Tables: keep working data in Loopfour

Create a table in Loopfour, add rows of working data, such as open invoices, and let your workflows read from it and write back to it.

A table holds the lists your team works from: open invoices, a vendor list, payments still to match. You can type rows in, import a spreadsheet, or let a workflow add and update rows as it runs. Tables are also where dashboard figures come from.

Tables live under Tables in the Studio sidebar. Everyone in your company sees the same tables.

Before you start

What a table is good for

A working list. Keep the open items for a job, such as invoices awaiting payment, and tick them off as they clear.
A lookup list. Map one value to another, such as a vendor name to its GL account or approver.
A record of what a workflow has done. A workflow can write a row for each bill it posts, so a later run can skip bills it already handled.
The numbers behind a dashboard. Charts and tables on a dashboard read from your tables. See Dashboards.

Create a table

Open Tables

Go to Tables in the sidebar, under Data & context.

Start a new table

Choose New table. Loopfour creates a table called "Untitled Table" with one text column, Name, and opens it.

Name it

Click the table name at the top and type a clear name, such as "Open AP bills". You can also use Rename Table in the table's ... menu.

Add your columns

Choose Add Column, give the column a name and pick its Type. Repeat for each column you need, such as Vendor, Bill number, Amount and Due date.

Add rows

Choose Add Row below the grid, then click a cell to type into it.

In Studio: Tables > New table. New table sits at the top right of the Tables page, next to Import CSV and New folder.

Column types

Pick the type that matches what the column holds. It controls how the value is shown, filtered and exported.

Type	Use it for
Text	Names, references, memo lines
Number	Amounts and quantities
Date	Invoice dates, due dates, posting dates
Boolean	Yes/no flags, such as "Paid"
Select	A fixed list of choices, such as a status or a department
URL	A link to the source record
Email	A contact's email address
JSON	Structured data a workflow writes; usually left to your developer

To change a column later, open the menu on its header. You can rename it, change its type, set it as required, or delete it.

Import a spreadsheet

If the list already exists in a spreadsheet, save it as a CSV file and import it. Loopfour creates a new table from it.

Choose Import CSV

On the Tables page, choose Import CSV.

Pick the file

Select your CSV file. Loopfour shows a preview of the first rows and guesses each column's type from its values.

Name the table and import

Check the Table Name, then choose Import.

Check the column types after import. If a column of amounts came in as text, change its type from the column header menu.

Find rows and export them

Filter. Open a column's header menu to filter by condition (for example, amount greater than $10,000, or due date before a given day) or by picking values.
Sort. Open a column's header menu and choose Sort ascending or Sort descending.
Export. Choose Export at the top of the table. Pick CSV or Excel, then choose which columns to include. Excel keeps the column types.
Delete rows. Tick the rows, then choose Delete.

Keep tables in folders

Folders keep related tables together, such as one folder per entity or per close task.

Choose New folder on the Tables page and give it a name.
To move a table, use Move to folder on the table's row and pick the folder, or Root to take it out of a folder.

A table can be in one folder at a time. Folders do not go inside other folders.

Use a table in a workflow

Add the Data Table step to a workflow to work with a table while it runs. In the step, pick the table and what to do:

Insert adds a new row, such as a bill the workflow just posted.
Update changes the rows that match a value, such as marking an invoice paid.
Upsert updates a matching row, or adds one if none matches.
Find looks up rows, such as all invoices for one customer.
Delete removes the rows that match a value.

A workflow can also create a table or a folder when it needs one, such as a new table for each month.

One way to set this up is to ask in chat, for example: "After each bill is created in QuickBooks, add a row to my Open AP bills table." See Build a workflow with chat.

Good to know

A table holds up to 10,000 rows unless a larger limit was set when it was made. When a table is full, a workflow cannot add more rows to it, and a larger import is refused.
Deleting a table removes its rows too. Workflows or dashboards that read the table stop finding it.
Renaming a column does not break the rows already in it.

Check it worked

Open the table under Tables. Check a sample row, its amount and its date. After an import, check the column types before a workflow or dashboard uses the table.

If something goes wrong

An amount came in as text. Check the column type after import.
A workflow cannot add rows. Check the row limit and the step error. See Error messages explained.
You cannot recover the expected rows. See Get help.