dlrs in Salesforce | Lookup Rollups | SalesforceTutorial

Dlrs is a community-maintained Salesforce package for rollups across lookup relationships. Use it when a standard roll-up summary field is not available, but a parent record still needs a stored count, sum, minimum, maximum, average, or filtered total from child records.

What is dlrs in Salesforce?

DLRS means Declarative Lookup Rollup Summaries. It lets admins define rollup metadata instead of writing a new Apex trigger for every lookup relationship. A rollup definition identifies the parent object, child object, lookup field, aggregate field, operation, result field, criteria, and calculation mode.

Salesforce standard roll-up summary fields are designed for supported master-detail relationships. For lookup relationships, teams usually evaluate Salesforce Flow automation, custom Apex, an AppExchange package, or dlrs. In enterprise orgs, the choice depends on data volume, sharing, deployment control, and how quickly the parent value must update.

When should you use dlrs?

Use dlrs when the rule is stable, the relationship is lookup-based, and admins need to maintain the calculation without editing code. Do not use it for every reporting need. If users only need the value in a report, a report summary may be enough. If the value drives validation rules, routing, segmentation, approvals, or integrations, a stored parent field can be justified.

Salesforce dlrs setup checklist

• Parent object: the object that receives the value, such as Account.
• Child object: the object being counted or summarized, such as Opportunity.
• Relationship field: the lookup field on the child, such as AccountId.
• Aggregate field: the child field used in the calculation. Use Id for counts.
• Result field: the parent field that stores the value. Create it before configuration.
• Criteria: the filter that includes or excludes child records.

Declarative lookup rollup summaries fields

Declarative lookup rollup summaries still require the same thinking as an aggregate SOQL query. Decide which child records qualify, how to group them by parent, which aggregate operation to run, and where to write the result.

Dlrs salesforce calculation modes

The current package documentation describes Realtime, Watch for Changes and Process Later, Invocable by Automation, and Developer modes. Older versions may use labels such as Scheduled or Process Builder. Record the package version and calculation mode in your release notes.

How to configure a dlrs rollup safely

1. Create the parent result field and set field-level security.
2. Write the rollup rule in plain language before using the package UI.
3. Configure the parent object, child object, relationship field, aggregate field, operation, and criteria in a sandbox.
4. Select a calculation mode after reviewing data volume and stale-data tolerance.
5. Deploy any required child trigger only after checking existing triggers and flows.
6. Run a full recalculation after setup, data migration, criteria changes, or result field changes.
7. Test insert, update, delete, undelete, lookup reassignment, bulk import, and restricted-user access.

Example: sum closed won opportunities on Account

A common salesforce dlrs use case stores total closed-won opportunity amount on Account. Configure parent object Account, child object Opportunity, relationship field AccountId, aggregate field Amount, operation Sum, result field Closed_Won_Amount__c, and criteria IsWon = true.

Example: count open cases on Account

Another fit for declarative lookup rollup summaries is counting open cases. Use child object Case, relationship field AccountId, aggregate field Id, operation Count, and criteria IsClosed = false. Test open-to-closed, closed-to-open, delete, undelete, and account reassignment.

DLRS vs Flow vs Apex: which option should you choose?

Apex alternative for a lookup rollup

This bulk-safe Apex pattern shows what dlrs helps avoid writing repeatedly. It uses one aggregate SOQL query and one DML update list. Replace Closed_Won_Amount__c with your target field.

public with sharing class AccountOpportunityRollupService {
    public static void rollupClosedWonAmount(Set<Id> accountIds) {
        if (accountIds == null || accountIds.isEmpty()) return;
        Map<Id, Decimal> totals = new Map<Id, Decimal>();
        for (AggregateResult row : [
            SELECT AccountId accountId, SUM(Amount) totalAmount
            FROM Opportunity
            WHERE AccountId IN :accountIds AND IsWon = true
            GROUP BY AccountId
        ]) {
            totals.put((Id) row.get('accountId'), (Decimal) row.get('totalAmount'));
        }
        List<Account> updates = new List<Account>();
        for (Id accountId : accountIds) {
            updates.add(new Account(Id = accountId, Closed_Won_Amount__c = totals.containsKey(accountId) ? totals.get(accountId) : 0));
        }
        update updates;
    }
}

Custom Apex must include tests for insert, update, delete, undelete, and parent lookup changes. Salesforce requires Apex tests to pass and code coverage requirements to be met for production deployment.

Security and performance best practices for dlrs

• Set field-level security on the parent result field because a stored value can reveal child-record information.
• Choose user-based or system-style calculation deliberately in private data models.
• Use Realtime carefully because it shares transaction limits with other automation.
• Use delayed processing for large imports or integration loads.
• Monitor rollup logs, scheduled jobs, and package upgrades.

Common errors with DLRS and how to troubleshoot them

Official Salesforce references for rollup design

DLRS is a community-maintained package, not a native Salesforce feature. For package behavior, review DLRS Documentation and the DLRS GitHub repository. For platform behavior, use Salesforce documentation:

• Salesforce Help: Roll-Up Summary Field
• Salesforce Help: Considerations for Object Relationships
• Salesforce Developer Docs: SOQL Aggregate Functions
• Salesforce Developer Docs: Trigger and Bulk Request Best Practices
• Salesforce Developer Docs: Testing and Code Coverage

For related topics, see SOQL query examples, Salesforce reports and dashboards, Salesforce Flow automation, and Data Loader bulk import planning.

Frequently Asked Questions