Dimensions & Analytics

Dimensions are custom analysis axes that let you slice and dice financial data in multiple ways beyond the standard chart of accounts. They enable multi-dimensional reporting so you can answer questions like "How much revenue came from the Engineering department in the West region on Project Alpha?"

---

Why Dimensions Matter

Without dimensions:

• Revenue: $1,000,000
• Where did it come from? Which department? Which region? Which project? (Unknown)

With dimensions:

• Revenue: $1,000,000
  • By Department: Engineering ($400K), Sales ($350K), Marketing ($250K)
  • By Location: US ($600K), EU ($300K), APAC ($100K)
  • By Project: Project Alpha ($500K), Project Beta ($300K), Other ($200K)
  • By Business Segment: B2B ($700K), B2C ($300K)

Another example:

• Salary Expense: $100,000
  • Department: Engineering -- $60,000
  • Department: Sales -- $40,000
• Full visibility across any combination of dimensions

Key Benefits

1. Multi-dimensional analysis -- analyze by any combination of dimensions
2. Hierarchical structure -- parent/child relationships (USA > West > California)
3. Cross-entity flexibility -- shared or entity-specific dimension values
4. Report flexibility -- slice data multiple ways without restructuring your chart of accounts
5. Complete audit trail -- track all dimension changes

---

Architecture Overview

Dimensions use two levels of the Master + Entity Override pattern:

Dimension Types (Organization-wide)
  department, project, location, cost_center
        |
        v
Dimension Values (Under each type)
  department: ENG, SALES, MKT, HR, FIN
  location: USA > West > California > Los Angeles
  project: PROJ-001, PROJ-002, ...
        |
        v
Entity-Specific Overrides (Sparse)
  Entity 9 hides: department "HR" (not applicable)
  Entity 13 renames: "Sales" to "Revenue Operations"
  Entity 10 adds: "APAC" location (entity-only)
        |
        v
Effective Views (What each entity sees)
  Resolved types and values per entity

---

Dimension Types

Dimension types define the categories of analysis available in your organization.

Standard Dimension Types

Dimension Type Properties

Applies-To Options

Each dimension type specifies which record types it can be assigned to. For example, "department" might apply to accounts and transactions, while "location" applies to customers and vendors.

Naming Rules

• Must be lowercase
• No spaces (use underscores)
• Alphanumeric characters only
• Examples: department, cost_center, product_line

---

Dimension Values

Dimension values are the specific entries within each dimension type.

Value Properties

---

Hierarchical Dimensions

Dimensions support parent/child relationships for structured analysis:

Example: Location Hierarchy

Location (hierarchy_depth: 3)
|-- USA (Level 1)
|   |-- West (Level 2)
|   |   |-- California (Level 3)
|   |   +-- Oregon (Level 3)
|   +-- East (Level 2)
|       +-- New York (Level 3)
+-- Europe (Level 1)
    |-- UK (Level 2)
    +-- Germany (Level 2)

Example: Department Hierarchy

Department (hierarchy_depth: 3)
|-- Technology Division (Level 1)
|   |-- Engineering (Level 2)
|   |   +-- Frontend Team (Level 3)
|   +-- IT Operations (Level 2)
+-- Business Division (Level 1)
    |-- Sales (Level 2)
    +-- Marketing (Level 2)

Auto-Calculated Fields

When you create a hierarchical value with a parent code:

• Level is automatically determined from the parent's level
• Full path is automatically built (e.g., USA/WEST/CA)

Hierarchy Rules

1. Parent must exist -- cannot reference a non-existent parent code
2. Depth limit -- respects the dimension type's maximum hierarchy depth (1-5)
3. No circular references -- A cannot be parent of B if B is parent of A
4. Full path auto-calculated -- no manual entry needed

---

Entity-Specific Overrides

Each entity can customize dimension types and values without affecting other entities:

Hiding a Value

Entity 9 can hide the "HR" department dimension if it's not applicable to that entity. Other entities continue to see it.

Renaming a Value

Entity 13 can see "Revenue Operations" instead of "Sales" for the same dimension value code. Other entities see the master name.

Entity-Only Values

Entity 10 can add an "APAC" location that only appears for that entity. No override records needed for other entities.

---

Bulk Import

Import dimension types and values from templates, legacy systems, or CSV files.

Dimension Type Import

Import multiple dimension types at once with validation:

• Field validation (name format, applies-to values, hierarchy depth)
• Duplicate detection by name
• Industry templates for common setups (manufacturing, professional services, etc.)

Dimension Value Import

Import dimension values with hierarchy support:

• Parent-child relationships resolved automatically
• Level and full path calculated during import
• Duplicate detection by code within type

Dimension Hierarchy Import

Import complete hierarchies including parent-child relationships in a single operation.

Import Options

---

Transaction Dimensions

Dimensions can be assigned at the transaction line level for granular financial analysis.

How It Works

When posting a transaction (invoice, journal entry, bill), each line can carry dimension assignments:

• Line 1: Revenue $5,000 -- Department: Engineering, Project: Alpha
• Line 2: Revenue $3,000 -- Department: Sales, Project: Beta

This enables reports like:

• "Total revenue by department and project"
• "All expenses for Project Alpha across all accounts"
• "Cost center P&L for Q1"

Required vs. Optional Dimensions

Dimension types marked as "required" must be specified on applicable transaction lines. Optional dimensions can be added for additional analysis when available.

---

Budget Dimensions

Dimensions integrate with the budgeting system to enable dimensional budget tracking:

• Set budgets by department, project, or cost center
• Track actual vs. budget by any dimension combination
• Alert when spending exceeds dimensional budgets

---

Approval Workflows

---

Current Statistics

A typical organization setup includes:

• 4 master dimension types (department, project, location, cost center)
• 90+ dimension values stored once at the master level
• Entity-specific overrides only where customization is needed
• Full visibility across all entities through effective views