What Is the Database Section?

Financial models need historical data as their foundation. That data typically lives in an external file -- an Excel workbook, a CSV export from an ERP system, or a structured data extract. The Database section tells the model engine how to read that external data by mapping column titles in your data file to the semantic roles the model understands.

Think of it as a translation layer: your data file might call a column "Descricao da Conta" while the model engine expects "Account Description." The Database section bridges that gap.

The Nine Column Mappings

Each mapping corresponds to a specific role that the model engine needs to locate in your data file. The engine searches for these column titles in the header row of the imported data.

Record

A sequential row identifier. The model uses this to track individual data records and maintain import order. In most data exports, this is simply a row number or record ID.

Source

Identifies which data source set a record belongs to (e.g., "Budget", "Forecast", "Actual"). This column links to the Sources section of the specification. If your data file contains records from multiple sources, this column tells the engine how to separate them.

Include

A flag column (typically "Yes"/"No" or "1"/"0") that determines whether a record should be included in the model. This provides a simple way to filter data without deleting rows from the source file.

Period

The time period a record belongs to (e.g., "2024", "Q1 2025", "Jan-2024"). This column links to the Periods section of the specification. The values must match the period identifiers defined there.

Unit

The business unit a record is associated with. This column links to the Business Units section. For single-entity models, every record typically has the same unit value.

Account Code

The hierarchical account code (e.g., "3.01.01") that identifies which account a record belongs to. This is the primary key that links imported data to the chart of accounts defined in the Accounts section.

Account Description

A human-readable description of the account. While the model primarily relies on Account Code for matching, the description provides context and is used for labeling in reports.

Value

The monetary or numeric value for the record. This is the core data point -- the actual financial figure being imported into the model.

Value Analysis

An auxiliary value column used for analytical breakdowns, variance tracking, or supplementary calculations. Not all data files include this column; when absent, it can be left unmapped.

Language-Dependent Defaults

When you first open the Database section, the column titles are pre-populated with defaults that match the language selected in General Configuration. For example:

• In English, the Period column defaults to "Period" and Account Code defaults to "Account Code."
• In Portuguese, the same columns default to "Periodo" and "Codigo da Conta."

These defaults match the standard export format of common accounting systems in each language. If your data file uses these standard names, you do not need to change anything.

The Reset Button

If you have customized the column mappings and want to return to the language-dependent defaults, use the Reset button. This overwrites all nine mappings with the default values for the currently selected language.

Caution: Reset is not undoable. If you have carefully configured custom mappings, note them down before resetting.

When to Customize

Most users will not need to change the default mappings. Customization is necessary when:

• Your data file uses non-standard column names. For example, if your ERP exports "Conta" instead of "Codigo da Conta" for account codes, update the Account Code mapping.
• Your data file is in a different language than the model. If you are building a Portuguese-language model but importing data from an English-language system, adjust the mappings to match the English column headers in the data file.
• Your data file uses abbreviated or coded headers. Some systems export columns with short codes (e.g., "ACCT_CD" instead of "Account Code"). Map these to the correct semantic roles.
• You have extra or reordered columns. The engine searches by column title, not position, so column order does not matter. But the titles must match exactly.

Best Practices

1. Check your data file headers first. Open your data file and note the exact column titles before configuring this section.
2. Match titles exactly. The mapping is case-sensitive and whitespace-sensitive. "Account Code" is not the same as "account code" or "Account Code" (double space).
3. Set the language before configuring Database. If you change the language later, the defaults will shift, which can overwrite your custom mappings.