Defining Data Types in the Data Model

In the Power Pivot data model, the entire data in a column must be of the
same data type. To accomplish accurate calculations, you need to ensure that
the data type of each column in each table in the data model is as per
requirement.

Tables in the Data Model

In the data model created in the previous chapter, there are 3 tables −

 Accounts

 Geography Locn

 Finance Data

Ensuring Appropriate Data Types

To ensure that the columns in the tables are as required, you need to check
their data types in the Power Pivot window.

 Click a column in a table.

 Note the data type of the column as displayed on the Ribbon in the Formatting
group.
If the data type of the selected column is not appropriate, change the data
type as follows.

 Click the down arrow next to the data type in the Formatting group.

 Click the appropriate data type in the dropdown list.

 Repeat for every column in all the tables in the data model.

Columns in the Accounts Table

In the Accounts table, you have the following columns −

Sr.No Column & Description

Account

1
Contains one account number for each row. The column has unique values
and is used in defining the relationship with the Finance Data table.

Class
The class associated with each account. Example - Expenses, Net Revenue,
2
etc.
 Sub Class
3 Describes the type of expense or revenue. Example – People.

All the columns in the Accounts table are of descriptive in nature and hence
are of Text data type.

Columns in the Geography Locn Table

The Geography Locn table contains data about each Profit Center.

The column Profit Center contains one profit center identity for each row. This
column has unique values and is used in defining the relationship with the
Finance Data table.

Columns in the Finance Data Table

In the Finance Data table, you have the following columns −

Column Description Data type

Fiscal Month Month and Year Text

Profit Profit Center identity Text

Center

Account Account number. Text

Each account can have multiple Profit Centers.

Budget Monthly budget amounts for each Profit Center. Currency

Actual Monthly actual amounts for each Profit Center. Currency

Forecast Monthly forecast amounts for each profit center. Currency

Actual Month end actual number of employees for each Whole

People Profit Center of each people Account. Number

Budget Month end budget number of employees for each Whole

People Profit Center of each people Account. Number
Forecast Month end forecast number of employees for each Whole
People Profit Center of each people Account. Number

Types of Tables in the Data Model

Both Accounts and Geography Locn tables are the dimensional tables, also
called as lookup tables.

Finance Data table is the fact table, also known as the data table. Finance
Data table contains the data required for the profit and analysis calculations.
You will also create metadata in the form of measures and calculated columns
in this Finance Data table, so as to model the data for various types of profit
and loss calculations, as you proceed with this tutorial.