Rollup Custom Field values from subtasks to parent task (Formulas, Numbers, Currency)
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Kathryn
From support ticket: Would like to have all number custom fields rollup within subtasks to the parent task
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Tim Jasper
Rolling up custom field values is great, but I don't always want my subtask assignees to see the total rollup value in my parent task. So please allow subtasks to have different permissions than their parent task
Michael
Tim, it would seem that choosing to roll something up is just that, a choice, and not something that happens by default, so I'm thinking you would be fine.
Michael
Zach - ClickUp, here is another use case for a rollup.
In a formula field, entitled "Miles driven", I want to show the difference in the numerical "Mileage" field between the latest/current entry and the most previous Mileage entry.
Currently, according to Brain2...
Unfortunately, ClickUp formula fields can only reference fields on the same task, not values from other tasks. There's no "previous row" or cross-task lookup available in formulas, so you can't automatically pull the prior entry's Mileage into the current one.
Workaround: Add a number field like "Previous Mileage" to the list, then set the formula to MILEAGE - PREVIOUS_MILEAGE. You'd fill in the previous reading each time you create a new entry (or an automation could help). Not as slick as a spreadsheet row reference, but it's the cleanest option within ClickUp's formula system.
My question, then, was this:
Is a rollup field available yet? (So I could rollup the previous mileage entry into a "Previous Mileage" field in the task.)
Answer:
Yes, rollup fields exist, but they won't help here. They pull data from related tasks (via Relationships/dependencies), not from a "previous row" in the same list. There's no sequential/positional awareness, so you can't say "grab the Mileage from the task before this one."
For your gas log, the "Previous Mileage" number field + formula approach is still the cleanest native option. Or if you want it fully automated, you could wire up an automation (via Make/Zapier) that grabs the last entry's Mileage and writes it into the new task when it's created.
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So essentially, a rollup that would pull data from a field in a previous task into the current task, so I could then use that data in a calculation within that task (without a Zapier connection or additional manual entry) would be helpful.
Tim Jasper
Michael wouldn't you also want subtasks to have different permissions than their parent task to protect the privacy of parent data from multiple subtask assignees
Michael
Hey Tim, that's certainly a viable and practical perspective, depending on your environment. It's not really a direct need or concern on my end, but who knows, that could change!
Guy Mannerings
One thing I wish we could see is a count of subtasks seen as a custom field.
We can roll up Progress as a percentage/bar, but not just see a simple count of Subtasks and their statuses.
I wish we could get the old "coloured icons with subtasks count" as a Custom Field - where it showed the number of Subtasks in each status in a little coloured box that matched each status. (Basically what we get in the Properties area.)
You could then click it and it show you a pop-up list with all the Subtasks listed.
Zach - ClickUp
Hey everyone!
I heard your feedback from yesterday and put together 3 different options for how rollups could work based on what you told us. I'd love to know which one fits your workflow best.
NEW SURVEY (3 minutes) 👉
In this survey and the new prototype, you'll find 3 options:
- Option A, Separate rollup column (excludes parent value) - A dedicated "Rollup Cost" column that only sums up what's beneath each item. The parent's own cost value stays independent and isn't included in the rollup number.
- Option B, Separate rollup column (includes parent value) - Same separate column, but this time the parent's own value IS included in the total. So if a parent has $5,000 and its subtasks sum to $27,000, the rollup shows $32,000.
- Option C, Single column with inline rollup - No extra column. Your existing cost field shows the rolled-up total with an indicator icon. You'd click in to see the breakdown and could still set a parent value that gets included.
Please fill out the survey and let us know 🙏
JMartinez
Zach - ClickUp
Option C. I think the same pattern as Estimated Time / Time Tracked is the right one—a single column. Otherwise, it would mean adding an additional column, and in structures with many columns that require aggregates, it could multiply by x2, x3, x4, or x"n"... I have a client who uses 4 or 5 columns to report time, and they need the aggregate in the parent task. With the rollup column model, those 4 or 5 columns would turn into 8 to 10 columns (data column + rollup column). I think the most logical and natural approach would be a single column, just like with Estimated Time and Time Tracked.
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Carlos
Zach - ClickUp in our company this is assuming that we have to use xls to total all the columns of custom fields. For my option C, a single column would be the best, just as we do with the estimated time and the time recorded in each task. thanks
Michael
Filled out questionnaire, but agree with JMartinez and Carlos or Carlos(?) Zach - ClickUp. I'm not exactly sure what the advantages of A & B are, but I'm trying to use ClickUp as an inline order fulfillment system so I'm tracking not only purchase price, but material cost, tax, discounts, shipping charged/spent etc. So if that rollup field is going to absorb the numbers of all those fields... that won't work. Or, if every rollup is doubling the CF count... Which most of those would not be rollups, but in other parts of my Workspace, that could get a little unnecessarily cluttered. I'm sure there is one, but I just don't see the use case for separate rollup column/s.
Zach - ClickUp
Hey everyone 👋
Filling in for Hemant for a moment! A few weeks ago, over 70 of you gave us feedback on our subtask rollup concept and the results were clear:
- 90% said rollups are very or extremely important to your workflow
- 66% said our proposed approach solves your needs (4/5 or higher)
- 91% of you said number/currency rollups are the #1 priority, so that's what we're shipping first
- Over half of you also flagged that you want the parent task's own value included in the total
- Your biggest ask: make the total feel intuitive without needing extra fields or formula workarounds
We heard you and we've been prototyping the experience to make sure we do this right. We do need a bit more help though 🙏
I put together a working prototype and a short 1:20 clip showing how we're thinking the first version will work in practice. We have a few specific design decisions left before we ship and your input on those will directly shape what goes live.
👉 Watch the clip, play with the prototype yourself + fill out 3 quick questions (< 2 min): https://forms.clickup-stg.com/333/f/ad-5959649/LIXZEIH7KU51SGR4S2
Please be honest and critical so that we don't miss any details when we do in fact ship this!
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Ralph Stokes
Zach - ClickUp One thing I'd like to mention is that currently I use Time-estimate rollups and the biggest issue with that (a huge issue in fact) is that it still uses closed subtasks in the roll-up calculation, so if you've finished half the sub tasks, you don't see the time estimate of whats left and still have to work it out manually.
When it comes to custom fields and numbers representing other things, I think we'll definitely need the option of weather closed subtasks are included in a rollup on a case-by-case basis so an option for including/excluding closed subtasks from the rollup is essential :)
Zach - ClickUp
Ralph Stokes: Noted, thank you Ralph. Could you please include that feedback on the survey if you haven't already!
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Ralph Stokes
Zach - ClickUp Will do!
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Ralph Stokes
Zach - ClickUp Just watched the clip and saw "Include closed tasks" as an option when creating the rollup so good work! Look like you're on it. If you guys could see to that on the time-estimate rollup click app that would be great. Been wanting a fix for that for many many years.
Florian Schardt
Zach - ClickUp Thanks for sharing and asking!!!
It's different from what the time estimate rollup works. I think we will need to know for each task the rollup value of the subtasks plus the value of the task itself. This sum would be shown in overviews and dashboards. I tried a workaround by creating a formula field (=rollup+own value), but this is not possible (at least in the demo).
Rollup-field should also be usable for different use cases: E.g. Rollup of Done Story Points / Rollup of All Sprint Points = Progress of the project. This should also be possible.
Gail Marek
Zach - ClickUp Survey... done. Love the concept, but not thrilled about the functionality. Also... during the live meeting, one question threw me off because of the term "rollup." I thought he'd brough up relationship rollups, but he hadn't. The term already being used to describe another feature caused a bit of confusion. It'd be nice to somehow distinguish one feature from the other by having completely different terminology instead of something so similar.
Dustin
Hemant Kumar got your messaged and attempted to book a time but there is no opening for the next 6 months. Hope for your sake that is as bug!
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Hemant Kumar
[UPDATE : ALL SLOTS BOOKED]
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Quick ask: 30-min session on subtask rollups (Looking for 4-5 sessions this week)
We're working on how subtask values roll up to parent tasks (think numbers, money) and I'd love to walk you through the UX and get your honest feedback.
If you use subtasks and care about seeing rolled-up data on parents, I want to talk to you.
Looking for sessions this week - Anytime between 7:00am to 11:30am PST
Hemant Kumar
Cynthia: All slots got booked super quickly. If anything gets cancelled, I'll reach out to you
Anna Bullock
Hemant Kumar please do the same for me! I have both an enterprise and business tier client who would benefit from contributing to this one.
Gail Marek
Hemant Kumar WOW. Yes, just looked at the schedule. Glad that you're not having any trouble getting feedback! I'm be interested as well if there are cancellations.
Rodrigo Carballo
Hemant Kumar Hello there. I tried booking a time to discuss this; but I could not find any availability. Glad to see users are very interested in providing feedback. Please add me to your waiting list in case a space becomes available!
Melanie von Schorlemer
Hemant Kumar Due to the time difference to Melbourne (AUS), I can't book a slot in a time that suits both of us. Could you record a video and share it with us?
Hemant Kumar
updated the status to
building now
David J Geiger
Hemant Kumar great to see you guys are in the building now phase! What's the rough time frame we could see this go into beta?
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Lucero Vivas
Hemant Kumar When do you estimate that this can be in beta
Hemant Kumar
Lucero Vivas David J Geiger I don't have a exact timeline for you but this is being actively developed and we're gathering feedback on the UX flows right now to finalize the exact scope
Dimitri Weslosky
Would love to see users included on this - We currently have a "Team" field where we use a "Team" as a user to help with filtering, etc. Having to manually (or via automation) set this every time is time-consuming.
Hemant Kumar
Hey everyone, We've started scoping this feature. Would love to get your quick feedback on our approach to Rolling up CFs from subtasks to parent tasks. Please fill in this quick survey
David J Geiger
Hemant Kumar survey filled out. I'm excited that this feature is at least planned now, and I can't wait for it to be built out.
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