BACKGROUND:

We have 12 sales stages that each deal moves through.

At each stage there are tasks to be completed and checklist items to be ticked off (checklist items don't have due dates). 

Note: checklist items are stage dependent, not date dependent - so they are not tasks with a due date, they are tasks with a due stage.

QUESTION:

How best should I create a checklist of items tied to each stage in the sales process of a deal?

Should I use just add custom fields that Blueprint checks are filled out before the next stage can be proceed?

Should I use fields or tasks to create my checklist items?

Layouts: how does Blueprint check field values across different layouts? Eg; If I have a custom field on layout # 1 but NOT on layout # 2, does Blueprint know the field doesn't exist on layout # 2 and won't try to validate the custom field?

Or would a new module with layouts solve this problem?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!