Formula Column Threshold Trigger: Automate When Calculated Values Cross a Limit

monday.com's formula columns are powerful. They can calculate profit margins, track budget burn rates, compute weighted scores, and derive dozens of other useful numbers from your board data.

But there's a catch: you can't trigger automations based on formula column values.

Your formula might be calculating that a project is 150% over budget, but monday.com won't let you automatically do anything about it. You have to spot it yourself — and by then it might be too late.

The Problem

Formula columns are read-only in the automation system. monday.com treats them as display-only values. You can see the calculated result, but you can't say "when this formula result goes above 100, do something."

This creates a gap between what you can calculate and what you can automate. Teams end up manually checking formula values or building workarounds with helper columns and manual triggers — adding complexity instead of removing it.

The Solution: Formula Column Threshold Trigger

Community Cookbook's Formula Column Threshold Trigger watches any numeric formula column and fires when the computed value goes above or below a number you set.

The recipe sentence:

"When a numeric formula column goes above or below a number"

Set a threshold. Pick a direction (above or below). The trigger does the rest.

How to Use It

1. Install Community Cookbook from the monday.com marketplace
2. Create a new automation on your board
3. Select the Formula Column Threshold Trigger
4. Choose your formula column
5. Set the threshold value
6. Choose the direction: above or below
7. Add your actions

Real-World Use Cases

Budget Management

Formula calculates total spend as a percentage of budget. Set a threshold at 80% — when spending crosses that line, automatically notify the finance team and change the project status to "At Risk".

Sales Targets

Formula tracks a salesperson's monthly total against their quota. When it drops below 50% with two weeks left in the month, trigger a notification to the sales manager.

Inventory Control

Formula calculates current stock levels. When a product's available units drop below the reorder point, automatically create a purchase order item on your procurement board.

Project Health Scores

Formula computes a weighted health score from multiple factors (timeline adherence, budget status, risk count). When the score drops below 60, escalate to the PMO.

Resource Utilisation

Formula tracks team member utilisation rates. When someone goes above 110%, flag it for the resource manager to redistribute workload.

Why This Matters

The gap between calculation and automation is one of the biggest limitations in monday.com. You can build sophisticated formulas that surface exactly the right information — but without the ability to trigger actions from those calculations, someone still has to be watching.

The Formula Column Threshold Trigger closes that gap. Your formulas don't just display numbers anymore — they drive action.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this work with any formula column in monday.com?+

Can I set both upper and lower thresholds?+

How quickly does the trigger fire after the formula value changes?+

What about formula columns that return text or dates?+