How-to guide
Filtered Subitem Rollups in monday.com: Count Only the Subitems That Match (2026)
How to roll up only the subitems that match in monday.com — billable hours only, progress % that ignores out-of-scope tasks, client-facing counts.
Updated Published
Direct answer: native monday.com subitem summaries always include every subitem. There’s no way to exclude the N/A subtask or the internal time. In SubItems Pro, any rollup rule can carry a subitem filter: pick a Status column and the labels that should count, and only matching subitems feed the parent value. Subitems with an unset status are excluded as a fail-safe. Filters are the one paid rollup capability (Basic plan, $8/month flat); everything else is free.
Why do unfiltered rollups mislead?
A rollup is only as honest as the set it aggregates, and real boards are messy:
- Not-applicable subtasks. Template checklists ship with steps that don’t apply to every item. Leave them in and your progress % is permanently stuck below 100 for work that’s actually done.
- Out-of-scope items. Descoped or “someday” subtasks shouldn’t drag down a delivery percentage that the client sees.
- Non-billable time. Internal syncs and rework tracked on subitems inflate a summed total that becomes an invoice. Summing all tracked time when you meant billable tracked time is a money mistake, not a cosmetic one.
The native “Show summary on parent item” option has no answer here: it’s display-only and takes all subitems, always. If a number is going into a dashboard, an automation, or a client report, you usually need to control which subitems produced it.
How do SubItems Pro filters work?
In SubItems Pro’s Rollup Sync view, every rule is source subitem column → function → parent target column. A filter is an optional condition on the rule:
- Choose a Status column on the subitems (any status column — it doesn’t have to be the one you’re rolling up).
- Choose one or more labels from that column.
- Only subitems currently carrying a chosen label are included in the calculation.
One thing to know up front: subitems whose filter status is unset are excluded. That’s by design. A new subitem counts toward a filtered total only after someone tags it, so “Billable hours” can never silently absorb time nobody classified. The habit this enforces is good ops anyway: set the filter status when the subitem is created. (Bulk-editing the status across existing subitems takes one run of the app’s Edit tab.)
Filtered rules sync exactly like unfiltered ones: webhooks update the parent as subitems change, and syncs never consume plan actions.
Example 1: sum only billable hours
Subitems track time with the Time Tracking column and carry a “Billing” status (Billable / Internal).
- Rule: Time Tracking → SUM_TRACKED → Numbers “Billable (h)”, filter: Billing is Billable.
The parent shows billable decimal hours only; internal and untagged time stay out. Pair it with an unfiltered SUM_TRACKED rule into a second column (“Tracked (h)”) and the gap between the two numbers is your unbilled overhead. Full time-tracking mechanics (decimal hours, completed sessions only) are in rolling up subitem time tracking.
Example 2: a progress % that ignores out-of-scope subtasks
Subitems have the main “Status” column plus a “Scope” status (In scope / Cut / Someday).
- Rule: Status → PERCENT_BY_LABEL (label: Done) → Numbers “Progress %”, filter: Scope is In scope.
Ten subtasks, six in scope, five of those done → the parent reads 83 instead of the misleading 50 an unfiltered rollup would report. Descoping a subtask (flipping Scope to Cut) corrects the percentage on the next sync without deleting anything. For the unfiltered version and its native alternatives, see showing subitem progress on the parent item.
Example 3: count client-facing tasks that are still open
Subitems carry a “Visibility” status (Client-facing / Internal) alongside the main Status column.
- Rule: Status → COUNT_BY_LABEL (label: Working on it) → Numbers “Client tasks open”, filter: Visibility is Client-facing.
The parent shows how many client-visible subtasks are still in flight, which is the number an account manager actually wants before a status call. One catch: if all you need is “how many subitems are client-facing” with no second condition, COUNT_BY_LABEL on the Visibility column itself does that without any filter, free on every plan. Filters earn their keep when the rollup measures one column while the membership test lives on another. More counting patterns are in counting done subitems on the parent.
The three patterns at a glance
| Goal | Function | Filter | Parent column |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billable hours only | Time Tracking → SUM_TRACKED | Billing is Billable | Numbers “Billable (h)“ |
| In-scope progress % | Status → PERCENT_BY_LABEL (Done) | Scope is In scope | Numbers “Progress %“ |
| Open client-facing tasks | Status → COUNT_BY_LABEL (Working on it) | Visibility is Client-facing | Numbers “Client tasks open” |
What do filtered rollups cost?
Filters are the only paid-gated rollup capability: they’re available from the Basic plan at $8/month flat (plans are never per-seat). Every rollup column type and all 25 functions (sums, percentages, threshold statuses, people unions, time tracking) are free on every plan, including the free tier (1 board, 1 rule). Build the unfiltered version of a rule first and confirm the numbers before paying for the filter. The complete rollup guide maps every function, and the user guide covers setup.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make a monday.com rollup count only some subitems?
Not natively. The built-in subitem summary always includes every subitem. With SubItems Pro, any rollup rule can carry a subitem filter (a Status column plus chosen labels) so only matching subitems count toward the parent value.
How does a SubItems Pro filter decide which subitems count?
You pick a Status column on the subitems and one or more of its labels. Subitems whose status matches a chosen label are included in the rollup. Everything else is left out. The filter column doesn't have to be the column you're rolling up.
What happens to subitems whose filter status is unset?
They're excluded. That's the fail-safe: a subitem only counts once someone has explicitly given it a matching label, so untagged subitems never leak into filtered totals like billable hours.
Are filtered rollups a paid feature?
Yes. Filters are the only paid-gated rollup capability in SubItems Pro, available from the Basic plan ($8/month flat, never per-seat). All 10 rollup column types and all 25 functions are free on every plan, including the free tier.
Can I filter on a different column than the one I'm rolling up?
Yes, and that's the most useful pattern: sum a Time Tracking column filtered by a Billing status, or compute percent-done of the main Status column filtered by a Scope status. The filter restricts which subitems count, and the function decides what's measured.