During a recent collaboration session with a customer, our team demonstrated how Dodeca can be leveraged to create a highly flexible and user-friendly solution for managing account-level supporting detail, tailored specifically to customer requirements. The discussion and walkthrough provided a great example of how Dodeca enables business users to work efficiently with Essbase data, integrating it with SQL data.
The core of the solution centers on dynamically generating a list of accounts based on a predefined set or hierarchy—either specific members, children, or level-0 descendants. This list is hardcoded via a named range, enabling predictable data entry workflows. Users also have the flexibility to supplement this list using an optional account selector, which allows for quick inclusion of additional accounts as needed.
Once accounts are selected, Dodeca builds out a view that uses Dodeca SQL grouping. This creates a clean, organized structure where accounts with supporting detail are displayed as bold parent rows that can be expanded to show underlying line items. Each row is uniquely identified using a grid mechanism, allowing for duplicate or missing descriptions without compromising database integrity.
A particularly innovative aspect of this implementation is how Dodeca handles new and updated records. When users enter data, the application uses Workbook Scripting to generate a unique identifier (UUID) for each new entry. These entries are stored temporarily in the view and only committed to the database upon saving. This logic is managed through a SQL outer-join that ensures even accounts with no existing supporting detail have a placeholder row ready—keeping the experience seamless for the user.
On saving, the system updates the database and synchronizes data with Essbase via a send range. This enables live updates to the cube without requiring users to interact directly with Essbase. Additional controls, such as row-level formulas and protected cells, ensure that subtotaling and calculations are automatically maintained while protecting key logic from accidental edits.
We discussed several enhancements required for production readiness. These include cell protection, member list filtering (to avoid sending data to dynamic members), and more granular audit capabilities. For example, tracking changes to every record over time may require an expanded schema or additional metadata to support compliance and internal controls.
The implementation was built using PostgreSQL to align with the customer’s environment. The data model itself is straightforward—storing UUID, POV, account, description, and 12 months of data, along with audit columns. This makes deployment and integration simple, while maintaining flexibility for future enhancements.
This proof-of-concept showcased Dodeca’s strengths in bridging the gap between structured planning tools and user-friendly Excel interfaces. With a little configuration, organizations can empower business users to manage their own account-level data entry while ensuring governance, consistency, and real-time integration with Essbase.
I’m always eager to work with new and existing customers on interesting use cases for Dodeca. If you’re interested in implementing something similar or exploring how Dodeca can streamline your financial workflows, reach out to our team—we’d be happy to show you what’s possible and help you get started.
