Investment Banking Deal Tracker
Track multiple live M&A deals with milestones, deadlines, action items, and weekly review summaries for managing a deal pipeline.
When you are juggling five live deals across different stages, it is only a matter of time before a missed deadline or forgotten follow-up derails a process -- unless you have a system to keep everything visible.
Who it's for: investment banking analysts, associates, vice presidents, managing directors
Example
"Set up tracking for Project Atlas, a sell-side mandate in the marketing phase" → Deal tracker with 17 milestones from engagement through close, action items with owners and due dates, and a weekly review summary template
New here? 3-minute setup guide → | Already set up? Copy the template below.
# Deal Tracker
Track multiple live deals with milestones, deadlines, action items, and status updates. Maintains a deal pipeline view and surfaces upcoming deadlines and overdue items. Use when managing a book of business, tracking process milestones, or preparing for weekly deal reviews. Triggers on "deal tracker", "deal status", "where are we on", "process update", "deal pipeline", or "weekly deal review".
## Workflow
### Step 1: Deal Setup
For each deal, capture:
- **Deal name / code name**: Project [Name]
- **Client**: Seller or buyer name
- **Deal type**: Sell-side, buy-side, financing, restructuring
- **Role**: Lead advisor, co-advisor, fairness opinion
- **Deal size**: Expected enterprise value
- **Stage**: Pre-mandate → Engaged → Marketing → IOI → Diligence → Final bids → Signing → Close
- **Team**: MD, VP, Associate, Analyst assigned
- **Key dates**: Engagement date, CIM distribution, IOI deadline, management meetings, final bid deadline, target close
### Step 2: Milestone Tracking
Track key milestones per deal:
| Milestone | Target Date | Actual Date | Status | Notes |
|-----------|------------|-------------|--------|-------|
| Engagement letter signed | | | | |
| CIM / teaser drafted | | | | |
| Buyer list approved | | | | |
| Teaser distributed | | | | |
| NDA execution | | | | |
| CIM distributed | | | | |
| IOI deadline | | | | |
| IOIs received / reviewed | | | | |
| Shortlist selected | | | | |
| Management meetings | | | | |
| Data room opened | | | | |
| Final bid deadline | | | | |
| Bids received / reviewed | | | | |
| Exclusivity granted | | | | |
| Confirmatory diligence | | | | |
| Purchase agreement signed | | | | |
| Regulatory approval | | | | |
| Close | | | | |
Status: On Track / At Risk / Delayed / Complete
### Step 3: Action Items
Maintain a running action item list across all deals:
| Action | Deal | Owner | Due Date | Priority | Status |
|--------|------|-------|----------|----------|--------|
| | | | | P0/P1/P2 | Open/Done/Blocked |
### Step 4: Weekly Deal Review
Generate a summary for weekly team meetings:
**For each active deal:**
1. One-line status update
2. Key developments this week
3. Upcoming milestones (next 2 weeks)
4. Blockers or risks
5. Action items for next week
**Pipeline summary:**
- Total active deals by stage
- Deals at risk (missed milestones, stalled processes)
- New mandates / pitches in pipeline
- Expected closings this quarter
### Step 5: Output
- Excel workbook with:
- Pipeline overview (all deals, one row each)
- Per-deal milestone tracker tabs
- Action item master list
- Weekly review summary
- Optional: Markdown summary for email/Slack distribution
## Important Notes
- Update the tracker weekly at minimum — stale trackers are worse than no tracker
- Flag deals where milestones are slipping — early warning prevents surprises
- Action items without owners and due dates don't get done — be specific
- The pipeline view should show deal stage, size, and likelihood — useful for revenue forecasting
- Keep notes on buyer/investor feedback — patterns in feedback inform strategy adjustments
- Archive closed/dead deals separately — keep the active view clean
What This Does
This playbook helps you track multiple live M&A deals with milestones, deadlines, action items, and status updates. It maintains a pipeline view across your book of business and generates weekly deal review summaries so nothing falls through the cracks.
Quick Start
Step 1: Create a Project Folder
Create a folder for your deal workspace and place the downloaded template inside as CLAUDE.md.
mkdir -p ~/Documents/DealTracker
Step 2: Download the Template
Click Download above, then move the file into your project folder as CLAUDE.md.
mv ~/Downloads/ib-deal-tracker.md ~/Documents/DealTracker/CLAUDE.md
Step 3: Start Working
cd ~/Documents/DealTracker
claude
Try prompts like:
"Set up a new deal: Project Atlas, sell-side, $200M EV, currently in marketing phase"
"What milestones are coming up in the next two weeks across all deals?"
"Generate a weekly deal review summary for the Monday partner meeting"
"Add an action item: finalize CIM draft, owned by Sarah, due Friday"
Deal Stages
The tracker follows the standard M&A sell-side process:
| Stage | Description |
|---|---|
| Pre-mandate | Pitching, engagement letter negotiation |
| Engaged | Engagement letter signed, preparing materials |
| Marketing | Teaser and CIM distribution, NDA execution |
| IOI | First-round indications of interest |
| Diligence | Management meetings, data room, buyer diligence |
| Final Bids | Second-round binding offers |
| Signing | Purchase agreement negotiation and execution |
| Close | Regulatory approvals, closing conditions, funding |
Milestone Tracking
Each deal tracks 17 standard milestones from engagement letter through close, with target date, actual date, status (On Track / At Risk / Delayed / Complete), and notes.
Tips and Best Practices
- Update weekly at minimum -- stale trackers are worse than no tracker
- Flag slipping milestones early -- early warning prevents surprises in partner meetings
- Action items need owners and due dates -- tasks without accountability do not get done
- Keep the pipeline view clean -- archive closed and dead deals separately
- Track buyer feedback -- patterns in feedback inform strategy adjustments mid-process
- Use the weekly review format for Monday morning deal meetings: one-line status, key developments, upcoming milestones, blockers, and next week's action items
Example Prompts
"Set up tracking for three new mandates we signed this week"
"Show me all deals at risk with missed milestones"
"Generate the weekly pipeline summary for the group head"
"Move Project Summit from IOI to Diligence stage and update milestones"
"What action items are overdue across all active deals?"