Proposal Field Types
Text, number, price, dropdown, calculated, summation, hidden and print — and the rounding rules that decide the pennies.
On this page
1Why field types matter
Every field inside a line item declares a type, and the type decides what the estimator can enter, how the value behaves in formulas and whether it appears on the quote. Get the types right and the worksheet does the arithmetic for you.
2The types
| Type | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Text | Free text. Use it for descriptions and anything the customer should read. |
| Number | A quantity or measurement the estimator types, and formulas can use. |
| Price | A money value, formatted as such. |
| Dropdown | A fixed list the estimator picks from. Options are entered one per line as Text|Value, so what’s shown and what the formula uses can differ. |
| Calculated | A value worked out from other fields by a formula. Not typed — computed. |
| Summation | Adds up a set of values, typically across rows of the same item. |
| Hidden | Exists and takes part in calculations but is never displayed. Useful for intermediate steps in a long calculation. |
| Output meant for the printed quote rather than for entry. |
3Rounding on calculated fields
Calculated, Hidden and Summation fields all share the same rounding choice, set on the field in the proposal editor and applied when the item is used on the worksheet:
- Round (the default) — to two decimal places, the normal way: a third decimal of 0–4 rounds down, 5–9 rounds up.
- Round Up — up to the next whole number. The option for things you buy in units: four and a bit gallons means five gallons.
- Round Down — down to the whole number below.
4Controlling what shows on the quote
Each field carries a default arrangement for whether it appears on the customer’s quote. Set it once on the line item and every proposal that uses the item behaves the same way, rather than relying on estimators remembering to hide internal fields.
Hidden fields keep formulas readable
Rather than one enormous retail formula, break the working into two or three Hidden calculated fields and have the final formula reference them. It’s far easier to debug when a number comes out wrong.
5Troubleshooting
A calculated field shows nothing
It references a field name that doesn’t exist — usually a label that was renamed after the formula was written.
Totals are a penny out
That’s rounding applied per field. Move rounding to the last calculation rather than to every intermediate one.