Hello all,
I'm trying to put together a particular sequence and I'm hoping for some help to get me un-stuck.
I have two tables, Quotes and Expenses, and I would like to set up a process to conveniently record variance (actual expenses against quoted values) of specific records in Quotes. The Quotes table uses various formulas, linked records within the table, and filtered views to give me the illusion of a three-tiered hierarchy of Project Totals, Division Totals, and Items that roll up perfectly for sharing views with clients.
I already use Make and Quickbooks to calculate variance by exporting the Division Totals to QB and recording all my expenses there. What I would like to do is migrate my variance calculations into SmartSuite in order to compare values at the "Items" level. I would then just export project expenses to QB under Cost of Goods as a lump sum per project for business-wide expense reporting.
The best possible process would involve using a button in Quotes to open a form URL and create a record in Expenses, then update an "Actuals" number field in Quotes for the record where the button was pushed using automation. I know I could insert a linked record field in the Expenses form, but that would take a lot of time to filter and find the correct Line Item in Quotes to link to and increase the possibility of error. An additional goal is to make the Expenses table a "Read Only" table and hide it in the solution instead of recording expenses there. If I can make this work (with help, hopefully!), I will be able to accomplish 100% of my time- and money-related inputs during project execution in this one view below:
None of my approaches involving concatenating record ID's to the button URL got me anywhere, and my preference would be to keep the process within SmartSuite and not have to build a Make scenario. Any thoughts are appreciated.
Mike