Opportunity Acceptance Criteria

A practical example

Example: a converted lead becomes an accepted opportunity only if it names a decision-maker contact, carries a budget range, has a close date beyond 30 days, and is confirmed by the assigned AE within 48 hours; otherwise it sits in a holding stage outside forecastable pipeline.

What to evaluate before investing

• Can conversion create opportunities in a holding or unaccepted stage by default?
• Can acceptance require a specific user's confirmation, not just field completion?
• Does the tool separate accepted pipeline from pending conversions in reports?

Limitations and tradeoffs

A gate at conversion cannot catch deals that decay later; pair acceptance criteria with stage exit criteria so pipeline quality is checked throughout the cycle, not only at entry.