Lifecycle Stages
Every account moves through a defined lifecycle from initial prospect to (ideally) a long-term active client. Stages drive automation, dashboards, and health score behavior.
The full lifecycle
An organization you're aware of but haven't formally engaged. May or may not have had initial contact. Not yet in a formal sales process.
Triggered by: Created manually or from a converted lead.
A formal technology stack assessment is underway. You're evaluating their environment and building a proposal. A Discovery or Technology Assessment deal stage is typically open.
Triggered by: Manual transition or deal moves to Technology Assessment stage.
A proposal has been sent. You're in active negotiation. The deal stage is Proposal Sent or beyond.
Triggered by: Manual transition or deal moves to Proposal Sent stage.
The deal is closed. Contract is signed or verbally confirmed. Transition to onboarding begins.
Triggered by: Automatic when any deal on this account moves to Closed Won.
The client is being onboarded. Devices are being deployed, services configured, and staff trained. An onboarding project is active.
Triggered by: Automatic after WON, when an onboarding project is created.
The client is fully onboarded and receiving services. This is the steady-state for healthy clients. The majority of your MRR should come from ACTIVE accounts.
Triggered by: Automatic when the onboarding project reaches LIVE status, or manual.
The client relationship is in danger. Health score has dropped, there's been a service issue, or renewal is at risk. Requires active intervention from the account manager.
Triggered by: Automatic when health score drops below the AT_RISK threshold, or manual.
The client has left. Contract terminated. This is preserved for historical MRR tracking and churn analysis. Churned accounts do not contribute to active MRR.
Triggered by: Manual — always requires a deliberate decision. Workflow can trigger on contract termination.
Changing lifecycle stage
You can change an account's lifecycle stage at any time from the account detail page — click the stage badge in the header or use the edit form. Every stage change is logged in the activity feed with the user who made the change and the timestamp.
Backward transitions are allowed. An AT_RISK account that has been stabilized can return to ACTIVE. A CHURNED account can be re-engaged and moved back to PROSPECT or WON if they return.
How stage affects health score
The health score calculation adjusts based on lifecycle stage:
- PROSPECT and ASSESSMENT accounts are not scored — they don't have enough data to produce a meaningful health signal.
- ONBOARDING accounts are scored but the QBR signal is suppressed — new clients haven't had a QBR yet.
- ACTIVE accounts receive the full 9-signal health score calculation.
- AT_RISK accounts display a red alert banner on the account detail page.
- CHURNED accounts retain their last health score for historical reference but don't recalculate.
AT_RISK detection
When the At-Risk Alert workflow template is active, Breadbox automatically flags accounts as AT_RISK when their health score drops below the configured alert threshold (default: 60). The workflow:
- 1Sends an in-app notification to the assigned account manager
- 2Creates a follow-up task with a 48-hour due date
- 3Updates the account lifecycle to AT_RISK
- 4Flags the account badge RED on dashboards and list views
Recovering from AT_RISK
Once you've resolved the issues driving the low health score — cleared tickets, completed a QBR, re-engaged the decision maker — the score will naturally recover on the next recalculation. You can also manually transition the account back to ACTIVE at any time. The AT_RISK period is preserved in the activity log and health score history for reference.