Pipeline coverage calculator

Pipeline coverage tells you whether the open deals can carry the target. A result of 2x means the open deals add up to twice the target. You see the gap early, while there are still weeks left to find new deals or clean up the ones you have.

Read it at the start of each month for the report to the owner, for the team and for each seller, and again whenever you review the forecast. It answers the question owners ask most: will we make the month?

Coverage = open pipeline value ÷ target. Both numbers cover the same period, the same team and the same currency. Take active deals only: won deals have already landed and lost deals will bring nothing. If part of the month is already won, you can divide by what is left of the target instead. Pick one rule and keep it.

In your CRM, filter active deals by a decision date inside the period and add up the amount column. Deals with no amount or no decision date cannot be counted, so list them separately and get them filled in. Deals with no next step and no contact for weeks inflate the result: close or fix them at the pipeline review before you read the number.

Read coverage next to win rate. If the team wins about one decided deal in three, start with roughly 3x and test that level for a quarter. Example (invented numbers): a win rate of 30% and a target of $40,000 point to about $133,000 of open pipeline, or 3.3x.

The number decides where the next two weeks go. Low coverage with a normal win rate calls for more inquiries. High coverage with a low win rate calls for qualification and an honest pipeline review. With a sales cycle longer than a month, check next month as well, because its gap is the one you can still close. That is why coverage sits in the monthly report next to win rate, and in the forecast review: the CRM and forecast kit has a sheet for that conversation.

• Dividing a quarter of pipeline by a month of target. Filter both by the same dates.
• Treating deals with no amount as zero and forgetting them. The gap then hides in empty fields.
• Treating 3x as a norm. Your level follows from your own win rate: derive it and test it.
• Pulling decision dates into the current month to lift the number. Ask for a reason each time a date moves.

By Friday, add up the active deals with a decision date this month, divide by this month's target, write the result down with the date, and give each seller a list of their deals with no amount or no date.