Skip to main content
Dimensions are the axes your data rolls up by: department, entity, account, product, channel, region, and revenue type. This is where admins define the canonical set and map raw source values onto it, so every filter, group-by, and pivot across the platform agrees.

​
Canonical dimensions

A canonical dimension is the single agreed-upon list Novaplan plans and reports against, independent of what any one source calls things. Each source then maps its raw values onto that list, so a department named one way in your HRIS and another way in your ledger still rolls up to the same canonical department.

​
Raw to canonical mapping

1

Define the canonical list

Maintain the canonical values for each dimension. This is the list everything rolls up to.
2

Map raw source values

For each source, map its raw values (a CRM stage, a source department name, a ledger entity) onto the canonical value. Mappings are stored in a registry, not hard-coded, so adding a source value is a configuration change, not an engineering one.
3

Reconcile entity names to IDs

External names (CRM accounts, HiBob employees, ledger vendors) reconcile to canonical IDs through a name-to-ID lookup that tries an exact ID match first, then a mapped name, then a confident fuzzy match. This is what keeps identity stable across syncs.
Identity resolves by ID, not by name. When a source renames a department or vendor, the mapping keeps your hierarchy stable instead of scrambling it. Each data page links back here through a “Manage mappings” entry point.

​
Common questions

It is unmapped. Add the raw-to-canonical mapping for that source, then re-run curation. Until it is mapped, the value will not roll up to a canonical dimension.
Map both raw values onto the same canonical value. They then reconcile to one ID and roll up together everywhere.

​
Troubleshooting

  • A filter or pivot shows a value twice: two raw values are reconciling to two IDs. Map both onto one canonical value.
  • An account is missing from a report: confirm its source-to-canonical account mapping in GL Mapping.
  • Numbers do not reconcile after a rename: the rename should be absorbed by the ID-based mapping. If it is not, the source value is likely mapped by name; correct the mapping.