When a deal is lost, the customer usually signs with someone else for a fixed term. Knowing when that contract ends gives you the best chance of winning them back at renewal time.
The Layer can make this part of your process: with Require Expiry on Opportunity Lost switched on, an opportunity cannot be marked Lost until at least one non-managed expiry is linked to it.
This option is off by default. To switch it on for your company, contact The Layer support team.
What it applies to
It applies whenever an opportunity's status is changed to Lost, including an opportunity that was previously Cancelled.
It does not apply to Cancelled or any other status.
An opportunity that is already Lost can still be edited and saved without adding an expiry.
It is checked when you lose an opportunity from the opportunity editor, with the Update Status button on an opportunity browsing session, and when you cancel a sales order and set its opportunity to Lost.
Losing an opportunity
Change the Status of the opportunity to Lost. The loss details appear below the opportunity as usual, with a red * next to Expiries to show that one is needed.
In the Expiries grid, either:
click New Record to add the customer's new contract (plan, supplier, expiry date and so on). It is linked to this opportunity automatically, or
click Link Existing Expiry to link an expiry already recorded against the customer or lead.
Linked expiries show a link icon in the first column. Fill in your loss reasons as normal and save.
If no expiry is linked when you save, the opportunity is not changed and you will see: "Link an expiry to this opportunity before marking it Lost." You can also add or link one from the opportunity's Expiries tab.
Bulk status updates
When you set several opportunities to Lost at once with the Update Status button on an opportunity browsing session, any that have no expiry linked are left as they are and the rest are updated. The confirmation message tells you how many were skipped, so you can add their expiries and run the update again.
Cancelling a sales order
If you set the associated opportunity to Lost while cancelling a sales order, enter an expiry date in the Create Contract Expiry Record section of the cancellation form (marked with a red *). The expiry is created and linked to the opportunity for you. If the opportunity already has an expiry linked, you can leave this section blank.