Setting up calculations involves taking a "snapshot" of the QuickBooks form (Invoice, etc.) you want to work with, then entering spreadsheet formulas in it.

Taking the snapshot

Add some example data to the QuickBooks form you want to work with. Then, while still in QuickBooks, press the hotkey assigned to FormCalc SST (typically F11) to display the FormCalc SST action window, and click the New Snapshot button:

FormCalc SST will gather information about the form and build a spreadsheet that represents the form's fields, rows, and columns.

Entering Formulas

You enter formulas on the snapshot spreadsheet, and do other necessary setup "housekeeping":

❖Select column types to identify columns in the snapshot's detail area. This lets FormCalc SST prevent errors by controlling how calculated results are sent to QuickBooks.

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❖Enter formulas in the header and footer areas, if desired.

❖Enter formulas in the detail area. These get applied to each Item row as the form is being processed, except on rows containing a "trigger Item".

❖Trigger Items are not a special kind of QuickBooks Item. They are simply Items you have designated in FormCalc SST as being associated with formulas. When a trigger Item is encountered on a QuickBooks form, FormCalc SST applies the corresponding formulas to that Item row. Trigger Items give you a way to do special processing such as subtotals or totals, on specific rows of the form.

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When you are done setting up formulas, save the FormCalc SST data file so your formulas will be available for doing calculations any time you use QuickBooks.

Using FormCalc SST to do calculations in your daily work is easy:

1.Fill out the QuickBooks form with data as you normally would.

2.While still in the QuickBooks form, invoke FormCalc SST from by pressing its hotkey (F11 by default, but you can change it).

3.Click the Process this QuickBooks form button.

You will see the cursor traveling over the form as FormCalc SST reads data and writes results.

Here's an example of a "DISCOUNT..." message calculated by FormCalc, illustrating what data FormCalc SST gathered to use for building the message:

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