Type a sum in any number box

Any box where you type a price, a quantity, a rate, an amount, a percentage, a size, hours or days also takes a sum. Type the sum and SmarteBuild works it out.

You type	You get
12.5*4	50
3 x 2.4	7.2
(1200+300)/3	500
=2.4*3+1.2	8.4
$1,250+80	1330

It saves reaching for a calculator, and the arithmetic on a scrap of paper that goes with it: type the slab as 14.4*9.5 straight from the drawing and the box fills in 136.8.

The box keeps the answer, not the sum — once you leave it, it shows 136.8. If you want the working kept, use the quantity calculator, which keeps each line.

The rules

• + − * / and brackets. x or × also multiply.
• A leading = is optional — =2.4*3 and 2.4*3 are the same.
• $, %, commas and spaces are ignored, so you can paste a figure straight from a quote.
• Press Enter to see the answer in the box. Leaving the box keeps the answer too.
• The Up and Down arrow keys still step the number.

If a sum cannot be worked out — 12* with nothing after it, say — the box goes back to what it was and is outlined in pink. Point at it to see why.

Where it works

Almost everywhere a number is typed: the BOQ (quantity and price), the item window, the quantity calculator, measurements, products and price lists, orders, invoices, claims, variations, tenders and the supplier quote page, the project page (contract price, markups, stages), the schedule (durations, lags, lead times, costs), Take-Off (scale, heights, pitch), timesheets, colour selections, the development feasibility, checklists, leads and the site diary.

Where it does not

Boxes that hold a formula with names in it — a calc-sheet or assembly formula such as {L}*{H} — work differently, because there the letters stand for measurements. See Calculating quantity.

Numbers that are not amounts are left alone too: row and sort numbers, reference numbers, dates, postcodes and phone numbers.