Dimensions are one of the most powerful tools in Sage Intacct. Out of the box, they can already significantly enhance your reporting capabilities, but there are also more complex uses for this feature.
In this article, we’ll be showing you how you can supercharge your dimensions in Sage Intacct through advanced configurations.
What Are Dimensions?
Dimensions are essentially tags or labels that you can attach to transactions. Think of them as similar to adding account codes to transactions.
Dimensions include standard ones like departments, classes, and locations. There are also optional dimensions such as items and projects; the availability of these depends on your Sage Intacct subscription.
The flowchart shows how dimensions can be used to enhance many other areas of Sage Intacct.
Dimension Identification and Hierarchy
Dimension IDs are unique identifiers for each dimension. While the name can be changed, the ID is fixed once set.
Dimensions can be structured in a hierarchy with parent and child dimensions. This helps in organising data and restricting transaction postings to specific levels.
Setting Up Dimensions
In Sage Intacct, click on Reports > Dimensions, followed by the Dimension you want to set up.
On the screen that appears next, click the Add button (along the top of the screen). This will let you fill in some details about the dimension you want to create.
You can also add child dimensions in the same way – just make sure you set the Parent ID as the dimension you want the child dimension to sit under, e.g. if the child dimension is Conferences 2024, it should sit under the parent dimension of Conferences.
Under Status, parent dimensions can be set as non-posting, meaning they are used only for reporting and not for direct transactions.
Custom Fields
Custom fields can be added to dimensions to allow more granular filtering and classification. So in the case of our Conferences example, a custom field like ‘Class Type’ can be used to categorise dimensions into Accommodation, Catering etc, for more precise reporting and grouping.
Other Considerations When Setting Up Dimensions
- Different dimensions have different properties:
- Department dimensions – No entity restrictions and can have users restricted by department.
- Location dimensions – Restricted to entities.
- Other standard dimensions – Can be restricted to entity level. There are no user restrictions on these other standard dimensions.
Dimension Relationships
- Dimensions can be linked to:
- Other dimensions.
- General ledger accounts.
- Entities.
This can help streamline data entry and avoid possible errors when trying to duplicate data across multiple dimensions.
- There are three types of relationships:
- One to one.
- One to many.
- Many to many.
Note: This feature requires a subscription to Platform Services.
Under Reports > Departments, go into the department you want to add a relationship to.
On the set of buttons at the top of your screen, click More actions and under that, Object definitions.
Along the top of the next screen, you’ll see a Relationships feature. Clicking on this will take you to a screen where you can add a new relationship.
On the next screen, choose the object you want to add a relationship with, then click Next.
Clicking Next again will create the relationship. From here, if you go into Departments or Classes, and edit it, you will be able to see the field you just added due to the relationship.
Dimensions and Reporting
Dimension groups are collections of dimensions that can be used to filter and structure data in reports.
Groups can be set up for any dimension. Using the group type ‘all members’ means that every time a new class is added to the system, it will be automatically added to the group if it meets the requirements.
To add a new group, go into Reports > Setup > Dimension Groups.
Once you’ve clicked into the area you want to add a new group to, click Add at the top of your screen. This will take you to a screen where you can add the information you need – including what filters you want to add to your group.
Dimension groups can also be integrated into account groups, allowing for complex data filtering and reporting structures.
To do this, edit an account group in Sage Intacct. On the next screen, scroll down the Report Filters section. By default, all filters will be turned off.
Dimension Structures
Dimension structures are used for building complex reports with the aid of information already available in dimensions (hence the types of reports they’re used most for being called ‘dimension-based’ reports).
The process of setting up a dimension structure is similar to setting up an account group, with wording like ‘Display on report as’ and ‘Display on total line as’.
To set up a dimension, go into Reports > Dimension structures, then click on the dimension you want to add a dimension structure to.
After clicking Edit, the next screen will let you specify which groups you want to include in the dimension structure you’re creating.
These changes will be automatically reflected in all financial reports that use that structure.
Final Tips
- Ensure that Customer and Supplier dimensions are enabled in Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable – This makes sure that the customer or supplier dimension gets sent through to the general ledger.
- Plan your dimensions based on your reporting needs.
- Remember the dimension limitations.
- Use Terminology to change the names of your dimensions.
- Enable Dimension Counts to automate dimension counts and automatically collect data – Useful for counting large amounts of customers.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I put my statistical accounts in dimension groups? Yes – you can include anything that you do with your normal financials.
- What can I do with a dimension I no longer need? You should make that dimension inactive; in doing so, you’ll no longer be able to see it in the system, but reports with that dimension attached will still include its data.
- Does this work for user-defined dimensions? Yes! Whatever you do with any of your standard dimensions as far as dimension groups and reporting go will also work with user-defined dimensions.
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