SOURCE-BASED ANALYSIS · NO HANDS-ON RATING
Give each lead state a business meaning
Pipedrive Leads Inbox stores unqualified opportunities outside the deal pipeline. A lead can remain active, be archived for later use, be deleted when no longer needed or be converted into a deal when it is ready for the sales process. Write evidence for each transition so operators do not use archive and delete interchangeably.
Create a handoff matrix
For a fictional intake process, use synthetic leads representing a new enquiry, a paused opportunity, an invalid record and a qualified buyer. State the expected outcome before changing the item.
| Fixture | Decision | Required evidence |
|---|---|---|
| New but incomplete enquiry | Keep active | Named next activity |
| Valid future opportunity | Archive | Reason and review date |
| Invalid synthetic record | Delete | Authorized disposal reason |
| Qualified opportunity | Convert to deal | Pipeline, stage, owner and value policy |
Reconcile the conversion
Pipedrive documents that conversion carries linked person and organization details as well as notes, files and activities into the deal context. The lead then leaves Leads Inbox. Verify the chosen pipeline, visibility, owner and required deal fields rather than treating the absence of the lead as proof of a complete handoff.
- Define qualification evidence and the deal entry stage.
- Assign an owner and next activity to active leads.
- Record a review reason for archived leads.
- Restrict deletion to an explicit retention policy.
- Convert the synthetic qualified fixture.
- Verify contacts, notes, files, activities and visibility on the deal.
- Search the active and archived views to confirm the final states.
Keep recovery boundaries visible
Archived leads remain in the account and can be unarchived before editing. Pipedrive states that deleted leads can be restored for a limited period, but that is not a substitute for an approved retention decision. Files remain attached across archive and unarchive.
Accept the policy when another reviewer can explain every state from recorded evidence and when converted deals enter the correct owned process. This guide does not assert a live conversion or recommend a universal qualification threshold.
Sources and verification
Official documentation checked on 2026-10-29. Worked examples are hypothetical planning exercises, not measured product benchmarks.