What's New
Previously, applications moved through a fixed set of system stages. Now, you can add your own custom stages between the system stages to reflect the unique steps in your recruitment process, such as Signed, Onboarding, Training or anything else relevant to your brand.
How Stages Work
There are two types of stages in FranchiseLab:
System Stages — built-in stages that cannot be removed. These represent the universal milestones in any franchise recruitment journey:
New — candidate has just entered the system
In-progress — candidate is actively being evaluated
Hold — candidate temporarily paused
Approved — candidate has passed the selection process
Withdrawn — candidate chose not to proceed
Declined — candidate not progressing forward
Custom Stages — created by you and reorderable. They appear between system stages based on the position you set, allowing you to track candidates through stages specific to your business, such as Signed (agreement executed) or Onboarding (in training prior to opening).
How to Access Application Stages
Click Settings in the left navigation menu
Select Configuration
Click Application Stages
You'll see the full list of system stages and any custom stages already in place.
Adding a Custom Stage
Click the + Add Stage button in the top right
Enter the stage name
Choose a colour to make the stage visually distinct
Save the stage
The new stage will appear in the list and become available immediately across all groups in your environment.
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Reordering Stages
Custom stages can be reordered by dragging them into position. They will always appear between system stages, never before New or after Declined. The system stages themselves stay in their fixed positions.
Important Things to Know
Only admins can edit application stages. Regular users and managers can move candidates between stages, but only admins can add, edit or reorder the stages themselves.
Changes apply to all groups in the environment. When a custom stage is created or reordered, it applies across every group within your environment. This keeps the candidate journey consistent across all brands or regions you manage.
Custom stages can be edited or removed. System stages are protected and cannot be deleted, but custom stages can be updated or removed if your process changes. If you want to remove a stage that still has candidates in it, you'll be prompted to select a new stage to move those candidates to before the deletion is finalised.
Best Practice — Designing Your Stages
When building your custom stages, think about the decision points in your recruitment process rather than every micro-step. A good stage represents a meaningful change in candidate status, somewhere a real decision was made or a significant milestone reached.
A common structure for franchise recruitment looks like this:
New → In-progress → Hold → Approved → Signed → Onboarding → Withdrawn → Declined
This places the action-oriented stages (Signed, Onboarding) immediately after Approved, while keeping Withdrawn and Declined at the end where they belong, visible for reporting, but out of the day-to-day flow.
Need Help?
If you'd like a walkthrough on how to configure stages for your specific recruitment process, or if you're not sure which stages would work best for your brand, reach out via the in-platform chat and the team will help you set them up.