Custom pipelines

Every firm gets default pipelines — one per service line — out of the box. The defaults work for most firms. When yours doesn’t, customize them in the Pipeline builder (sidebar → Pipeline builder).

Default pipelines per service line

Tax (default 6 stages)

Awaiting docs — intake sent, waiting for client uploads.
Docs received — all checklist items matched, ready to prep.
In prep — preparer working on the return.
In review — reviewer auditing the prepared return.
Awaiting signature — 8879 sent, waiting for client e-sign.
Filed — return e-filed, done.

Accounting (default 4 stages)

Awaiting docs — bank statements, source docs not yet in.
In progress — categorizing, reconciling.
In review — review of completed period.
Closed — period closed and delivered.

Audit & Assurance (default 6 stages)

Planning — scope, risk assessment, materiality.
Fieldwork — testing, sampling, evidence gathering.
Review — partner and manager review.
Wrap-up — final adjustments, financial statement draft.
Issued — report signed and delivered.
Documented — workpapers archived per peer review standards.

When to customize

Customize when:

Your firm uses a stage the defaults don’t have (for example, “Awaiting tax authority response” between In review and Filed for resolution work).
Your firm doesn’t use a default stage (for example, small firms skip In review because the preparer is also the reviewer).
You want different pipelines for different engagement types (for example, a fast pipeline for simple W-2-only 1040s and a long one for complex multi-state business returns).

Don’t customize:

To track sub-states within a stage (use tasks instead).
To micro-manage daily progress (use the engagement detail page).
For one-off cases (use a blocker instead).

The Pipeline builder page

Sidebar → Pipeline builder. Layout:

Left panel — list of pipelines for the firm. Click one to edit.
Center panel — the stages of the selected pipeline, in order.
Right panel — the selected stage’s settings: name, gate mode, task templates.

The top-right has + New pipeline.

[Screenshot: Pipeline builder layout]

Creating a new pipeline

Click + New pipeline. The dialog asks for:

Field	What goes here
Name	”Tax — extended returns”, “Bookkeeping — monthly”, “Audit — Single Audit”. Visible to firm users.
Service line	Pick one — Tax, Accounting, or Audit.
Copy from	Optional — start as a copy of an existing pipeline (default tax pipeline, an existing custom pipeline). Saves you from rebuilding from scratch.

Click Create. Assure Pro opens the editor with the new pipeline ready to customize.

Editing stages

Adding a stage

In the center panel, click + Add stage at the end (or hover between two existing stages to add in the middle).

Field	What goes here
Name	”Awaiting K-1”, “Pending IRS response”, “Quality review”.
Position	Drag the stage left or right in the list to reorder.
Gate mode	Strict, Flexible, or None. See Stages & gates.
Auto-advance condition	Optional — defines when Assure Pro moves cards out of this stage automatically.
Task templates	List of tasks that auto-generate when an engagement enters this stage. See Stage task templates below.

Renaming a stage

Click the stage name to edit inline. The change applies firm-wide immediately — every existing engagement at that stage now shows the new name.

Reordering stages

Drag stages in the center panel. Assure Pro doesn’t auto-move engagements — they stay at the same stage they were in, just at a different position in the visual order.

Removing a stage

Click the three-dot menu next to a stage → Delete stage. Assure Pro shows you how many engagements are currently at this stage:

If zero: deletion is immediate.
If non-zero: pick a stage to migrate them to. Assure Pro moves them, logs the migration in their activity timelines, and then deletes the original stage.

Deleting a stage is one-way. The migration is reversible per-engagement (move them back to the new stage manually) but the stage itself can’t be restored — you’d need to recreate it.

Stage task templates

Each stage can declare a set of tasks that auto-generate when an engagement enters the stage. This is how Assure Pro turns “an engagement entered the In prep stage” into “the preparer has six concrete tasks to do”.

For each task template:

Field	What goes here
Title	”Send intake email”, “Review extracted W-2”, “Prepare federal return”, “Send 8879 for signature”.
Description	Optional longer detail.
Task type	One of: Collect, Prepare, Review, Approve, File, Follow up, Admin, Communicate, Bookkeeping, Fieldwork, Planning, Meeting, Research.
Assignee role	Preparer, Reviewer, Partner, or Admin. The actual user is resolved at task-creation time from the engagement’s assignments.
Default due offset	”+0 days from stage entry”, “+3 days”, etc. The actual due date is set when the task is created.
Required for advance	If checked, the engagement can’t leave this stage until this specific task is completed. Combines with gate mode.

When an engagement enters the stage, every task template generates a task. The task title is filled with merge variables (client name, engagement type, tax year). The assignee is resolved from the engagement.

Editing task templates

From the right panel of the Pipeline builder. Add, edit, reorder, or delete templates. Changes apply to future stage entries — existing tasks already created for engagements at that stage aren’t affected.

Switching an engagement to a different pipeline

A firm can have any number of pipelines. Engagements are tied to one pipeline at creation. To move an engagement to a different pipeline:

Open the engagement detail page.
Click the More menu → Change pipeline.
Pick the new pipeline and the target stage.

Assure Pro moves the engagement, logs the change, and re-runs stage entry logic (generates any task templates the new stage defines that the old pipeline didn’t).

Setting a default pipeline per engagement type

You can set a default pipeline per engagement type at Settings → Engagement types → [type] → Default pipeline. New engagements of that type automatically use the default unless overridden in the create dialog.

Useful for:

“Form 1040 always uses the Tax — Standard pipeline.”
“Monthly Bookkeeping always uses the Bookkeeping pipeline.”
“Form 1040 (with extension) uses the Tax — Extended pipeline.”

Prospect pipeline

For firms tracking pre-engagement leads, create a separate Prospect pipeline with stages like:

New lead → Discovery call → Proposal sent → Engagement letter sent → Signed

Then change those engagements’ status from Prospect to Active when the engagement letter is signed — Assure Pro auto-converts the prospect engagement into a regular one. See Settings → Pipelines for the toggles to enable prospect-pipeline behavior.

Common pipeline customizations

Add a quality-control stage between In review and Filed

In the Tax pipeline, between In review and Awaiting signature, add QC pass:

Gate mode: Strict
Task templates: “Final QC review” (assignee role: partner, required for advance).

Result: every return goes through partner QC before being sent for signature.

Skip In review for small firms

Edit the Tax pipeline:

Delete the In review stage.
(If existing engagements are at In review, migrate them to In prep.)

The pipeline goes prep → 8879 → filed.

Multiple intake stages

For complex business returns, replace Awaiting docs with three stages:

Awaiting Q4 financials → Awaiting K-1s → Awaiting state-specific docs

Each has its own auto-advance condition (Q4 financials uploaded → next stage; K-1s received → next).

Permissions

Editing pipelines requires the Edit pipelines permission — by default, owners and admins only. To let a non-admin (for example, the operations lead) edit, add them to a team with Edit pipelines permission.

Stages & gates — gate modes and auto-advance.
Tasks — what the stage templates generate.
Settings → Pipelines — firm-wide pipeline settings.