Setting up Cost Formulas

Last updated: November 15, 2025

Configuration

Creating a new formula by clicking 'New Formula' and showing the Name, Manual Input, and Formula fields. (Animated)

Setting up and managing Cost Formulas is done within the Settings section of the application.

Accessing and Managing Formulas

Navigate to Settings in the main menu.
Select the Costs tab.
In the top right corner, click the Formulas button. This will display a list of all existing Cost Formulas, showing their Name, the Formula logic, and when they were Last Updated.

Creating or Editing a Formula

To create a new formula, click the New Formula button on the Formulas page.
To edit an existing formula, click on its name in the list.

When creating or editing, you'll configure the following:

Name: Provide a clear, descriptive name for the formula (e.g., "Standard Labor Hours," "Asphalt Tonnage Calculation").
Manual Input: This is an optional field that allows you to define an additional variable that can be manually entered when the formula is used on a cost item.
- If you don't need a manual input, select None.
- If you do, choose the unit type for this input (e.g., Hours, Days, Tons, Feet). This manual input will then be available within your formula as {Manual Input (unit)}, for example, {Manual Input (hrs)}.
Formula: This is where you define the calculation logic.

Formula Syntax and Variables

Formulas use standard mathematical operators (+, -, *, /) and can include various functions and variables. To insert a variable, type an open curly bracket { to see a list of available options.

Commonly Used Variables:

Service Measurements: {Service Area (sf)}, {Service Perimeter (ft)}, {Service Length (ft)}, {Service Count (ea)}, {Depth (in)}. These are typically derived from the job's service details.
Formula's Manual Input: {Manual Input (hrs)}, {Manual Input (tons)}, etc. (if defined for the formula).
Route Calculations:
- {Company to Site (hrs)}: Drive time from company address to job site.
- {Company to Site (mi)}: Drive distance from company address to job site.
- {Site to Vendor (hrs)}: Drive time from job site to the cost item's selected vendor.
- {Site to Vendor (mi)}: Drive distance from job site to the cost item's selected vendor.
Other Cost Item Units: You can reference the calculated units of other cost items on the same estimate (e.g., {Paving (hrs)}, {Asphalt 1.5in surface (tn)}).

Cost Formula Cheatsheet

Select a formula to calculate the units of this cost or create a new formula. Formulas can be reused across costs. Type ‘{’ to open the reference menu to insert a reference to other costs or other variables. Formulas can include basic arithmetic operations in addition to complex functions. See the table below for more information.

Operator	Example	Description
+	a + b	Add the two arguments.
-	a - b	Subtract the two arguments.
*	a * b	Multiply the two arguments.
/	a / b	Divide the first argument by the second argument.
^	a ^ b	Raise the first argument by the power of the second argument.
=	a = b	True if a is equal to b.
<	a < b	True if a is less than b.
>	a > b	True if a is greater than b.
<=	a <= b	True if a is less than or equal to b.
>=	a >= b	True if a is greater than or equal to b.
<>	a <> b	True if a is not equal to b.
IF	IF(Test, Then_value, Otherwise_value)	Specifies a logical test to be performed.
IFS	IFS(Condition1, Value1 [, Condition2, Value2 [, ...ConditionN, ValueN]])	Evaluates multiple logical tests and returns a value that corresponds to the first true condition.
NOT	NOT(Logicalvalue)	Complements (inverts) a logical value.
AND	AND(Logical_value1, Logical_value2, ...Logical_valueN)	Returns TRUE if all arguments are TRUE.
OR	OR(Logical_value1, Logical_value2, ...Logical_valueN)	Returns TRUE if at least one argument is TRUE.
ISEVEN	ISEVEN(Value)	Returns TRUE if the value is an even integer, or FALSE if the value is odd.
ISODD	ISODD(Value)	Returns TRUE if the value is odd, or FALSE if the number is even.
ROUND	ROUND(Value, Number_places)	Rounds a number to a certain number of decimal places.

Applying Formulas to Cost Items

Once a formula is defined, you can apply it to a cost item:

Navigate to the specific cost item you want to automate (e.g., Settings > Costs > Labor > Paving or Settings > Costs > Other > Mobilization - paving).
Ensure the Calculated Units toggle is turned ON.
You will see a dropdown that defaults to Measurement. Click this and change it to Formula.
A new Formula field will appear. You can:
- Select an existing formula from the dropdown list.
- Click the + New button to create a new formula specifically for this cost item (it will also be added to your global list of formulas).

If a cost item uses a formula that includes a Manual Input, a field for that manual input will appear on the estimate when that cost item is added.