5.3 Deep Dive: Attributes and Data Model

Attributes are custom data fields that store important information (such as contract dates, risk scores, or budget values) and enable reporting, reminders, and conditional automations. They allow you to customize and expand the Opstream data model to match your organization’s unique requirements.

5.3.1 Understanding Attributes

You can add and manage attributes for Vendors, Software, and Requests in Opstream. Attributes are custom data fields that store important information (such as contract dates, risk scores, or budget values) and enable reporting, reminders, and automations.

Every organization tracks different data per vendor, software, and request. Attributes are how you customize the Opstream data model to match your specific needs.

5.3.2 What Attributes Enable

• They can be used to track key details across procurement, legal, security, and operations.

• They can trigger actions (like reminders or automated requests).

• They can sync data from other systems, such as your ERP, e-signature platform, or risk management tool.

• They can calculate values automatically (for example, total contract value per year).

• They can be used as conditions in approval flows, so specific steps or approvers are triggered only when certain attribute values are met.

  

5.3.3 How to Create an Attribute

• Go to the Admin menu ▸ Attributes.

• From there, you can create new attributes, edit existing ones, and decide which objects (Vendors, Software, or Requests) each attribute applies to.

You can also add attributes from Vendor and Software menus.

5.3.4 How Attribute Values Are Set

Attributes can be created and populated using four primary methods, which dictate how their values are generated and maintained:

Method	Source	Description
Manual	Admin/User	The value is entered directly by an Admin or user into the Vendor, Software, or Request record.
Automated	Request Flow Answers	The value is automatically mapped from answers provided in a Request, Approver Checklist, or Vendor Questionnaire during a workflow. For example, mapping a vendor’s response to the NDA On File attribute.
Mirrored (Data Source)	Integrated Systems	The value is read-only and synchronized (mirrored) from a connected external system like NetSuite or Workday. These values are updated on each sync to keep information current.
Computed	Formula	The value is automatically calculated based on an arithmetic formula applied to other existing Numeric or Date attributes (e.g., calculating Negotiated Savings or Weighted Vendor Score).

Data Type Matching: To ensure successful data mapping from schemas, the attribute data type (e.g., Date, Numeric) must match the corresponding Q-Card type (e.g., Date Picker, Numeric Field).

5.3.5 Calculating Values Automatically

Computed attributes automatically calculate values based on formulas applied to other attributes. They are only available for Numeric Field attribute types.

With computed attributes you can:

• Build calculations using operators: add, subtract, multiply, divide (and chain multiple operators together).

• Reference other attributes in the system.

• Use constant values in your formulas.

• Calculate the number of months between two Date attributes (for example, contract start date → contract end date).

  

Example use cases:

Computed Attribute	How It’s Configured	Example Use Case
Contract Term (Months)	Contract End Date – Contract Start Date	A 2-year contract entered Jan 2024 → Dec 2025 = 24 months. Used to normalize spend.
Monthly Cost	TCV ÷ Contract Term	Contract value $120,000 ÷ 24 months = $5,000/month. Helps Finance forecast monthly spend.
Annualized Contract Value	(Total Contract Value ÷ Contract Term) × 12	Same $120,000 ÷ 24 × 12 = $60,000/year. Used to compare contracts of different lengths.
Negotiated Savings	Initial Quote – Final TCV	Vendor quote $150,000; final contract signed $120,000 → $30,000 savings. Shows Finance & Procurement negotiation impact.
Annualized Savings	(Negotiated Savings ÷ Contract Term) × 12	$30,000 savings on a 24-month term → $15,000 annualized savings. Allows CFO to see yearly budget benefit.
Vendor Risk Score	(Compliance Score × 0.5) + (Security Score × 0.3) + (Business Criticality × 0.2)	One roll-up score for prioritization

Once configured, a computed attribute is:

• Labeled as “Computed” in the Attributes table.

• Editable at any time if you need to adjust the formula.

  

5.3.5a Setting a non-numeric value from an answer

Answers can now populate non-numeric attributes (text, dropdown, radio, and multiple-choice), not just numeric ones. This is configured in the Schema Editor → Automation tab, where you map a Requester, Approver, or Vendor answer onto an attribute so the attribute’s value is set automatically.

To set it up: open a request type in the builder (Admin → Schema Editor → open a schema version) and select the Automation tab. Choose the attribute group on the left — Vendor, Request, or Software Attributes — and click the + next to the attribute you want to fill. In the Select Condition dialog, pick the source answer (Requester, Approver, or Vendor) and the question; only questions whose type matches the attribute are listed. Use Add alternative source for fallbacks — the first available source wins.

5.3.5b Assigning a category conditionally (turning numbers into text values)

Single-select, multiple-choice, and dropdown attributes have an Assign Conditionally toggle in their Options panel (Admin → Attributes → open the attribute). Turn it on to select an option automatically based on the value of another numeric attribute — for example, turning a risk score into a risk tier.

With the toggle on, each option gets an IF rule: a Source attribute, an Operator (Greater than, Greater than or equal, Less than, Less than or equal, or Equal to), and a value. Opstream selects the option whose condition the source number matches, and the first matching option in list order wins — so order options from most-specific to least.

Example — risk tier: create a numeric Risk Score attribute, then a dropdown Risk Tier with options High, Medium, and Low. Set High when Risk Score is greater than or equal to 70, Medium when greater than or equal to 40, and Low when less than 40, listed High, then Medium, then Low. Risk Tier then updates automatically as the score changes.

5.3.6 Pulling Values from External Systems

Data Source Attributes are powerful because they allow you to pull values directly from your connected integrations, ensuring requesters and Admins are using authoritative, up-to-date information from external systems.

• Integration and Consistency: Data Source Q-Cards enable pulling data about contacts, departments, or employees from ERP systems like NetSuite or Workday. For instance, the attributes Currency or Subsidiary can be sourced directly from NetSuite to ensure financial data aligns with ERP currency codes and legal entities.

• Reduced Duplication: Using Data Source cards for fields like Department Owner or Vendor Contact helps keep data synced across systems and reduces duplication.

5.3.7 Managing and Updating Attributes

1. Configuration Edits: Once configured, you can perform administrative actions on attributes to adjust their name, description or values. For example, a Computed Attribute can be edited at any time if you need to adjust the calculation formula.

2. Editing Values on Records: To update the value of an attribute on a live record (Vendor or Software), Admins can click the pencil (✏) icon next to the attribute in the detailed view.

3. Workflow Updates: When mapping data from a request, Admins define how new answers update existing attribute values. This includes choosing either to Replace current value (the default) or to Add/Subtract value.

4. Email and UI Visibility Toggle: Admins can toggle Show in UI & Email, recommended for key attributes. This ensures that important values (including computed attributes like Annualized Contract Value) are immediately visible in approval notification emails, allowing approvers to see crucial metrics at a glance.

   

5.3.8 Recommended Starting Attributes

The following attributes are recommended as a starting point for your organization. Adapt the list to your specific needs.

Category	Attribute Name	Data Type	Mapping Source	Computation	Notes
Request	Term Length (Mos)	Number		Calculate Months from Range (Contract Start Date, Contract End Date)	For tracking savings
Request	Total Contract Value	Number / Currency	Approver Q-Card		For tracking savings
Request	Annual Contract Value	Number / Currency		(Total Contract Value / Term Length Mos) * 12	For tracking savings
Request	Initial Cost	Number / Currency	Approver Q-Card		For tracking savings
Request	Total Savings	Number / Currency		Initial Cost - Total Contract Value	For tracking savings
Request	Annualized Savings	Number / Currency		(Total Savings / Term Length Mos) * 12	For tracking savings
Request	Cost Avoidance	Number / Currency	Approver Q-Card		For tracking savings
Request	Negotiated Terms	Text	Approver Q-Card
Software	Contract Start Date	Date Picker	Approver Q-Card
Software	Contract End Date	Date Picker	Approver Q-Card
Software	Term Length (Mos)	Number		Calculate Months from Range (Contract Start Date, Contract End Date)
Software	Total Contract Value	Number / Currency	Approver Q-Card
Software	Annual Contract Value	Number / Currency		(Total Contract Value / Term Length Mos) * 12
Software	Auto Renew	Multi-choice	Approver Q-Card
Software	Notification Days to Cancel	Number	Approver Q-Card		e.g. 30/60/90
Software	Contract Payment Frequency	Multi-choice	Approver Q-Card
Software	Contract Units	Multi-choice	Approver Q-Card
Software	Payment Net Terms	Number	Approver Q-Card
Software	Owner	User Selector	Requester Q-Card
Software	Owning Department	Department Selector	Requester Q-Card
Software	Cost Center Owner	Approver Selector	Requester Q-Card
Vendor	Owner	User Selector	Requester Q-Card
Vendor	Owning Department	Department Selector	Requester Q-Card
Vendor	Vendor Risk Score	Dropdown	Approver Q-Card
Vendor	Primary Address	Text	Vendor Q-Card