--- title: "Creating a Custom Field for Your Lists with Advanced Search Formulas" slug: "creating-a-custom-field-for-your-lists-with-advanced-search-formulas" tags: ["Language - English", "Area - Administration", "Industry - Landscaping", "Type - Task (How-To)", "Role - Branch Manager", "Role - Operations Manager", "Role - System Admin", "Role - Branch Admin", "Skill Level - 3 (Advanced)", "Type - Reference"] updated: 2026-06-15T19:33:24Z published: 2026-06-15T19:33:24Z canonical: "guide.youraspire.com/creating-a-custom-field-for-your-lists-with-advanced-search-formulas" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://guide.youraspire.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Creating a Custom Field for Your Lists with Advanced Search Formulas ## **Purpose** One of the great things about Aspire is how flexible search lists can be! Even with the many fields that you can filter, display, sort, and group with, you even have the ability to calculate fields together, creating a whole new custom field! That new field can then be used in certain Aspire search lists! This can be useful in all sorts of cases including: - Estimated Material Cost vs. Actual Material Cost - Days Since Opened Issue - Over/Under at the Opportunity Level - Total Cost of Inventory ## **Requirements** ⚠️ You must have System Admin access to create an Advanced Search Formula. ## **Creating an Advanced Search Formula** 1. To get to User Roles , click on your profile icon in the bottom left corner. [](https://downloads.intercomcdn.com/i/o/903732861/5facdebf951f3a3be393abca/image.png?expires=1757695500&signature=b099e3411e82767f2f0c114bbd2611a5460cd2f125062cac730ae34bb81051e3&req=fSAkEcp8lYdeFb4f3HP0gBbI1sFpH9vnil%2B%2FzeGvLJif0cHjWMdzcTQKLN3o%0Anw4%3D%0A) 2. Click **Administration**. 3. Click the **Application** tab, then click the **Advanced Search Formula** subsection. You will see already existing formulas on this screen.  4. On the Advanced Search Formula screen, click the **New** button in the upper right to create a new Advanced Search Formula. The New Advanced Search Formula box will pop up and is ready to be filled out.  5. In the Search List field, select the search list you would like the advanced search formula to appear to be used on your list. (see *Search List Options* below for what each list contains) 6. Create a name for the new field in the **Formula Name** field. This is what will show in the search list if displayed, grouped, or filtered. > [!NOTE] > Note > > It's important to be specific with your advanced search formula because this field will become available to others in the company. 7. Select the **Display Format** type. This can be a number, currency ($), or percentage (%). For this example, we want to look at the percentage of onsite time our crews have when looking at actual hours minus their drive time. 8. Select if the calculated field value should have any decimal numbers after it. It will default to 0 decimals. 9. To start building your formula, you can select a value from the Formula dropdown.  1. Once you select the field from the Formula dropdown, it will appear in the text box below. You'll have the ability to type and use your cursor in the **Formula** text box as well.  2. Pick an operator (plus, minus, etc.), and it will be added just like the field of ActHrs.  3. You can also add a date function to your formula from below the textbox. The three functions are DATEADD, DATEDIFF, DATEPART and will show additional fields to fill out. Refer to the Date Functions section below to learn the specifics of each one.  10. Keep choosing fields, operators, or functions until your formula is complete.  11. Review your formula. Especially if it is your first time, make sure you are following the order of operations. If you need to add or edit, click in the text box to do so.  1. With the formula reviewed, select **Save**. Afterwards, refresh your screen. Your Advanced Search Formula is now available to use as a new field in your selected list! ### **Search List Options** When you create an Advanced Search Formula, you'll choose a Search List in the **Search List** field (step 5 above). The Search List determines which records your formula can calculate against. The following table describes each available list in the dropdown menu, what it represents, and where to find the underlying data in Aspire. | **Search list** | **What it represents** | **Where to find it in Aspire** | | --- | --- | --- | | Accounts Receivable | Outstanding customer invoice balances (aged receivables). | **Reports > Standard Reports > Administration > A/R Aging** | | Activity | Activities — emails, tasks, appointments, and issues. | **Dashboard > To Do List > Search Activities** | | AR Aging List | Invoices with payments and credit memos, aged by due date. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Administration > A/R Aging List** | | As Needed Exceptions | As-needed service visits flagged as exceptions. | **Scheduling module (as-needed exceptions)** | | Audit Time | Clock in/out time-audit entries for an employee. | **Scheduling > Schedule Board > Weekly Time Review > Clock Time Audit** | | Auto Expense | Auto-generated expense items for completed subcontracted tickets. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Sales > Auto Expense** | | Bank Deposit | Individual bank deposits. | **Invoicing > Deposits** | | Catalog Item | Items in the item catalog (material, labor, sub, equipment, other). | **Administration > Estimating > Manage Items** | | Clock Time | Employee clock in/out time entries. | **Scheduling > Schedule Board > Weekly Time Review** | | Clock Time Audit | Audit trail of edits to clock-time entries. | **Scheduling > Weekly Time Review > Clock Time Audit** | | Company | Companies that contacts can be associated with. | **Administration > Configuration > Company** | | Contact | Individuals with a contact record. | **Contacts module** | | Contract Renewal | Contracts due for renewal, including those already renewed. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Sales > Contract Renewals** | | Credit Memo | Credit memos issued against invoices. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > End of Month > Credit Memos** | | Daily Plan Report | Daily crew / route work plan. | **Scheduling > Daily Plan** | | Depreciation Report | Equipment that depreciated during the period. | **Equipment > Depreciation Report** | | Employee Incidents | Recorded employee incidents. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Administration > Employee Incidents** | | EOM Labor (Details) | End-of-month labor detail records. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > End of Month > Labor** | | Equipment | Equipment items. | **Equipment module** | | Equipment Reading Log | Equipment meter / reading entries. | **Equipment > Reading Logs** | | Equipment Service Logs | Equipment service-log entries. | **Equipment > Service Log** | | Inventory Adjustments | Adjustments to inventory quantities for the period. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > End of Month > Inventory tab** | | Inventory Allocation | Inventory levels for catalog items marked as inventory. | **Purchasing > Inventory** | | Inventory Cost Adjustments | Adjustments to item costs for inventory items. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > End of Month > Inventory tab** | | Inventory Job Materials | Inventory materials allocated to jobs. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > End of Month > Inventory tab > Job Inventory Materials** | | Inventory Variance | Items whose purchase cost differed from catalog cost. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > End of Month > Inventory tab** | | Invoice | Invoices created in Aspire. | **Invoicing > Invoices** | | Invoice Adjustments | Adjustments made to invoices. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > End of Month > Revenue tab > Invoice Adjustments** | | Invoice Batch (Details) | Line detail within an invoice batch. | **Invoicing > Invoice Batches** | | Invoice Batch (Search) | Invoice batches. | **Invoicing > Invoice Batches** | | Invoice Jurisdiction | Tax-jurisdiction breakdown on invoices. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > Tax Entity** | | Invoice Payments | Payments applied to invoices. | **Invoicing > Invoices > Payments tab** | | Invoice Retainage | Retainage held on invoices. | **Invoicing > Invoices (retainage)** | | Invoice Revenue | Invoiced-revenue records. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > End of Month > Revenue tab > Invoices** | | Invoice Revenue to Costs | Invoiced revenue compared with costs. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Executive > Invoice Revenue to Costs** | | Invoicing Assistant | Recommended invoices from won opportunities. | **Invoicing > Invoicing Assistant** | | Job Inventory | Inventory items used on jobs. | **Purchasing > Inventory** | | Opportunity | Opportunities. | **Opportunities module** | | Opportunity (Property) | Opportunities for a selected property. | **Properties > select a property (opportunities list)** | | Opportunity Service Report | Services contained in opportunity estimates. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Sales > Opportunity Service** | | Over Under Adjustments | Over / under revenue-adjustment records. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > End of Month > Revenue tab > Over/Under** | | P&L Monthly Labor | Monthly P&L labor records. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Executive > Profit and Loss Monthly** | | Payment | Customer payments recorded in Aspire. | **Invoicing > Payments** | | Payment Jurisdiction | Tax-jurisdiction breakdown on payments. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > Tax Entity** | | Process Electronic Payments | Electronic payments to process / log. | **Invoicing > Electronic Payments Log** | | Property | Properties established in Aspire. | **Properties module** | | Property Client Budget | Work-order opportunities in a property's client budget. | **Properties > select property > Report > Client Budget** | | Property Site Audit | Site audits for a selected property. | **Properties > select property > Previous Site Audit** | | Purchasing Assistant | Recommended purchases from estimate materials. | **Purchasing > Purchasing Assistant** | | Receipt | Purchase receipts created in Aspire. | **Purchasing > Purchase Receipts** | | Report Favorite | Reports saved as favorites by the user. | **Reports > Favorites tab** | | Revenue Over Under | Opportunities where earned and invoiced revenue differ. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > Revenue Over Under** | | Revenue Over/Under | Over / under revenue (alternate view). | **Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > Revenue Over Under (also reachable via Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > End of Month > Revenue tab > Over/Under)** | | Revenue Variance | Revenue-variance records. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > End of Month > Revenue tab > Revenue Variance** | | Route | Routes created in Aspire. | **Administration > Scheduling > Manage Routes** | | Route Scheduling | Assignment of properties to routes. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Production > Property Route Assignments** | | Sales Commission | Invoices per opportunity used to calculate commissions. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > Sales Commission** | | Sales Scorecard | Opportunities behind a sales rep's scorecard values. | **Contacts > select user > Scorecard tab** | | Schedule | Scheduled work and visits. | **Scheduling > Schedule Board** | | Schedule an Event | Opportunity services to schedule as events. | **Scheduling > Schedule Board > Bulk Actions > Schedule an Event** | | Service | Services established in Aspire. | **Administration > Estimating > Manage Services** | | Services Due | Maintenance services coming due. | **Equipment > Maintenance Due** | | Site Audit | Site audits. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Sales > Site Audits** | | Sub Ticket/Expense Exception | Subcontractor ticket / expense exceptions. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Production > Sub Ticket/Expense Exception** | | Time Entry | Employee time allocations to jobs. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Administration > Time Entry** | | To Do List Activity | Activities in the Dashboard To Do List. | **Dashboard > To Do List** | | Transaction List | Invoice, payment, and credit transactions for a property. | **Properties > select property > Report > Transaction List** | | Vendor | Vendors providing materials / services. | **Administration > Application > Lists > Vendor** | | Weather Events | Logged weather events. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Production > Weather Events** | | Weekly Time Review | One row per week of employee time. | **Scheduling > Schedule Board > Weekly Time Review** | | Work in Progress | WIP cost / revenue by opportunity over a period. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Production > Work In Progress** | | Work in Progress (Work Orders) | WIP for work-order opportunities. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Production > Work In Progress (Work Orders)** | | Work Ticket | Work tickets. | **Work Tickets module** | | Work Ticket (Generic) | Work tickets (generic list view). | **Work Tickets module** | | Work Ticket (Move Cost) | Work tickets for moving / swapping costs. | **Scheduling > Time Entry > Swap Ticket Cost** | | Work Ticket (Opportunity) | Work tickets tied to an opportunity. | **Opportunities > select opportunity > Job Reports** | | Work Ticket (P&L Monthly) | Work tickets on the monthly P&L. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Executive > Profit and Loss Monthly** | | Work Ticket (P&L) | Work tickets on the completed-work P&L. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Executive > Completed Work Profit and Loss** | | Work Ticket Activity | Activities logged on work tickets. | **Work Tickets module** | | Work Ticket Time Entry | Time entries on work tickets. | **Scheduling > Open Time Entry** | | Work Ticket Transaction | Work-ticket activity for a specific day. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Production > Work Ticket Transaction** | | Work Ticket Visits | All visits on work tickets. | **Reports > Standard Reports > Production > Work Ticket Visits** | ### **Date Functions** If you want to use one of the Date functions in your advanced filter, there are some more details you need to know. The following table describes each function and its parameters. | **Date Function** | **Description** | **Parameters** | | --- | --- | --- | | DATEADD | Allows you to add a numeric value to a date, which returns a new date. You can set which Date Part that helps determine the unit of time to be added (examples: days, weeks, months, etc.) Note: Custom formulas must return numeric values, so this function cannot be used alone in a custom formula. It must be used on combination with other available functions that produce numeric results. | **Date Part** – A value that specifies the unit of time for the calculation. For example, year, quarter, month, week, or day. This selection dictates how the system interprets the added time value. **Time Value** – A number indicating how many units of the specified **Date Part** you wish to add to your start **Date**. This value is integral to calculating the numeric outcome. **Date** – The start date to which the **Time Value** is added. The resulting calculation does not produce a new calendar date but a numeric value representing the interval based on your inputs. | | DATEDIFF | Returns a numeric value representing the difference between two dates based on the unit of time you select. DATEDIFF is useful when creating custom fields that show durations, such as the number of days between start and end dates. **How the function works:** DATEDIFF measures boundary crossings, not the number of fully elapsed units. For example, the difference between January 31 and February 1 is 1 month when using DATEDIFF(month) because a month boundary is crossed, even though only one day has passed. **Common uses:** - Days between opportunity start and end dates - Days between ticket creation and completion - Months between contract start and renewal dates **Example:** `DATEDIFF(day, [StartDate], [EndDate])` **To insert in a formula:** Select the function, choose the Date Part, select the Start Date and End Date fields, then select Insert Function. **Important:** DATEDIFF always returns a numeric value, not a new date or text. | - **Date Part** – Specifies the unit of time for the calculation. Options include year, quarter, month, week, day, hour, minute, or second. The Date Part determines how Aspire interprets the difference between the two dates. - **Start Date** – The beginning date for the calculation. - **End Date** – The end date for the calculation. | | DATEPART | Returns a numeric value that represents a certain part of a date, such as a month or day. For example, this function enables you to return a numeric value representing a quarter of the year so that you can group the records in a search list as such. | **Date Part** – A value that specifies the units separated into a numeric value for display. Choose from: - **year** – Return a numeric value representing the year of the date. - **quarter** – Return a numeric value representing the quarter of the year represented by the date. - **month** – Return a numeric value representing the month of the date. - **week** – Return a numeric value representing the week of the year represented by the date. - **day** – Return a numeric value representing the day of the date. - **dayofyear** – Return a numeric value representing the day of the year represented by the date. **Start Date** – The start date of the period whose duration will be returned by the function. | ```markdown
When you create an Advanced Search Formula, you'll choose a Search List in the Search List field (step 5 above). The Search List determines which records your formula can calculate against. The following table describes each available Search List — what it represents and where to find the underlying data in Aspire.
| Search list | What it represents | Where to find it in Aspire |
|---|---|---|
| Accounts Receivable | Outstanding customer invoice balances (aged receivables). | Reports > Standard Reports > Administration > A/R Aging |
| Activity | Activities — emails, tasks, appointments, and issues. | Dashboard > To Do List > Search Activities |
| AR Aging List | Invoices with payments and credit memos, aged by due date. | Reports > Standard Reports > Administration > A/R Aging List |
| As Needed Exceptions | As-needed service visits flagged as exceptions. | Scheduling module (as-needed exceptions) |
| Audit Time | Clock in/out time-audit entries for an employee. | Scheduling > Schedule Board > Weekly Time Review > Clock Time Audit |
| Auto Expense | Auto-generated expense items for completed subcontracted tickets. | Reports > Standard Reports > Sales > Auto Expense |
| Bank Deposit | Individual bank deposits. | Invoicing > Deposits |
| Catalog Item | Items in the item catalog (material, labor, sub, equipment, other). | Administration > Estimating > Manage Items |
| Clock Time | Employee clock in/out time entries. | Scheduling > Schedule Board > Weekly Time Review |
| Clock Time Audit | Audit trail of edits to clock-time entries. | Scheduling > Weekly Time Review > Clock Time Audit |
| Company | Companies that contacts can be associated with. | Administration > Configuration > Company |
| Contact | Individuals with a contact record. | Contacts (Navigation Bar) |
| Contract Renewal | Contracts due for renewal, including those already renewed. | Reports > Standard Reports > Sales > Contract Renewals |
| Credit Memo | Credit memos issued against invoices. | Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > End of Month > Credit Memos |
| Daily Plan Report | Daily crew / route work plan. | Scheduling > Daily Plan |
| Depreciation Report | Equipment that depreciated during the period. | Equipment > Depreciation Report |
| Employee Incidents | Recorded employee incidents. | Reports > Standard Reports > Administration > Employee Incidents |
| EOM Labor (Details) | End-of-month labor detail records. | Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > End of Month > Labor |
| Equipment | Equipment items. | Equipment (Navigation Bar) |
| Equipment Reading Log | Equipment meter / reading entries. | Equipment > Reading Logs |
| Equipment Service Logs | Equipment service-log entries. | Equipment > Service Log |
| Inventory Adjustments | Adjustments to inventory quantities for the period. | Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > End of Month > Inventory tab |
| Inventory Allocation | Inventory levels for catalog items marked as inventory. | Purchasing > Inventory |
| Inventory Cost Adjustments | Adjustments to item costs for inventory items. | Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > End of Month > Inventory tab |
| Inventory Job Materials | Inventory materials allocated to jobs. | Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > End of Month > Inventory tab > Job Inventory Materials |
| Inventory Variance | Items whose purchase cost differed from catalog cost. | Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > End of Month > Inventory tab |
| Invoice | Invoices created in Aspire. | Invoicing > Invoices |
| Invoice Adjustments | Adjustments made to invoices. | Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > End of Month > Revenue tab > Invoice Adjustments |
| Invoice Batch (Details) | Line detail within an invoice batch. | Invoicing > Invoice Batches |
| Invoice Batch (Search) | Invoice batches. | Invoicing > Invoice Batches |
| Invoice Jurisdiction | Tax-jurisdiction breakdown on invoices. | Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > Tax Entity |
| Invoice Payments | Payments applied to invoices. | Invoicing > Invoices > Payments tab |
| Invoice Retainage | Retainage held on invoices. | Invoicing > Invoices (retainage) |
| Invoice Revenue | Invoiced-revenue records. | Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > End of Month > Revenue tab > Invoices |
| Invoice Revenue to Costs | Invoiced revenue compared with costs. | Reports > Standard Reports > Executive > Invoice Revenue to Costs |
| Invoicing Assistant | Recommended invoices from won opportunities. | Invoicing > Invoicing Assistant |
| Job Inventory | Inventory items used on jobs. | Purchasing > Inventory |
| Opportunity | Opportunities. | Opportunities (Navigation Bar) |
| Opportunity (Property) | Opportunities for a selected property. | Properties > select a property (opportunities list) |
| Opportunity Service Report | Services contained in opportunity estimates. | Reports > Standard Reports > Sales > Opportunity Service |
| Over Under Adjustments | Over / under revenue-adjustment records. | Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > End of Month > Revenue tab > Over/Under |
| P&L Monthly Labor | Monthly P&L labor records. | Reports > Standard Reports > Executive > Profit and Loss Monthly |
| Payment | Customer payments recorded in Aspire. | Invoicing > Payments |
| Payment Jurisdiction | Tax-jurisdiction breakdown on payments. | Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > Tax Entity |
| Process Electronic Payments | Electronic payments to process / log. | Invoicing > Electronic Payments Log |
| Property | Properties established in Aspire. | Properties (Navigation Bar) |
| Property Client Budget | Work-order opportunities in a property's client budget. | Properties > select property > Report > Client Budget |
| Property Site Audit | Site audits for a selected property. | Properties > select property > Previous Site Audit |
| Purchasing Assistant | Recommended purchases from estimate materials. | Purchasing > Purchasing Assistant |
| Receipt | Purchase receipts created in Aspire. | Purchasing > Purchase Receipts |
| Report Favorite | Reports saved as favorites by the user. | Reports > Favorites tab |
| Revenue Over Under | Opportunities where earned and invoiced revenue differ. | Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > Revenue Over Under |
| Revenue Over/Under | Over / under revenue (alternate view). | Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > Revenue Over Under (also reachable via Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > End of Month > Revenue tab > Over/Under) |
| Revenue Variance | Revenue-variance records. | Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > End of Month > Revenue tab > Revenue Variance |
| Route | Routes created in Aspire. | Administration > Scheduling > Manage Routes |
| Route Scheduling | Assignment of properties to routes. | Reports > Standard Reports > Production > Property Route Assignments |
| Sales Commission | Invoices per opportunity used to calculate commissions. | Reports > Standard Reports > Accounting > Sales Commission |
| Sales Scorecard | Opportunities behind a sales rep's scorecard values. | Contacts > select user > Scorecard tab |
| Schedule | Scheduled work and visits. | Scheduling > Schedule Board |
| Schedule an Event | Opportunity services to schedule as events. | Scheduling > Schedule Board > Bulk Actions > Schedule an Event |
| Service | Services established in Aspire. | Administration > Estimating > Manage Services |
| Services Due | Maintenance services coming due. | Equipment > Maintenance Due |
| Site Audit | Site audits. | Reports > Standard Reports > Sales > Site Audits |
| Sub Ticket/Expense Exception | Subcontractor ticket / expense exceptions. | Reports > Standard Reports > Production > Sub Ticket/Expense Exception |
| Time Entry | Employee time allocations to jobs. | Reports > Standard Reports > Administration > Time Entry |
| To Do List Activity | Activities in the Dashboard To Do List. | Dashboard > To Do List |
| Transaction List | Invoice, payment, and credit transactions for a property. | Properties > select property > Report > Transaction List |
| Vendor | Vendors providing materials / services. | Administration > Application > Lists > Vendor |
| Weather Events | Logged weather events. | Reports > Standard Reports > Production > Weather Events |
| Weekly Time Review | One row per week of employee time. | Scheduling > Schedule Board > Weekly Time Review |
| Work in Progress | WIP cost / revenue by opportunity over a period. | Reports > Standard Reports > Production > Work In Progress |
| Work in Progress (Work Orders) | WIP for work-order opportunities. | Reports > Standard Reports > Production > Work In Progress (Work Orders) |
| Work Ticket | Work tickets. | Work Tickets (Navigation Bar) |
| Work Ticket (Generic) | Work tickets (generic list view). | Work Tickets module |
| Work Ticket (Move Cost) | Work tickets for moving / swapping costs. | Scheduling > Time Entry > Swap Ticket Cost |
| Work Ticket (Opportunity) | Work tickets tied to an opportunity. | Opportunities > select opportunity > Job Reports |
| Work Ticket (P&L Monthly) | Work tickets on the monthly P&L. | Reports > Standard Reports > Executive > Profit and Loss Monthly |
| Work Ticket (P&L) | Work tickets on the completed-work P&L. | Reports > Standard Reports > Executive > Completed Work Profit and Loss |
| Work Ticket Activity | Activities logged on work tickets. | Work Tickets (ticket activities) |
| Work Ticket Time Entry | Time entries on work tickets. | Scheduling > Open Time Entry |
| Work Ticket Transaction | Work-ticket activity for a specific day. | Reports > Standard Reports > Production > Work Ticket Transaction |
| Work Ticket Visits | All visits on work tickets. | Reports > Standard Reports > Production > Work Ticket Visits |