRM allows your ISO to determine the exact path that your sales process will follow in order to work leads and convert them to merchant accounts.

The flow is managed by moving leads through the different Status States in different Status Categories, all of which can be customized to suit your specific needs.

For example, a status category called Qualified can be set up with several status states which will be used to progress a lead while it is in the Qualified stage. 

Once the lead gets past the Qualified stage, it can be moved to a new category called Closing which contains a new set of status states that are specific to the Closing stage workflow. 

The Status Categories and Status States can also be color-coded for better visualization.

Here is an example of the Qualifying status category and its associated status states that can be selected in the Current Lead Status widget:

The Status States are typically used in combination with Status Triggers, which enable you to trigger specific actions automatically when the status state changes or when the lead stays in the same status state for a pre-determined period of time. 

Managing Status Categories

To manage your Status Categories navigate to Manage > Administration > Leads > Status States & Triggers. 

The Status States Customization page now opens as shown in the below screenshot: 

To add a new Status Category click on the Add New Status Category button, enter the name of the new category, and select the category visibility and lead editing settings:

Here are the descriptions of the available settings:

• Group(s)—Selected groups will be able to see the category and the leads in the category. 
• Disable lead editing for these user classes—Users in the selected user classes will not be able to use the Save button to edit fields or properties of the lead. Notes, attachments, and other items can be still added.
• Hide this category from these user classes—Users in the selected user classes will not see this category for selection in a lead, but can still see leads in this status.
• Hide leads in this category from these user settings—Users in the selected user classes will not see leads in this category or see this category in search/reporting, even if assigned to the leads. Notifications will not be sent about hidden leads unless done by a Status Trigger or the user is selected to be notified for lead assignment, event assignment, file uploading, or note posting.

If needed you can also pick a color for your new category to make it easier for your team to prioritize lead outreach and enhance your overall lead management process:

When you're done, click Add on the popup, and your new category will be saved and shown in the category list:

You can change the order of categories by clicking and dragging categories on the page as needed.

Once a category is created you can always edit or delete it using the category action shortcuts: 

If you had selected specific colors for the various categories, then the categories will be displayed with the selected colors on the My Leads page:

The category colors are also shown on the lead:

Managing Status States

To add or remove status states in a category, click on the Add/Remove Statuses button on the category that you wish to update:

In the next step, click Add New Status, enter the name of the new status, and select the status visibility and lead editing settings:

Here are the descriptions of the available settings:

• Disable lead editing for these user classes—Users in the selected user classes will not be able to use the Save button to edit fields or properties of the lead. Notes, attachments, and other items can be still added.
• Hide this category from these user classes—Users in the selected user classes will not see this status for selection in a lead, but can still see leads in this status.
• Hide leads in this category from these user settings—Users in the selected user classes will not see leads in this status or see this status in search/reporting, even if assigned to the leads. Notifications will not be sent about hidden leads unless done by a Status Trigger or the user is selected to be notified for lead assignment, event assignment, file uploading, or note posting.

If needed you can also pick a color for your new status state:

When you're done click the Add New Status State button and your status state will be saved.

You can now use the action shortcuts on the status state to delete it, move it to a different category, configure its status triggers, or edit the basic settings: