Understanding Lanes and Stage Logic

Last updated: March 27, 2026

⚠ Lanes is being deprecated. OnRamp is actively replacing Lanes with Workflows — a more powerful and flexible way to automate project creation from your CRM. If you are currently using Lanes, your team will work with you to migrate to Workflows. New customers should use Workflows instead. See Automating Project Creation with Workflows to get started.

Lanes let you automatically create, route, and manage work in OnRamp based on activity in your CRM.

By connecting to Salesforce or HubSpot, you define triggers that listen for changes — like an Opportunity moving to Closed Won — and automatically create cards in Lanes. Stage Logic then controls what happens as those cards move through stages: creating a project, routing the card forward, or archiving it once complete.

What Lanes Are Used For

Lanes are designed for teams that want to:

  • Automatically create OnRamp work from CRM updates

  • Map CRM fields (Accounts, Opportunities, Contacts, etc.) into OnRamp cards

  • Trigger new projects from specific pipeline stages

  • Automate workflows as cards progress through stages

How Lanes Work

A Lane connects your CRM to a visual board in OnRamp. When a CRM record meets your trigger conditions, a card is created in the Lane's Inbound stage — the default starting point for all incoming cards.

From there, Stage Logic determines what happens when a card enters each stage. You can configure stages to:

  • Create a new project — launch an onboarding project directly from the card

  • Move the card — automatically route it to the next stage

  • Archive the card — clean up the board once the work is complete

Setting Up a Lane Trigger

  1. Go to Lanes in OnRamp.

  2. Create a new lane or open an existing one.

  3. Connect it to Salesforce or HubSpot via your integration.

  4. Define the trigger criteria for when cards should be created.
    Example: Opportunity Stage = Closed Won AND Amount > $10,000

  5. Map CRM fields to the card:

    • Account — created in OnRamp if it doesn't exist, or linked if it does

    • Internal Users — assign your project team members

    • Customer Users — add customer contacts as project members

Configuring Stage Logic

  1. Open a stage and click Add Workflow.

  2. Set the trigger to "When a card enters this stage."

  3. Add one or more actions:

    • Create a new project — choose a playbook and map fields (project name, owners, users, data fields)

    • Move this card — send it automatically to another stage

    • Archive this card — remove it once the workflow is complete

Mapping Project Creation Details

When you select Create a New Project as a stage action, you'll configure the following:

  • Playbook — the template that defines the project's tasks and structure

  • Project Name — map from the card title or another CRM field

  • Account — link to an existing account or create a new one

  • Project Owners — set manually or map from a CRM field

  • Internal Users — assign and choose whether to invite at creation

  • Customer Users — assign contacts and choose whether to invite at creation

  • Data Fields — populate any additional fields defined by the playbook

Tips

  • Start simple. Begin with one trigger condition and one stage workflow before layering in more logic.

  • Check your field mappings. If cards aren't pulling in the right data, field mapping is usually the cause — review each mapped field carefully.

  • Use archiving intentionally. Archiving keeps your board clean once a card has served its purpose.

  • Test before going live. Run a test CRM update (e.g., move a deal to Closed Won in Salesforce) to confirm cards and projects generate as expected.

💡 Ready to move to Workflows? Workflows replace everything Lanes does — with better conditional logic, cleaner configuration, and no manual board management. See Automating Project Creation with Workflows to get started.