1
Set up your stages before anything else
Your sales pipeline, loan pipeline and business partner pipeline all hang off stages, so build those first. Changing them later means going back and remapping everything you’ve already touched. See Why you should set up your stages before anything else and the full reference on Pipeline Stages.
2
Shape your pipeline around how your team actually works
Once your stages exist, turn them into the pipeline and focus bars your team will use every day. How to customize your sales pipeline in Leaf360 covers focus bars for leads, loans and referral partners.
3
Bring your database in
Export your leads and business contacts from your old CRM as a CSV, then bring them in with Import Data. A row that matches a record you already have updates it instead of creating a duplicate, so it’s safe to import a small batch first and check the counts before running the rest. How to move your database into Leaf360 walks through the same importer end to end.
4
Connect your loan origination system
If your loans live in Arive or Encompass, connect it next so your loan data and statuses stay in step, rather than living in two places. See Integrations overview, Arive and Encompass.
Why this order
Stages come first because nearly every other screen reads from them: focus bars, mass actions, SLA rules and the stage picker on every record. Importing before your stages exist just means remapping everything you already brought in. Connecting a loan origination system comes last, because it’s easiest to match its statuses once your own pipeline is already built.For a guided walkthrough of first-time setup rather than a switch from another system, start with Start here instead. It covers the same steps in the same order, plus adding leads one at a time and turning on notifications.