Supports Lookup Relationships
DLRS allows rollup summaries on lookup relationships, unlike Salesforce’s native rollup functionality, which only supports master-detail relationships.
Salesforce · DLRS Implementation
Declarative Lookup Rollup Summaries (DLRS): optimize data with Twopir Consulting
Twopir has successfully implemented Declarative Lookup Rollup Summaries (DLRS) on the Salesforce Platform. DLRS provides multiple functionality and best features that can be used by organizations according to their needs. Code-free rollups between related Salesforce objects, configured, scheduled and supported by one team.
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Trusted by 500+ organizations — including software, legal, healthcare and nonprofit teams running their reporting and automation on Salesforce with Twopir Consulting.
What We Configure
- Salesforce Partner
- Lookup Rollups
- Master-Detail Rollups
- Scheduled Calculations
- Text Rollups
- SOQL Filters
- Error Logging
What Is DLRS
Declarative Lookup Rollup Summaries, defined
Data is at the core of every Salesforce operation. However, calculating and summarizing related data across objects can be challenging without custom code. Declarative Lookup Rollup Summaries (DLRS) offers a powerful, code-free solution, enabling admins to create rollup summaries between related Salesforce objects with ease.
- The Declarative Lookup Rollup Summaries (DLRS) tool allows you to do things that are impossible to do with standard rollup summary fields.
- The standard rollup fields work only on Master-Details relations and cannot really handle any time-based calculations, but DLRS can handle any type of relations.
- You don’t have to write any code for the implementation.
- DLRS can run on schedule which means time-based calculations are possible, and can also roll up text fields.
Comparing tools before you commit? We also implement the commercial Rollup Helper solution, and we will tell you which one fits your org. Product behaviour is documented in the official DLRS documentation.
Key features of Declarative Lookup Rollup Summaries
DLRS is designed to empower administrators with a wide array of powerful features, making it easy to set up, maintain, and adjust rollup summaries.
Customizable Calculation Modes
Choose from calculation modes such as real-time, scheduled, or manual, depending on your business requirements.
Field-Level Flexibility
Define the rollup calculations using fields like SUM, COUNT, MIN, MAX, and more, across different object relationships.
Error Logging and Notifications
Automatically log errors or setup notifications to ensure that all rollups are completed as expected.
Advanced Filtering Options
Use SOQL queries to set precise filter criteria, ensuring only relevant records are included in each summary.
Supports Aggregation on Related Objects
Summarize data from related objects, helping you maintain cleaner data across your Salesforce environment.
Batch Processing and Scheduled Jobs
For large datasets, DLRS can schedule jobs to ensure consistent rollup results without impacting performance.
When and why to use DLRS
Salesforce has already Rollup Fields but it has some limitations specifically the inability to do rollup summaries between lookup relationships. This is possible between master detail relationships using the declarative mode of Force.com, but not between lookup relationships.
| Question | Standard roll-up summary field | DLRS |
|---|---|---|
| Which relationships? | Master-detail only, plus three standard exceptions: Account from Opportunities, Opportunity from Opportunity Products, Campaign from Campaign Members. | Lookup and master-detail relationships. |
| Which calculations? | COUNT, SUM, MIN and MAX. | Sum, Count, Count Distinct, Min, Max, Avg, First, Last, Concatenate and Concatenate Distinct. |
| Text values? | No text rollups. | Concatenate rolls text from child records into one parent field, with the delimiter you choose. |
| Filtering? | Filter criteria, but cross-object formulas, long text and multi-select picklist fields cannot be used. | A SOQL WHERE clause (the relationship criteria), with an order-by field for First, Last and Concatenate. |
| Time-based values? | Cannot use formulas with NOW or TODAY. | Schedule Recalculation re-runs rollups on a schedule, so date-based criteria stay current. |
| Where it lives? | A field on the parent object, up to 25 per object. | A Custom Metadata record that deploys with change sets and packages. |
In such a situation, Declarative Lookup Rollup Summaries come into the scenario which not only do roll-ups on lookups but also can be used to perform more advanced calculations on master-detail relationships than the standard rollup summary fields.
Scheduling options supported by DLRS
Rollups do not all need to run the instant a record changes. DLRS gives you four ways to keep summary values current, and choosing the right one for each rollup is part of the design.
Schedule Calculation Mode
If you don’t need real-time updates of your rollups, a schedule job will periodically update them for you. This calculation mode does not even require a trigger to be deployed. In current DLRS releases this is the Schedule Recalculation option.
Calculate Button
If you add a rollup for existing child records or make some changes, this button will bring your rollup values up to date on the parent objects. Current releases label it Recalculate Now.
API
By providing an API, developers who may already be writing triggers on the related objects can call out to the engine and still leave the admin the ability to configure the rollups declaratively.
Robustness and Run-Time Checks
Further robustness improvements, and better run-time checking of fields defined on the rollup definition (in the case where these get renamed or deleted after the rollup was defined).
DLRS use cases across departments
Declarative Lookup Rollup Summaries is a versatile tool with applications across various industries and departments. Here’s how DLRS can improve data insights.
Sales Performance Tracking
Create rollup summaries on custom fields, such as counting closed-won opportunities on accounts, giving sales teams a quick view of account activity.
Customer Support Metrics
Track the number of open cases associated with an account, enabling support teams to manage high-priority customers more effectively.
Financial Calculations for Revenue Tracking
Summarize revenue data on account-level records based on opportunity details, providing finance teams with quick access to revenue insights.
Membership Management in Nonprofits
Count total donations or calculate average donation amounts per donor, helping nonprofits maintain valuable metrics with minimal manual effort.
Project Management Summaries
Roll up hours spent or project tasks completed on project records, making it easier to gauge progress without manual calculations.
How Twopir Consulting can help
At Twopir Consulting, we help you harness the power of DLRS for efficient and accurate data summarization. Our team provides end-to-end support, including:
Custom Configuration and Setup
We tailor DLRS settings to align with your specific business requirements, from defining rollup summaries to setting up calculation modes.
Strategic Integration
Our team identifies high-impact areas where DLRS can provide critical insights, integrating it with other Salesforce processes for greater operational value.
Training and Enablement
We empower your administrators and users with the know-how to manage and expand DLRS functionality on their own. Salesforce training is available for the wider team.
Ongoing Support
As your needs evolve, our team remains available to assist with DLRS adjustments, troubleshooting, and optimization for long-term success, as part of ongoing Salesforce support.
Results you can expect
Implementing DLRS with Twopir Consulting brings measurable improvements across your organization.
Enhanced Data Visibility
Access consolidated data points across related records, enabling faster and more informed decision-making.
Improved Operational Efficiency
Automate manual calculations, freeing up your teams to focus on high-value tasks.
Accurate Reporting
Rely on real-time rollup summaries for accurate data insights across your entire organization.
Greater Flexibility and Scalability
DLRS allows you to continuously adapt to changing data needs without custom development, providing a scalable solution for growing businesses.
Optimized Workflows
Integrate DLRS rollups with other automation tools in Salesforce, streamlining processes for greater efficiency.
DLRS questions, answered plainly
DLRS is an open-source Salesforce app that lets admins create rollup summaries between related objects without writing code. It is part of the Salesforce.org Open Source Commons and is maintained by community volunteers. It does things standard rollup summary fields cannot: rollups across lookup relationships, scheduled time-based calculations and rollups of text fields.
Standard roll-up summary fields work only on master-detail relationships (with three standard exceptions), offer only COUNT, SUM, MIN and MAX, and cannot use time-based formulas. DLRS rolls up across lookup relationships too, adds Avg, Count Distinct, First, Last and text concatenation, filters child records with a SOQL WHERE clause, and can recalculate on a schedule.
No. Rollups are defined declaratively. The Realtime and Watch for Changes and Process Later modes do need a child trigger, which DLRS generates for you with its test class through Manage Child Trigger; those generated classes belong to your org and must pass tests when deployed. Invocable by Automation and Developer modes need no trigger, and developers can call the DLRS engine from Apex.
Four: Realtime, which recalculates as soon as a child record changes; Watch for Changes and Process Later (formerly Scheduled), which queues changes for a scheduled job; Invocable by Automation (formerly Process Builder), which is called from a Flow; and Developer, which is called from Apex. Recalculate Now and Schedule Recalculation bring every parent record up to date, on demand or on a schedule.
Yes. The Concatenate and Concatenate Distinct operations join text from child records into one parent field, using a delimiter you choose, and an order-by field controls the sequence.
No. DLRS was created by Andrew Fawcett and moved to the Salesforce.org Open Source Commons in 2021. It is not a Salesforce-owned product, and its own support runs through the DLRS Trailblazer Community Group. Twopir Consulting implements and supports DLRS as part of your Salesforce org.
We configure and set up DLRS to your business requirements, identify where rollups give the most insight and integrate them with your other Salesforce processes, train your administrators to manage and extend it, and stay available for adjustments, troubleshooting and optimization.
Conclusion
Ready to transform your data management with DLRS?
Declarative Lookup Rollup Summaries unlocks powerful data aggregation capabilities in Salesforce, allowing you to create rollup summaries without the need for custom development. At Twopir Consulting, we are committed to helping you implement and optimize DLRS, so you can leverage meaningful data insights while reducing manual effort.
Contact Twopir Consulting today to get started on building smarter, code-free data summaries for your Salesforce ecosystem.
For assistance with Salesforce and the DLRS tool, contact us directly
