> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://support.pears.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://support.pears.io/reflect/quarterly-efforts/auto-calculate-contacts.md).

# Auto Calculate Quarterly Effort Contacts

Automatically calculate quarterly effort contact totals and volunteer hours from program activity and direct contact data in PEARS.

The Auto Calculate feature populates the Contacts section and Volunteer Hours of a quarterly effort record by pulling data from your program activities and direct contacts for the corresponding quarter.

{% hint style="warning" %}
**NOTE:** Report program activity and direct contact data from the corresponding quarter before running the auto-calculation.
{% endhint %}

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

#### Navigate to Quarterly Efforts

From the PEARS homepage, hover over the **Reflect** menu and click **Quarterly Efforts**.
{% endstep %}

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#### Open the record

Click the quarterly effort record you want to update.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Go to Effort & Contacts

Click the **Effort & Contacts** button to view the details page.
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{% step %}

#### Auto-calculate contacts

Scroll to the **Contacts** section and click **Auto-Calculate Contacts** to compute the quarterly totals.
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{% step %}

#### Save

Click **Save and Continue** to proceed to the next section, or **Save** to store your changes.
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## What Gets Included

The auto-calculation includes:

* Both complete and incomplete program activity records within the quarter
* Only sessions falling within the applicable quarter
* Direct contacts with date ranges within the quarter
* **Volunteer Hours** — Total volunteer hours summed from applicable program activities for the quarter
* Data created by the current user only (collaborator records are excluded)

{% hint style="warning" %}
**NOTE:** "Virtual, self-directed & interactive" program activities are excluded from calculations. A "contact" represents one interaction with a person. Age is not reported in quarterly effort records.
{% endhint %}