A formula field is a read-only field type in Salesforce that calculates its value based on other fields, records, or formulas.

Example use cases for formula fields:

• ACV calculated from a combination of fields
• A rolling date field where the field value is relative to the current date

Salesloft supports viewing formula fields throughout the platform.

Problem

Formula field data in Salesloft can become outdated due to limitations of Salesforce formula fields.

The limitations of formula fields include:

• Formula fields are only calculated when a user views the field in Salesforce. 
• Any recalculation of a formula field does not trigger an update to the record in Salesloft

In this article, you will learn how to  identify and solve the problem related to formula fields inside Salesloft, including:

• Salesloft Sync and Formula Fields
• Exceptions to SystemModstamp
• Solution

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Salesloft Sync and Formula Fields

Salesloft pulls Salesforce data on regular intervals via Salesloft sync. In order to determine what data to pull into Salesloft, the read-only field SystemModstamp is used to find out if a record was modified since the last time Salesloft attempted to pull records. This SystemModstamp of a record only registers when a field on the record is updated either manually by a user or through automated system processes.

If the SystemModstamp is not updated, Salesforce does not consider the record to be updated and Salesloft cannot pull the record.

Since formula field changes occur based on a formula or related field instead of an update of a field on a record, the value for a formula field in Salesloft will not update and may become stale, or outdated.

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Exceptions to SystemModstamp

There are scenarios in which the SystemModstamp updates when a formula field updates. If this is the case, the formula field will stay up-to-date within Salesloft.

FormulaFieldA Value = FieldB Value * 10

In this example, FieldB is a field on the record and is used to calculate FormulaFieldA. If FieldB changes value, the SystemModstamp of the record will be updated and the new value for FormulaFieldA will be synced to Salesloft.

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Solution

If you have a formula field that does not update the SystemModstamp when it changes value, then there are steps you can take to allow Salesloft to keep that formula field value up-to-date.

1. Create a new field on the object with the formula field.
2. Setup an automated workflow that populates the value in the formula field to the new field.

The workflow that populates the value in the new field will update the SystemModstamp because the new field is not a formula field.