Maths (#calc, #var, #abs, #round, #ceil, #floor)

The maths helpers let you calculate values — for example, working out fees on a form.

Note

All maths results are formatted as amounts: two decimal places with thousands separators, e.g. 5,000.00.

Form fee example

A common use is calculating a fee as a percentage of a price. Here’s a 2% fee on the purchase price:

{{#var $fee = property.price / 100 * 2}}
Our fee (2% of the purchase price) is {{$fee}}.

If property.price is 250000, this outputs:

Our fee (2% of the purchase price) is 5,000.00.

#calc — calculate and show a value

#calc works out a calculation and outputs the result immediately:

{{#calc property.price * 0.02}}

• Supports +, -, *, / and brackets ( ).
• Follows standard order of operations (BODMAS): {{#calc 2 * 4 + 4 / 2}} outputs 10.00.
• Each part must be a number, or a data marker/variable that holds a number.

#var — store a value for later

#var calculates a value and stores it in a variable. It doesn’t output anything by itself — output the variable where you need it:

{{#var $deposit = property.price / 10}}
A 10% deposit is {{$deposit}}.

The right-hand side of the = is a calculation, just like #calc.

#abs — absolute (positive) value

#abs outputs a number without its minus sign — useful for balances that may be negative:

Balance: {{#abs matter.account.office.balance}}

#round — round a value

#round rounds a number to a set number of decimal places, either "up" or "down", and stores the result in a variable:

{{#round $rounded = property.price 0 "down"}}
Rounded price: {{$rounded}}

• The first value is what to round (a number, data marker, or variable).
• The second is the number of decimal places.
• The third is "up" or "down" (in double quotes).

Like #var, #round doesn’t output anything itself — output the variable afterwards.

Note

"up"/"down" are directional, not half-up/half-down. "up" always rounds toward positive infinity (a ceiling) and "down" toward negative infinity (a floor), regardless of the digit after the cut-off. For example 1.001 rounded to 2 places "up" is 1.01, and 1.009 "down" is 1.00. For negative numbers, "up" moves toward zero and "down" moves away from it. When you want a ceiling or floor of a calculation (not just a single value), use #ceil / #floor below.

#ceil / #floor — round a calculation up or down

#ceil evaluates a calculation and rounds the result up toward positive infinity; #floor rounds it down toward negative infinity. Both store the result in a variable and output nothing themselves — just like #var:

{{#ceil $units = (property.price - 25000) / 100}}
Units (rounded up): {{$units}}

• The right-hand side of the = is a calculation, exactly like #var and #calc (numbers, data markers, variables, + - * /, and brackets).
• An optional whole number after the calculation sets the decimal places to round at (default 0): {{#ceil $x = 1.2301 2}} gives 1.24.
• Rounding is a true ceiling/floor, not round-half-up: #ceil of 3.01 is 4, of 3.00 is 3, and of -2.5 is -2.

Why this matters — “per $100, or part thereof” fees. Duty scales that charge per part-unit need a ceiling. Previously this was emulated with a rounding hack; #ceil makes it explicit. For the Tasmanian band ($25,001–$75,000 — $435 plus $2.25 per $100 or part thereof above $25,000):

{{#ceil $units = (property.price - 25000) / 100}}{{#var $f = ($units * 2.25) + 435}}
Duty: {{$f}}

Tip

The built-in rate markers settings.ukvatrate and settings.ausgstrate are handy in calculations — see Data markers & variables.

Caution

PDF templates: #calc, #var, #round, #ceil, and #floor require at least one plain data marker to also be present in the template. If the template contains only maths helpers with no data markers, the PDF may not render the calculated values.

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