Setting up sales funnels in Bitrix24 CRM

Setting Up Sales Tunnels in Bitrix24 CRM

A sales tunnel in Bitrix24 is a connection between CRM funnels through which a deal automatically moves from one funnel to another when it reaches a specific stage. This solves the problem of separating processes: initial lead qualification in one funnel, client work in another, and repeat sales in a third.

Why Tunnels Are Needed

Without tunnels, the only way to organize a multi-stage process is a single long funnel with 15–20 stages. This is unreadable and does not allow responsibility to be divided between teams. Tunnels provide:

• Different responsible teams at different stages
• Separate conversion analytics per stage
• Automatic transitions without manual intervention
• The ability to return a deal to a previous stage

Configuring a Tunnel

Tunnels are configured in CRM → Deals → Pipeline Settings → Tunnels. The visual editor displays funnels as blocks connected by arrows.

Step 1. Create multiple funnels: «Initial Processing», «Negotiation», «Closing».

Step 2. In the source funnel, select the trigger stage (e.g., «Qualified»).

Step 3. Specify the target funnel and its initial stage.

Step 4. Set the condition: the transition happens automatically or only upon manual confirmation.

Step 5. Optionally — configure automation upon entering the new funnel: assign a responsible party, create a task, send a notification.

Automation via REST API

For complex scenarios, tunnels are supplemented with programmatic logic via the REST API. Example: moving a deal to a new funnel with a change of responsible party:

// Move a deal to another funnel when the stage changes
BX24.callMethod('crm.deal.update', {
    id: dealId,
    fields: {
        CATEGORY_ID: targetPipelineId,  // ID of the target funnel
        STAGE_ID: 'C' + targetPipelineId + ':NEW', // Initial stage
        ASSIGNED_BY_ID: newResponsibleUserId,
    }
}, result => {
    if (result.error()) {
        console.error('Move error:', result.error_description());
    }
});

Webhook on stage change — for custom logic when transitioning through a tunnel:

// Bitrix24 webhook handler for deal stage change
// Webhook URL is specified in: Settings → Inbound Webhook

$event = $_POST;
if ($event['event'] === 'ONCRMDEALUPDATE') {
    $dealId = $event['data']['FIELDS']['ID'];
    $newStage = $event['data']['FIELDS']['STAGE_ID'];

    if ($newStage === 'C1:WON') {
        // Deal won in the first funnel — create a deal in the repeat sales funnel
        createRepeatSaleDeal($dealId);
    }
}

Common Tunnel Schemes

Lead → Deal → Project. Standard B2B scheme: leads are qualified in the leads funnel, upon conversion they move to the deals funnel, and after contract signing — to the project management funnel.

Cold → Warm → Hot. Marketing scheme: advertising leads enter the «Cold» funnel, move to «Warm» upon confirmed interest, and to «Hot» upon requesting a proposal.

Main funnel → Service funnel. After a sale, the client automatically moves to an onboarding or after-sales service funnel.

Timeline