Everything you need to price a deal, get it approved and work with legal in Winston. New here? Pick a card below, or follow the quick start.
Each section starts with the short version, then common questions, then the full detail. Hover a heading and press the link icon to share that exact spot. Last updated 4 Nov 2026.
From finding the deal to getting it approved.
Open Deal Calculator and press New calculator. Type the account name and click your deal. Not listed? Press Search Salesforce.
Deal not listed? It's probably still at Pipeline stage — use Search Salesforce.
The From Salesforce card is filled in for you and can’t be edited. If something is wrong, fix the opportunity in Salesforce, then press Refresh.
From Salesforce. To move it, change the Close Date on the opportunity, then press Refresh.
Answer the deal questions (payment terms, billing, rationale…). Add a line per product with its dates, quantity and price. Press Save draft as you go — there’s no autosave.
| Product | Sub Start | Sub End | Qty | List / Unit | Disc % | Price / License | Net Ext. (ACV) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coaching license | 01/01/2027 | 12/31/2029 | 500 | $1,000 | 15% | $850 | $425,000 |
Before you can submit lists everything still missing. Work down it until it’s gone.
• Salesforce term (24 months) differs from the calc (36 months).
Check On submit this goes to: and press Submit for approval. You’ll get a Slack DM, and so will the approver.
On submit this goes to: Dana Deal Desk — standard deal
Questions arrive as comments — reply in the calc’s Comments box, not in Slack. If changes are requested, press Revise (v2), fix it and submit again. Once approved, you’re done.
Want the detail? Read on in Deal Calculator.
What Winston is, and where everything lives.
Those are the legal and deal-desk teams’ working queues. AEs get their own views of the same information: My Deals for your deals, My Requests for what you’ve asked legal for, and Deal Calculator for your calcs. RVPs also see Deal Desk.
Home for AEs is a dashboard, not a chat: your next deals to close, your deal calcs by status and your open legal requests. For deal policy questions use Ask the policy guide in the Deal Calculator.
My Deals lists open opportunities where you’re the owner in Salesforce. If the owner is someone else, or the deal is closed, it won’t be there. Fix the owner in Salesforce and it shows up once Winston syncs.
No. It appears once after each Winston update with a short list of changes. Press Got it to close it.
Yes. Hover any heading or question and press the link icon. It copies a link that opens the handbook at exactly that spot.
You see your own book: your deals, your calcs and your requests. Approvers and legal see queues across many reps. A few things are only shown to reviewers — for example the Green / Yellow / Red triage colour on a calc.
RVPs see their team’s deals and calcs, plus Deal Desk.
Price a deal, get it approved, and keep a record of what was agreed.
The list only shows open deals in the forecast categories Best Case, Most Likely and Commit. A deal still at Pipeline won’t be there. Type at least two letters of the account name and press Search Salesforce for “…”, then pick the opportunity — Winston brings it in and starts the calc.
When Salesforce has a close date, Winston shows it read-only so the calc and the opportunity never disagree. Change the Close Date on the opportunity in Salesforce, then press the Refresh icon on the calc. The same goes for everything in the From Salesforce card.
No. Press Save draft. If you try to leave with unsaved changes Winston asks Leave without saving? — choose to stay and save. A few actions save straight away: Refresh from Salesforce, picking a quote, picking prior opportunities and uploading order forms.
Look at the draft before you submit: it says On submit this goes to: with the name(s) and the reason. See Routing for the rules.
No — triage colours are shown to approvers only. What drives them is the deal policy; open Deal policy guide or Ask the policy guide to check a discount, payment term or structure before you submit. See Triage.
Winston checks the calc against Salesforce on submit. If something doesn’t match (for example the opportunity changed), it goes back to draft with a banner Sent back to draft … — fix these and submit again: and a Slack DM listing what to fix. Usually the fix is Refresh from Salesforce and submit again.
No — press Revise (v2) (or v3, v4…). That opens a new draft version with your numbers copied in. Make the changes and submit it. The earlier version is kept read-only for the record.
Only a draft. A brand-new draft can be deleted (Delete → Delete this draft calculator?). A revision draft is discarded instead (Discard), which puts the previous version back as it was. Submitted and approved calcs can’t be deleted.
No. Approval of the calc is the deal-terms approval, and Winston records it on the opportunity. The quote still goes through its own approval in Salesforce — the approved calc on the opportunity is what that approval looks for.
Tip · Every calc has to come from an opportunity — there’s no blank calc. That’s what links it to the right deal in Salesforce.
Deal not listed? It's probably still at Pipeline stage — use Search Salesforce.
At the top of the calc, From Salesforce shows what Winston read from the opportunity: Customer, Opportunity (a link), AE / AM, RVP, Buyer, Buyer title, Type, Salesforce close date, Salesforce term, SVP / C-suite coaching and Workday co-sell. Only fields Salesforce actually has are shown.
You can’t edit these. To change one, change the opportunity in Salesforce. Then press the round Refresh icon (Refresh from Salesforce). Refresh only touches these fields, and saves straight away. Refresh is there while the calc is a draft.
Estimated Close Date works the same way: when Salesforce has it, it’s read-only with the note “From Salesforce. To move it, change the Close Date on the opportunity, then press Refresh.” If Salesforce has no close date, you can type one.
Heads up · You can’t change the close date in Winston. Change the Close Date on the opportunity in Salesforce, then press Refresh on the calc.
From Salesforce. To move it, change the Close Date on the opportunity, then press Refresh.
Anything Salesforce didn’t fill in is asked for here. Most are quick Yes / No answers. The ones people miss: RVP, Payment Terms (Net 30 / 45 / 60 / 90 / Other), Billing Frequency (Annual Upfront / Quarterly / Monthly / Other) and Deal Rationale.
| Product | Sub Start | Sub End | Qty | List / Unit | Disc % | Price / License | Net Ext. (ACV) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coaching license | 01/01/2027 | 12/31/2029 | 500 | $1,000 | 15% | $850 | $425,000 |
Pick the Local Currency: USD, EUR, GBP or CAD. Enter prices in that currency. Winston works out totals, routing and triage in USD, at this quarter’s rate. The strip above the lines shows the rate. Show amounts in: switches the view between the local currency and USD.
When the currency isn’t USD, the one-time discount field becomes Amount (USD) — enter it in dollars. If the rate is provisional or stale you’ll see Reload rates. A new version (Revise) picks up the current quarter’s rate.
Want to show options (say, 2-year vs 3-year)? Use the tab strip above the calc. The + tab adds a scenario — a draft copy of the current numbers, named “Scenario 2”, “Scenario 3” and so on. The original isn’t changed. A never-submitted scenario can be removed with × → Delete scenario.
All draft scenarios are submitted together with Submit N scenarios for approval. They go to one approver, at the highest approval level any of them needs. The approver decides each one separately — approve one, send another back, reject a third — or approves them all at once.
Under the calc, Before you can submit (N to fix) lists everything that blocks submission. Each item says exactly what’s missing, for example:
Tip · Worth a double-check (won’t block submit) lists warnings — for example a line whose dates don’t match the term, a term that differs from Salesforce, or a start date less than a month after the close date. Read them; you can still submit.
• Salesforce term (24 months) differs from the calc (36 months).
On submit this goes to: Dana Deal Desk — standard deal
Approvers see a triage colour on each calc; you don’t, but it’s worth knowing what drives it, because it’s the deal policy. Green means no flags. Yellow means something needs a higher sign-off. Red means something is outside policy and needs the deal committee, or isn’t allowed.
What raises a flag, for example: a product discount over 20% (yellow) or over 35% (red). A services discount over 20%. A large one-time discount. Payment terms past the field limit (yellow) or over Net 60 (red). Billing that isn’t Annual Upfront. Drawdowns and cancel / rewrites. Custom terms, SVP coaching or Workday co-sell. MFN, termination-for-convenience or side letters (red).
The deal policy guide is the source of truth. Use Deal policy guide (the slides) or Ask the policy guide (ask a question and get an answer with the slide it comes from) in the Deal Calculator — inside a calc they’re Policy guide and Ask policy.
Winston picks the approver from the calc, in this order:
Approvers choose Approve, Request changes (a note is required) or Edit & approve (they adjust and approve in one step — you’ll get an “approved with edits” DM).
Revise (v2) opens the next version of the calc as a draft with everything copied in. It’s offered on calcs that are awaiting approval, changes requested, approved or rejected.
One open version per deal. A version is “open” while it’s a draft, awaiting approval or changes requested. While one is open, Revise is greyed out with “v2 is already … — finish or discard it first”.
Revising an approved calc? The new version needs its own approval. Revising one that’s awaiting approval? It leaves the approver’s queue. Either way, the old version becomes Superseded and stays readable. Versions shows the history and lets you compare versions.
Heads up · Only one version of a deal can be open at a time. If Revise is greyed out, finish or discard the open version first.
Heads up · Approving the calc does not approve your CPQ quote. The quote still needs its own approval in Salesforce.
Asking legal for a contract, a review or an answer.
In Slack, in your DM with the Winston app. Choose Customer requests to open the form. There is no request form on the Winston website — My Requests there is read-only.
Legal requests through Winston are being rolled out in stages. Until you have access, ask Legal the usual way, and use Feedback in Winston if you think you should already have it.
Reply in the Slack thread where Winston confirmed your request. Winston passes your messages to the person who has it and brings their replies back to the same thread.
Onto the Salesforce Case (and into Winston). You can attach up to 3 files of 10MB each in the form, and files you drop into the thread later are saved too.
Yes — in the Winston DM, open My requests and press Nudge on the request. You can nudge once every 24 hours.
Choose Legal questions in the Winston DM and ask it there. If it turns out to need a lawyer, file it with Customer requests instead. When a question is answered, press I’m all set — close.
This thread is home for this request — updates, and anything legal needs from you, land here. Reply here to reach whoever's working it.
👋 Your request is with Lee Legal from legal — they'll reply right here in this thread.
Alex Rep: Customer sent their redlines — attached.
Lee Legal: Thanks — reviewing today.
Legal replies from their own Slack thread or from Winston. Files land on the Case.
My Requests in the sidebar lists everything you’ve asked legal for, with Open, Closed and All filters. Columns: Request (subject and type), Account (and opportunity), Status, With (the owner, “Not yet assigned”, or “Self-serve”), Filed, and Case (a link to the Salesforce Case).
It’s read-only — replies from legal arrive in the Slack thread you asked in. Your open requests also appear on Home.
| Request | Account | Status | With | Filed | Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mutual NDA for Acme Corp NDA | Acme CorpAcme Corp — Expansion | Assigned | Lee Legal | Nov 3 | 00012345 |
How Winston tells you things, and the rest of your pages.
Click your name at the bottom of the sidebar → Account settings. Turn on Email notifications, then tick the moments under Email me when…. Changes save automatically.
Submitted (📨), approved (✅), changes requested (↩️), rejected (⛔), sent back to draft (⚠️), assigned to you (📥), routed up (⤴️), approved with edits, and every comment or mention (💬). Each has an Open in Winston button.
Yes. Click the deal, open the Calc tab and press Start calc for this deal. The tab also lists your calcs for that deal.
Your open deals from Salesforce, sorted by close date, with first-year ACV totals at the top. The Documents column shows where each deal document stands.
Click a deal to open its drawer: Overview, Updates & Notes (status notes, Chatter and Slack), Activity (including deal comments — these have Reply, Edit, Delete, reactions and attachments) and Calc (your calcs for the deal and Start calc for this deal).
Accounts lets the legal team search a customer and see its opportunities, legal requests and calcs together. It isn’t in the AE sidebar; your own view of the same things is My Deals, My Requests and Deal Calculator.
When you’re stuck.
Update the opportunity in Salesforce, then press the Refresh icon on the From Salesforce card (draft calcs only). For an already-submitted or approved calc, press Revise and refresh the new draft.
Another version of this deal is already open (draft, awaiting approval or changes requested). Hover the button to see which. Finish that version, or discard it if it’s a draft.
Winston doesn’t autosave calc edits. It warns you with Leave without saving? — choose to stay and press Save draft. Save often.
Check who it’s with (the calc shows the approver), then add a comment with an @mention — they get a Slack DM. If it should be with someone else, ask the approver to hand it on.
Press Feedback at the bottom of the sidebar, describe what went wrong (or what you expected), and press Send. The Winston team gets it in Slack along with the page you were on. Don’t paste passwords or customer secrets.
Getting around Winston · Deal Calculator · Comments, threads and replies · Legal requests (Legal Front Door) · Notifications, My Deals and Accounts · Troubleshooting and who to ask
Comments, threads and replies
Talking to your approver about a calc — and where those messages go.
Slack DMs about comments are notifications only. A reply typed in Slack stays in Slack — the DM says “Reply in Winston — replies here don’t reach the comment thread.” Press Open in Winston and reply in the calc’s Comments box.
Calc comments are one flat conversation, newest at the bottom — there’s no Reply button. Just write your answer in the box; use @ to make it clear who you’re answering.
Use Shift+Enter for a new line. Enter (or ⌘/Ctrl+Enter) sends. Comments are permanent, so if you sent too early, just add a follow-up comment.
No. Comments never change a calc’s status. Only the approver’s Approve, Request changes or Edit & approve do. Their decision and note also appear in the thread.
Typing @ suggests the other people on the calc — the approver(s) and the rep. In the Salesforce Chatter copy, an @First Last that matches exactly one Salesforce user also becomes a real Chatter mention and rings their Salesforce bell.
You’ll see it in the calc’s thread, tagged Salesforce (press Refresh Salesforce Chatter to update). If Chatter replies are switched on, a reply to Winston’s own Chatter post also becomes a Winston comment. For anything the approver must act on, comment in Winston. See Where your reply goes.
No. A deal in My Deals has its own Comments on the Activity tab — those have Reply, Edit, Delete, reactions and attachments. Calc comments are separate and live on the calc.
Where comments live and who sees them
Comments 3
v1Writing a comment
Heads up · Enter sends straight away, and comments can’t be edited or deleted. Use Shift+Enter for a new line.
Mentioning Dana Deal Desk. Enter to send · Shift+Enter for a new line. Visible to the rep, approvers and operators. Comments are permanent and send a Slack DM; each is also posted to the opportunity's Salesforce Chatter.23
Slack notifications for comments
Heads up · Don’t reply to the Slack DM — your reply stays in Slack and the approver never sees it in Winston. Press Open in Winston and reply there.
Reply in Winston — replies here don't reach the comment thread.
Revise it in Winston → v2.
Salesforce Chatter: which way things sync
Where your reply goes
Tip · When in doubt: write it in the calc’s Comments box. That’s the one place everyone on the calc is guaranteed to see.