# What should trigger stage progression in a quote-to-cash process?

The document. Generating, sending and completing the quote or order form is what should drive stage automation from evaluation through to handoff — it is an artifact with a real state, unlike a picklist a rep can set optimistically.

Enterprise motions add a procurement, finance or deal-desk gate on top, which is also artifact-driven — an approval record, not a checkbox. Once the document drives the stage, forecast hygiene improves without a policing exercise, because the stage can no longer run ahead of the paper.

## Sources

- **Method** — [Quote to Cash playbook — The document drives the stage](https://www.leanscale.team/knowledge/playbooks/quote-to-cash-playbook/)

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Cluster: Quote_to_cash · https://www.leanscale.team/knowledge/answers/document-drives-stage-automation/