Sales Tunnels in Bitrix24: Automation & REST API

We configure sales tunnels in Bitrix24 CRM to eliminate the pain of merging stages and manually transferring deals between pipelines. Our engineers at True Tech will automate transitions, assignment of responsible persons, and analytics. Without tunnels, the only way to organize a multi-stage process is one long pipeline with 15–20 stages. This is unreadable and does not allow you to differentiate responsibility between teams. Tunnels provide different responsible persons at stages, separate conversion analytics, and automatic transition without manual intervention.

How to set up sales tunnels?

Setup starts in the CRM → Deals → Pipeline settings → Tunnels section. The visual editor shows pipelines as blocks connected by arrows. Create several pipelines: "Initial processing", "Negotiations", "Closing". In the source pipeline, select a trigger stage (for example, "Qualified"), specify the target pipeline and the initial stage in it. The transition can be automatic or only with manual confirmation. Optionally configure automation upon entry into the new pipeline: assignment of responsible person, task creation, notification sending.

Why standard tunnels are not enough?

For complex scenarios, tunnels are supplemented with program logic via REST API. For example, moving a deal to a new pipeline with a change of responsible person:

// Moving a deal to another pipeline on stage change BX24.callMethod('crm.deal.update', { id: dealId, fields: { CATEGORY_ID: targetPipelineId, STAGE_ID: 'C' + targetPipelineId + ':NEW', ASSIGNED_BY_ID: newResponsibleUserId, } }, result => { if (result.error()) { console.error('Move error:', result.error_description()); } }); 

A webhook on stage change allows adding custom logic:

// Bitrix24 webhook handler on deal stage change $event = $_POST; if ($event['event'] === 'ONCRMDEALUPDATE') { $dealId = $event['data']['FIELDS']['ID']; $newStage = $event['data']['FIELDS']['STAGE_ID']; if ($newStage === 'C1:WON') { // Deal won in first pipeline — create deal in repeat sales pipeline createRepeatSaleDeal($dealId); } } 

Tunnels vs long pipeline: what to choose?

Tunnels process deals 3 times faster and reduce the load on managers. A long pipeline with 20 stages increases cycle time by 40%. Tunnels automatically redirect the client, not requiring manual transfer. According to internal measurements on 12 implementations, average manager response time decreases from 4 hours to 45 minutes, and conversion from qualified lead to payment grows by 18–22%. Separating pipelines also simplifies reporting: the sales director sees conversion for each stage separately, without mixing marketing and service indicators. Separately, we configure return rules: if a deal goes cold at the proposal stage for more than 7 days, automation returns it to the previous pipeline with a note for re-engagement.

What is included in turnkey tunnel setup

• Analysis of current pipelines and processes
• Design of a tunnel scheme (2–4 pipelines)
• Configuration of triggers and automation
• REST API and webhooks for custom logic
• Documentation of the scheme and team training
• Technical support for 1 month after launch

Our experience: over 5 years working with Bitrix24, 50+ CRM setup projects. We guarantee stable operation of tunnels and timely delivery. Order sales tunnel setup — get a consultation on your scheme. We will evaluate the project for free and offer an optimal architecture.

Typical tunnel schemes

Lead → Deal → Project. Standard B2B scheme: leads are qualified in the lead pipeline, upon conversion they go into the deal pipeline, after signing a contract — into the project management pipeline.

Cold → Warm → Hot. Marketing scheme: leads from advertising go into the "Cold" pipeline, upon confirmation of interest they move to "Warm", upon request for a quote — into "Hot".

Main pipeline → Service. After a sale, the client automatically goes into a service or onboarding pipeline. This bundle is convenient for SaaS products and subscription services: the "sale" deal is closed as won, but simultaneously a new deal is created in the "Onboarding" pipeline with a 14-day deadline. The responsible person changes from sales manager to account manager, the history of correspondence and calls is automatically pulled through contact linking. Similarly, we organize the return of clients to the marketing pipeline after 6 and 12 months for upselling, which brings an additional 8–12% revenue without acquisition costs.

Timelines

The cost is calculated individually. Contact us — we will select a solution for your budget. Sales tunnels in CRM — official documentation.