Help CenterUnits & fieldsExplains
Smart fields: calculation, rollup, lookup, serial number, catalog
Smart fields fill themselves in: they calculate a formula, add up the numbers of linked records, show data from another record, number invoices, or build the lines of a quote. No one types them by hand.
Before you start · for ownersThe permission to edit units
Before you start · for owners
The permission to edit units
- You need: The permission to edit units
How it works
Field
What it does
Example
Updates when
A formula on the record’s own fields
{quantity} * {unit_price}As soon as you save
The sum, count, average, smallest or largest value of the linked records
The total value of a client’s contracts
In the background, after a few seconds
Shows a field from the linked record without copying it
The city of a contact’s company
Every time it’s shown
A unique number that goes up
INV-2026-0045Only when the record is created
Picks records from another unit, with line items and tax
A quote built from products
When you pick
Relation → lookup → rollup
A relation links one record to another. A lookup shows one field from the linked record. A rollup adds up the numbers of all the linked records. Lookups and rollups need a relation first.
Chaining fields
A calculation can read a rollup, and a rollup can add up calculations or other rollups, up to 3 levels of rollups. Example: the payment → the total paid on the invoice → the client’s balance.
References
- Every formula function, with an example
- Line items, tax and total
- Catalog matching rules
- The smart default value uses the same formulas, but it’s calculated only once.
A real example
Shield Security Co.
The situation
Quotes are worked out by hand in Excel, and mistakes creep into the tax.
What they did
- A “Products” unit with a price field.
- In “Quotes”, a smart catalog in line items mode, and a yearly serial number
QT-2026-0001. - A calculation field:
IF(SUM_LINES({items}) > 50000, "Needs approval", "Direct"). - They printed the quote with a document template.
The result
A quote is built in two minutes, with a unique number and the right tax.
A made-up company, to show the idea. The numbers are rounded.
Did this guide solve it?
If not, we’ll ask what was missing.