One star for the ledger: lines, balances, tags

Two facts, five dimensions. Journal lines carry the proof, derived balances carry the speed, and the worktag dimension carries everything the short chart of accounts cannot say. Every page in the module is a grouping over this star.

RuleKeep the line grain and derive the balances: every total must be recomputable from journal lines, and every worktag is its own keyed, versioned column.

Neverstore balances you cannot rebuild from lines. A balance with no lines beneath it is the delivered wall this module exists to remove.

Two red facts, five teal dimensions. Lines carry the proof; balances carry the speed; the worktag dimension carries everything the account cannot say.

◆ The two factsproof and speed, kept honestly.

Fact	Grain	Carries
fct_journal_line	one row per debit or credit	Amount, account, every worktag, journal keys; the grain reconciliations end at.
fct_ledger_balance	account by worktags by period	Derived from the lines, kept for speed, rebuildable at any time.

The balance fact is a convenience, never a source: it rebuilds from the lines on demand, which is what makes the monthly proof possible and the drill bottomless.

◆ The shared dimensionsthe same keys the rest of the catalog joins.

Dimension	Role here
dim_account	The deliberately short chart; the what.
dim_worktag	Cost center, region, project, and the rest, versioned with validity dates.
dim_company	Legal entities; the consolidation key.
dim_journal	Source, status, and dates; the close control reads it.
dim_date	The same calendar the payroll accrual counts working days on.

The cost center worktag is the same conformed key the payroll cost star costs against, which is why the labor rows on the trial balance tie to payroll to the cent instead of approximately.

Use case

Problem

Financial reporting sits on balances that cannot reach their lines, worktags that live only inside the tool, and totals other modules cannot verify.

What we build

A two-fact GL star on the catalog’s shared dimensions: the line grain with worktags as keyed columns, balances derived and rebuildable, joined to payroll’s keys.

What you get

A ledger model where every total recomputes from lines, every pivot ties, the close control is a grouping, and payroll agrees with finance by construction.

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Terms on this page

GL: General ledger, the books this module lands and proves.
line grain: One row per debit or credit; the level proofs live at.
derived balance: A speed table rebuilt from lines, never trusted alone.
keyed worktag: A tag as a real column with a key, not a text string.
conformed key: The same cost center key payroll and finance both join.
versioned dimension: Worktags kept with validity dates so history reports true.