If you’re using Monday and you’re tired of half-baked dashboards and manual reports, you’re in the right place. This guide is for people who want to squeeze some real reporting and analytics out of Monday’s formula column—without losing a weekend (or your mind) in the process. Whether you’re running a team, managing projects, or just want to make sense of your data, let’s get into how Monday formulas can help—and where they’ll let you down.
Why even bother with formulas?
The formula column in Monday is kind of like Excel’s little cousin. It’s not as powerful, but it’s faster, easier to share, and lives right inside the platform. You can automate calculations, combine fields, flag issues, and create smarter boards—if you know how to use it right.
But don’t expect miracles: Monday formulas are limited compared to Excel or Google Sheets. There’s no cross-board referencing, and some functions are missing. Still, for day-to-day reporting and highlighting trends, it’s a lifesaver.
Step 1: Get to know Monday’s formula basics
Before you jump into advanced stuff, nail the basics. Here’s what matters:
- Formula columns let you do calculations using other columns in the same board.
- They support math, logic (IF/AND/OR), text, dates, and some fancy functions.
- You can’t reference data from other boards or workspaces.
- You’re limited to using columns on the same row (item).
Pro tip: If you’re used to Excel, Monday’s syntax will feel familiar, but expect some gotchas. There’s no drag-to-copy, and formulas can’t trigger automations directly.
Example:
To calculate the number of days between two dates:
plaintext DAYS({End Date}, {Start Date})
Step 2: Identify the reporting pain points
Before you start building, ask: What do you actually need to report on? Don’t create formulas just because you can.
Common use cases: - Track project status (ahead/behind schedule) - Calculate budget overruns - Highlight overdue tasks - Score leads or prioritize tickets - Summarize team workload
Write down your top two or three reporting headaches. That’s where formulas can save you.
Step 3: Build formulas that actually help
Let’s walk through some real-world examples, from basic to advanced.
1. Highlighting overdue tasks
Flag anything overdue automatically:
plaintext IF(TODAY() > {Due Date}, "Overdue", "On Track")
Why it works:
No more squinting at dates—see what’s late at a glance.
What to skip:
Don’t bother with formulas to create “prettier” labels or duplicate what Monday’s built-in status columns can do. Focus on what’s missing.
2. Calculating time to completion
See how long tasks actually take:
plaintext DAYS({Actual End}, {Start Date})
Or, for tasks not finished yet:
plaintext IF({Actual End}, DAYS({Actual End}, {Start Date}), DAYS(TODAY(), {Start Date}))
Honest take:
This gives you a quick way to spot slow-moving tasks. But if you need averages or trends across the whole board, you’ll hit a wall—Monday can’t sum or average formula columns in dashboards natively.
3. Budget tracking
Flag items that are over budget:
plaintext IF({Actual Cost} > {Budget}, "Over Budget", "OK")
Or show the percent over/under:
plaintext ROUND((({Actual Cost} - {Budget}) / {Budget}) * 100, 1) & "%"
Pro tip:
Use color-coded status columns based on formula results for better visibility. But, again, don’t expect rich financial reporting—this is best for quick checks.
4. Creating custom health scores
Combine multiple factors into a single “health” score:
plaintext IF(AND({Status} = "Stuck", {Priority} = "High"), "Critical", IF({Status} = "Stuck", "At Risk", "On Track"))
Add more layers as needed, but keep it readable.
Step 4: Make formulas readable and maintainable
Formulas get messy fast. Keep them sane:
- Name columns clearly. Use “Actual End” not “Column3.”
- Comment in a doc. Monday doesn’t let you comment inside formulas, so keep notes in your team doc.
- Don’t nest too deep. If you’re stacking IFs six layers deep, stop and rethink. Break things up into multiple columns if you have to.
- Reuse logic. If you need the same calculation in different places, use a formula column and reference it, instead of copy-pasting the same logic everywhere.
Step 5: Surface insights with Monday dashboards (warts and all)
Here’s the real talk: Monday’s dashboards are better than nothing, but they’re nowhere near Power BI or Google Data Studio. They’re good for:
- Pie/bar charts based on status or numbers
- Summing up values from a board
- Showing a snapshot of formula column results (but not aggregating them)
What doesn’t work: - You can’t total, average, or chart formula columns directly in dashboards. Only number columns are fully supported. - Cross-board reporting is clunky unless you export or use integrations.
Workarounds: - If you need to aggregate formula results, use an automation to copy the formula output into a number or status column. - For anything more complex, export your board to Excel or Google Sheets and do the heavy lifting there.
Don’t waste time:
If you find yourself trying to “hack” Monday into a spreadsheet, it’s probably better to just use a spreadsheet. Use Monday for what it’s good at—quick visibility and team updates.
Step 6: Use automations and integrations—carefully
Monday offers automations (like moving items or updating statuses when something changes) and integrations with other tools. Formulas don’t trigger automations directly, but you can use formula results to drive status columns, which can then fire automations.
Example: - Formula flags a task as “Overdue” - Status column updates to “Needs Attention” - Automation notifies the task owner
Watch out:
Automations can get out of hand fast. Stick to the basics—don’t build Rube Goldberg machines.
Step 7: Know when to stop (and what to ignore)
Here’s the truth: Monday formulas are great for quick calculations, flagging issues, and making boards smarter. They’re not great for deep analytics, long-form financial reports, or anything that needs advanced pivoting.
Skip: - Multi-board rollups (unless you use external tools) - Complex time tracking (use a dedicated app) - Deep financial analysis (export to Excel)
Focus on: - Making your team’s life easier - Highlighting what matters, not everything - Simple, actionable insights
Summary: Keep it simple, iterate often
Start small. Build the formulas that save you real time or headaches. Don’t try to turn Monday into a business intelligence platform—it’s not built for that. Use formulas to spot issues, highlight trends, and make your boards smarter. When you hit the platform’s limits, don’t force it—export your data or try another tool. Iterate as you go, and keep things as simple as possible. That’s how you actually get value out of Monday formulas, without drowning in complexity.