Create a Fiscal Time Dimension

Select a Semantic Usage of Dimension and a Dimension Type of Fiscal Time to indicate that your entity contains attributes that can be used to analyze and categorize measures defined in other entities by fiscal time period.

Context

A fiscal time dimension organizes and categorizes time periods according to a company's fiscal calendar (or financial year) rather than the standard calendar.

Creating a fiscal time dimension allows you to align your financial reporting and analysis with your company's fiscal periods. Common forms of fiscal periods include:

Quarters - Four fiscal periods per year, each lasting three months

Calendar Weeks - 53 fiscal periods per year, most of which last 7 days

Days - 366 fiscal periods per year, each beginning and ending on the same date.

Procedure

In the table editor or view editor output node side panel, complete the General section as follows:

Property	Description
Business Name	Enter a descriptive name to help users identify the object. This name can be changed at any time.
Technical Name	Displays the name used in scripts and code, synchronized by default with the Business Name. To override the default technical name, enter a new one in the field. Technical names can contain only alphanumeric characters and underscores. Note Once the object is saved, the technical name can no longer be modified.
Package	Select the package to which the object belongs. Packages are used to group related objects in order to facilitate their transport between tenants. Note Once a package is selected, it cannot be changed here. Only a user with the DW Space Administrator role (or equivalent privileges) can modify a package assignment in the Packages editor. For more information, see Creating Packages to Export.
Release State	[views only] Specifies whether the object is released, providing modelers and consumers with confidence that it will remain available in its current form for the foreseeable future. For more information, see Releasing Stable Views for Consumption.
Semantic Usage	Select Dimension. Alternatively, click  (Generate) Generate Semantics to request SAP Datasphere to suggest a Semantic Usage for your entity, identify the uses of your columns, and apply appropriate semantic types to them (see Generate Semantic Information).
Dimension Type	Select Fiscal Time. For standard dimensions, see Create a Dimension to Categorize Data.
Expose for Consumption	[views only] Enable this option to make the view available for consumption outside SAP Datasphere via OData or ODBC/JDBC. This option is not required if you want to expose your data through an analytic model (see Creating an Analytic Model). For an overview about making your data accessible outside SAP Datasphere, see Exposing Data For Consumption.
Run in Analytical Mode	[views only] Enable this option to send the `USE_OLAP_PLAN` hint to the SQL optimizer. This may improve view performance, particularly if a union is performed. It is only available if Expose for Consumption is enabled. For more information, see HINT Details in the SAP HANA Cloud, SAP HANA Database SQL Reference Guide.
Allow Data Transport	[local tables only] [SAP Business Data Cloud formation tenants only] Allow users to include the table data in a package when transporting the table. This feature is intended to allow you to transport limited quantities of data for static and slowly changing dimensions, text entities, and relational datasets. If the local table is created by the import (or if it already exists but is empty), the transported data will be imported to it. See Transporting Local Table Data.
Storage	[local tables only] [read-only] Displays the table storage.
Status	[read-only] Displays the deployment and error status of the object. For more information, see Saving and Deploying Objects.
Deployed On	[read-only] Displays the date and time of the last deployment.
Data Validation Status	[views only] Displays the status of the last data validation. Click the button to open the Data Validation panel (see Validating View Data).
Validated On	[views only] [read-only] Displays the date and time of the last data validation.

Specify your attributes (see Specify Attributes as Keys, Units, and Other Characteristics).

The following attributes commonly appear in fiscal time dimensions:

Attribute	Description	Key
Fiscal Year Variant	[required] Specifies the identifier of the variant to be used, typically using values such as `K4` or `DL` (where `DL` indicates a daily fiscal period). Semantic Type: Fiscal - Year Variant	Yes
Fiscal Year Period	[required] Specifies the identifier of the period in the fiscal year, using values in the form `YYYYPPP`. Semantic Type: Fiscal - Year Period	Yes
Fiscal Period Start	[required] Specifies the date on which the fiscal period starts, and must have a data type of Date or String(8). Semantic Type: Calendar - Date (optional if Date data type)
Fiscal Period End	[required] Specifies the date on which the fiscal period ends and must have a data type of Date or String(8). Semantic Type: Calendar - Date (optional if Date data type)
Fiscal Year	Specifies the identifier of the fiscal year in which the fiscal period occurs, using values in the form `YYYY`. Semantic Type: Fiscal - Year
Fiscal Year Quarter	Specifies the identifier of the quarter in which the fiscal period occurs, using values in the form `YYYYQ`. Semantic Type: Fiscal - Year Quarter
Fiscal Year Week	Specifies the identifier of the week in which the fiscal period occurs, using values in the form `YYYYWW`. Semantic Type: Fiscal - Year Week

Click the Settings button beside the Dimension Type field and complete the following properties:

Property	Description
Fiscal Period Start Column	Select the attribute containing the start dates of your fiscal periods.
Fiscal Period End Column	Select the attribute containing the end dates of your fiscal periods.

Set attributes as keys to indicate that the data they contain can uniquely identify records.
Note
You must set exactly two key attributes for a Fiscal Time Dimension:
- A fiscal year variant identifier.
- A fiscal year period identifier, which must also be set as the representative key (see Compound Keys and Representative Keys).
To set an attribute as a key column, select the checkbox in the Key column or hover over the attribute in the side panel and click  (Menu) Set as Key.
Specify at least one level-based hierarchy with the Fiscal Year Period as the lowest (leaf) level.
For information about creating level-based hierarchies, see Add a Hierarchy to a Dimension.

Note

Parent-child hierarchies are not supported for fiscal time dimensions.
[optional] Create associations to point to other entities (see Create an Association to Define a Semantic Relationship Between Entities).
A Fiscal Time Dimension can point to a:
- Dimension - One attribute in the (source) Dimension must be mapped to each (target) Dimension key column so that all target key columns are mapped.
- Text Entity - One attribute in the (source) Dimension must be mapped to each (target) Text Entity identifier key column.
Complete or consult other sections as appropriate:
- Input Parameters - Create input parameters to require the user to enter a value for use in calculated column, filter, and aggregation nodes (see Create an Input Parameter in a Graphical View).
- Data Persistence - Persist the view data to improve performance (see Persist Data in a Graphical or SQL View).
- Associations - Create associations to other entities (see Create an Association to Define a Semantic Relationship Between Entities).
- Data Access Controls - Add data access controls to apply row-based security and control access to individual rows based on various criteria (see Securing Data with Data Access Controls).
- Business Purpose - Provide a description, purpose, contacts, and tags to help other users understand your entity.
- Dependent Objects - If your entity is used as a source or association target for other entities, then they are listed here (see Review the Objects That Depend on Your Table or View).
Click  (Save) Save to save your entity or click  (Deploy) to save and deploy it immediately.
For more information, see Saving and Deploying Objects.