Recipes and Patterns

Each recipe shows a practical formula, the target column type, and the automation it enables. Copy the formula, adjust column names to match your board, and save.

Flag Overdue Items

Use case: Trigger status-change automations based on calculated conditions.

IF({Priority} == "High", "Urgent", "Normal")

Result: "Urgent" when Priority is High, "Normal" otherwise. Target: Status column — triggers "When status changes to Urgent" automation. Columns used: {Priority} (Status).

For multiple conditions, use SWITCH:

SWITCH({Priority}, "High", "Critical", "Medium", "Review", "Low", "Backlog", "Inbox")

Result: "Critical", "Review", "Backlog", or "Inbox" based on priority value. Target: Status column — maps priority values to status labels, triggering the matching automation for each. Columns used: {Priority} (Status).

Auto-Calculate Due Dates

Use case: Set deadlines that trigger reminder automations.

ADD_DAYS(TODAY(), 14)

Result: "2026-04-08" (14 days from today). Target: Date column — triggers "When date arrives" automation. Columns used: None (uses TODAY() function).

For business-day deadlines:

WORKDAY({Start Date}, 10)

Result: The date 10 working days from {Start Date}, skipping weekends and configured non-working days. Target: Date column — triggers date-based automations with business-day accuracy. Columns used: {Start Date} (Date). See Working with Dates for working day configuration.

Build Notification Messages

Use case: Build computed notification messages that trigger text-change automations.

CONCATENATE({Client Name}, " - ", {Project}, " due ", FORMAT_DATE({Deadline}, "MMMM Do"))

Result: "Acme Corp - Website Redesign due March 15th". Target: Text column — triggers "When column changes, notify..." automation with the formatted message. Columns used: {Client Name} (Text), {Project} (Text), {Deadline} (Date).

How it works: CONCATENATE joins the three column values with separators. FORMAT_DATE converts the raw date to a readable format — without it, the date renders as a long UTC string.

Inherit Parent Data in Subitems

Use case: Sync parent data to subitems for cross-level automation logic.

Copy parent status directly:

{Parent's Status}

Result: "In Progress" (mirrors the parent item's current status). Target: Status column — subitems mirror the parent's status, triggering subitem-level automations on status change. Columns used: {Parent's Status} (parent item's Status column).

Derive subitem priority from parent:

IF({Parent's Priority} == "High", "Rush", "Standard")

Result: "Rush" when parent Priority is High, "Standard" otherwise. Target: Status column — sets subitem urgency based on parent priority. Columns used: {Parent's Priority} (parent item's Status column).

How it works: The {Parent's ...} prefix accesses the parent item's column value. When the parent changes, all subitem formulas referencing it recalculate automatically.

Track Time Against Budget

Use case: Trigger alerts when tracked time exceeds a budget.

IF({Time Tracking#Hours} > 8, "Over budget", "On track")

Result: "Over budget" when tracked hours exceed 8. Target: Status column — triggers "When status changes to Over budget" automation to notify the team lead. Columns used: {Time Tracking#Hours} (Time Tracking, #Hours property).

Calculate Percentages Safely

Use case: Calculate percentages without division-by-zero errors.

IF({Total Items} == 0, 0, DIVIDE({Completed Items}, {Total Items}))

Result: 0.75 (75% completion) or 0 when no items exist. Target: Numbers column — completion percentage that can trigger number-based automations. Columns used: {Total Items} (Numbers), {Completed Items} (Numbers).

How it works: The IF guard checks for zero before dividing. Without it, DIVIDE(x, 0) throws an error that prevents the formula from calculating.

Aggregate Subitem Data

Use case: Roll up subitem values into the parent item to trigger project-level automations.

Total subitem effort on the parent:

SUM({Subitem's Story Points})

Result: Total story points across all subitems. Target: Numbers column — updates whenever a subitem changes. Triggers "When column changes to greater than 40, notify..." automation. Columns used: {Subitem's Story Points} (Numbers).

Flag a project when any subitem is overdue:

IF(MAX({Subitem's Days Remaining}) < 0, "At Risk", "On Track")

Result: "At Risk" if the latest-running subitem is past its deadline. Target: Status column — project status flips to "At Risk" when any subitem overruns. Columns used: {Subitem's Days Remaining} (Numbers).

List all subitem assignees on the parent:

CONCATENATE({Subitem's Assignee#Names}, ", ")

Result: "Alice, Bob, Carol" — everyone working on subitems of this project. Target: Text column — a single comma-separated list of all subitem assignees. Columns used: {Subitem's Assignee#Names} (People, #Names property).

See Subitem Rollup References for the full rollup syntax reference.

Next Steps

• Subitem Rollup References — aggregate subitem values in parent formulas
• Working with Dates — FORMAT_DATE codes, UTC gotchas, and working day configuration
• Function Reference — all 57 functions with syntax and examples
• Troubleshooting — health view, common errors, FAQ, and support