# Customize contact stages

Rename, reorder and add pipeline stages, set idle thresholds and safely move contacts out of a stage you remove.

Canonical: https://docs.lead-knight.com/en/contacts/customize-stages/

## What this changes

Stage settings define the pipeline for the workspace, not just your personal view. You can change labels and order, add open stages and choose when active contacts become idle. Renaming does not change a stage's underlying meaning.

## Before you start

You must be a workspace owner or admin. Open **Contacts** and use the gear button labeled **Contact settings**. In a team, ordinary members may have access to privacy settings without permission to manage the pipeline.

## Rename, arrange and add stages

1. Open **Contact settings** and choose **Stages**. Existing rows appear in pipeline order.
2. Edit a stage's name. The **Meaning** column stays fixed and explains the stage's behavior even after renaming.
3. Use **Move up** or **Move down** to change its position. Colors follow position; active stages use shades along the pipeline, while terminal meanings retain their own colors.
4. For an active stage, fill in **Idle days** to set its **Idle after** threshold, or clear the value for no threshold. The allowed range is 1–365 days. Terminal won, lost and not-relevant stages do not offer an idle threshold.
5. Click **+ Add stage** to create another stage. Enter its name; new stages have an in-progress meaning. The UI allows up to 21 total stages.
6. Click **Save stages**. The dialog closes after a successful save and the contact views refresh with the updated configuration.

Changing stage order can also change which nonterminal stage is treated as the first active stage for new contacts. Check the order deliberately, not just the colors.

## Remove a stage without stranding contacts

1. Use **Delete** on an eligible stage. Only stages with an **In progress** meaning are deletable in this editor.
2. A **Move contacts to** selector appears for each removed saved stage.
3. Choose an existing retained destination. Lost and not-relevant stages are not offered as migration destinations.
4. Click **Save stages** to submit the removal and destination together.

Qualified, meeting-held and terminal stages cannot be removed through this editor, even if you rename them. Every remaining stage needs a nonblank name, and every deleted saved stage needs a destination before saving.

## Other settings beside the pipeline

**Columns** manages custom fields displayed in the table and contact details. It also contains **Required contact details**, where owners/admins choose **Phone**, **Email**, **Phone and email** or **Phone or email**, then click **Save required contact details**. That is a separate save from **Save stages**.

## If something goes wrong

- **Missing:** appears: fill blank stage names and choose destinations for deleted stages.
- A trash button is disabled: that stage's fixed meaning cannot be deleted; renaming it does not change this rule.
- **Settings changed. Please try again.** appears: another change made your open configuration stale. Reopen the settings with the latest data and reapply your intended changes.
- **Could not save the change** appears: review the error and reopen the latest configuration before retrying; do not assume unsaved rows changed everyone's pipeline.

## Related pages

- [Move a contact through the pipeline](https://docs.lead-knight.com/en/contacts/move-through-stages/)
- [Add a contact](https://docs.lead-knight.com/en/contacts/add-contact/)
- [Contacts overview](https://docs.lead-knight.com/en/contacts/overview/)


## Customize contact stages

[Customize contact stages](https://kwqpaiaguxkmadaipfrf.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/guide-videos/guides/videos/J11/nadlanite-en-789d4ea36c76.mp4)

1. To fit the stages to how your office works, click the settings gear on Contacts.
2. The Stages tab lists every stage in order. Colors follow position.
3. Click a stage to rename it. Its meaning stays the same.
4. Idle days sets how long a contact can wait before it needs attention.
5. You can also add a stage, or reorder them with the arrows.
6. Click Save stages.
7. The new names show up everywhere, like in each contact’s stage list.