I'm trying to create a saved search that displays the number of late orders for a year but I'm pretty new to netsuite and their formula system. What format should I use to accomplish some thing like "if ({actualshipdate} > {shipdate}) return 1" in the numeric formula field?

try using Formula (numeric) as the criteria/results field type and a formula like CASE WHEN ({actualshipdate}>{shipdate}) THEN 2 ELSE 0 END