The Formula Tester is a powerful development tool that allows you to evaluate SchemeServe formulas against a specific case or policy. It enables you to test formulas independently, making it easier to build and troubleshoot rating files, rules, APIs, document templates and email templates.

Rather than making changes to your scheme and repeatedly running quotations, you can validate formulas instantly using real policy data.

Why Use the Formula Tester?

The Formula Tester helps you:

• Validate formula syntax before using it.
• Test system IDs and question references.
• Check returned values from policies or quotes.
• Troubleshoot unexpected results.
• Test calculations without affecting the policy.
• Build confidence before adding formulas to Rating, Rules or APIs.

It is one of the most useful tools available when developing within SchemeServe.

Accessing the Formula Tester

Navigate to the Formula Tester in the bottom right of a policy.

If the case contains multiple records (for example, MTAs or renewals), select the appropriate policy record from the dropdown list.

The Formula Tester evaluates formulas using the data from the selected record.

Tip: Use a representative test case containing realistic data to ensure accurate results.

Understanding the Formula Tester

The Formula Tester consists of several sections.

Testing Your First Formula

To return the policy inception date, enter:

[Policy.InceptionDate]

Select Run.

The result will display something similar to:

08/07/2026 00:00:00

Formatting Results

Sometimes you'll want to display the returned value differently.

For example, to remove the time from a date:

[Policy.InceptionDate].ToString("dd/MM/yyyy")

Result:

08/07/2026

Formatting values in the Formula Tester is useful when building APIs, documents or email templates.

Example Formulas

Return Today's Date

Today()

Example Result

17/07/2026

Add One Year to a Date

[Policy.InceptionDate].AddYears(1)

Calculate the Policy Length

([Policy.ExpiryDate]-[Policy.InceptionDate]).Days

Simple IF Statement

IF([Premium]>500,"High Premium","Standard Premium")

Round a Number

ROUND([Premium],2)

Convert Text to Upper Case

[CustomerSurname].ToUpper()

Join Two Values Together

[CustomerFirstName] + " " + [CustomerSurname]

Working with System IDs

System IDs allow you to retrieve information already stored within the current policy.

Common examples include:

You can also reference answers from questions within your scheme using their question names.

Note: The available system IDs depend on the context in which the formula is being used.

Sum vs Loop

The Formula Tester provides two evaluation modes.

Sum

This is the default option and should be used for most formulas.

It evaluates the formula once and returns a single result.

Loop

Loop evaluates the formula against each repeated item individually.

This is useful when working with MultiPage data, such as multiple vehicles or properties, where you need to inspect the result for each individual record.

New Rating vs Old Rating

Most schemes should use New Rating.

The Old Rating option is available for legacy schemes that still use the previous rating engine.

Unless advised otherwise, always leave New Rating selected.

Executions

The Executions field determines how many times the formula is evaluated.

For normal testing, leave this as:

1

Increasing this value can be useful when performance testing complex formulas.

Understanding the Results

After selecting Run, the Formula Tester displays:

• The value returned by the formula.
• The execution time.
• Any syntax or runtime errors.

For example:

Result:
08/07/2026

If the formula cannot be evaluated, an error message will be displayed instead.

Common Errors

Missing Bracket

Formula:

[Policy.InceptionDate].ToString("dd/MM/yyyy"

Result:

SyntaxError: Unexpected end of file

Cause

A closing bracket or quotation mark is missing.

Correct Formula

[Policy.InceptionDate].ToString("dd/MM/yyyy")

Unknown Property

Formula

[Policy.Inception]

Result

Unknown property

Cause

The system ID does not exist or has been misspelled.

Invalid Question Name

Formula

[VehicleColour]

Result

Question not found

Cause

The referenced question does not exist within the selected scheme.

Object Reference Not Set

Formula

[Policy.RenewalDate].ToString("dd/MM/yyyy")

Result

Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

Cause

The value being formatted is empty (null).

Type Mismatch

Formula

[Premium] + "ABC"

Result

Cannot convert String to Decimal

Cause

A number is being combined with text without converting the data type.

Unknown Function

Formula

DATEFORMAT([Policy.InceptionDate])

Result

Unknown function 'DATEFORMAT'

Cause

The function is not supported by the SchemeServe formula language.

Troubleshooting Tips

If your formula doesn't return the expected result:

• Check the spelling of system IDs and question names.
• Ensure all opening brackets have matching closing brackets.
• Verify all quotation marks are closed.
• Confirm the selected case contains the required data.
• Test individual parts of complex formulas before combining them.
• Check that values exist before applying methods such as .ToString().
• Use the Formula Tester to validate each formula before adding it to a Rating file, Rule or API.

Best Practices

• Test formulas before using them elsewhere in SchemeServe.
• Use representative test cases containing realistic data.
• Start with simple formulas before building more complex expressions.
• Build complex formulas incrementally to make troubleshooting easier.
• Use meaningful question names to simplify formula writing.
• Validate dynamic values before inserting them into API requests.
• Re-test formulas whenever related questions or business logic change.