OK, got it now, thanks! I confirmed everything you said.

My takeaway is that instead of using global properties as a single property at the top level,

I should create a top-level properties drawer, which will have immediate usability.

In the case of my example that would be:

C-u C-c C-x d HOURLY_RATE <enter> 150 <enter>

and then HOURLY_RATE is immediately usable in my table, without even having to save the file.

On Mon, Oct 17, 2022 at 11:03 PM Ihor Radchenko <yantar92@posteo.net> wrote:

Jeff Trull <edaskel@att.net> writes:

> Yes, I can make it work now - but only after reloading it at least one time
> from disk.
>
> When I type it in for the first time, it doesn't work. I have to save, then
> (revert-buffer).
> ...
> Also, if you change the value (say, from 150 to 210) the old value persists
> until you
> reload the file. Even saving the file doesn't help.

It is expected and documented.
See 17.8 Summary of In-Buffer Settings section of the manual.
Basically, you need to press C-c C-c on the property line to make Org
refresh the settings.

Alternatively, you can use document property drawer. It is updated
automatically on the latest development version of Org.

--
Ihor Radchenko // yantar92,
Org mode contributor,
Learn more about Org mode at <https://orgmode.org/>.
Support Org development at <https://liberapay.com/org-mode>,
or support my work at <https://liberapay.com/yantar92>