ClickUp's auto-scheduling only runs forward — you set a start date and dependencies cascade from there. There's no way to go the other direction: enter a project's due date and have ClickUp calculate when each task must start to hit it.

I tried to build this myself with a formula field and hit a wall: the WORKDAY function only accepts positive numbers. WORKDAY(date, 34) counts forward, but -34, 0-34, and (0-34) all return "invalid formula." There's also no other way to output an earlier date (subtraction behaves in milliseconds, and DATE() is a year/month/day constructor). So backward date math is effectively impossible.

Two ways to fix this, either would help:

Let WORKDAY (and date formulas generally) accept negative day counts — the simplest fix.

Add a true backward-scheduling / "as late as possible" option — set a due date, and ClickUp schedules dependent tasks backward from it in working days.

This matters for anyone who plans around fixed deadlines: construction, manufacturing, events, agencies, print/production. Right now we have to calculate start dates in a separate spreadsheet and type them in, which defeats the point of durations + dependencies.