Study guide
3.5 Derived Dimensions & Dimension Default Templates
Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Finance Functional Consultant Associate MB-310
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1 Chapter 1: MB-310 Exam Overview & Financial Architecture
1.1 MB-310 Exam Structure, Skills Measured & Consultant Role 1.2 Dynamics 365 Finance Architecture, Legal Entities & Global Address Book 1.3 Hands-on Lab Strategy & Preparation Framework
2 Chapter 2: Chart of Accounts & Main Accounts
2.1 Designing Chart of Accounts & Main Account Types 2.2 Main Account Categories & Ledger Account Aliases 2.3 Balance Control Accounts & Year-End Opening Account Setup 2.4 Legal Entity Overrides for Main Accounts & Dimensions
3 Chapter 3: Financial Dimensions & Account Structures
3.1 Custom & Entity-Backed Financial Dimensions 3.2 Financial Tags: Limits, Storage & Ledger Settlement Use 3.3 Account Structures, Segment Criteria & Activation 3.4 Advanced Rules & Advanced Rule Structures 3.5 Derived Dimensions & Dimension Default Templates
4 Chapter 4: Ledgers, Calendars & Currencies
4.1 Fiscal Calendars, Period Statuses & Module Access Control 4.2 Posting Layers, Multi-GAAP Reporting & the Ledger Form 4.3 Currency Exchange Types, Rate Providers & Triangulation 4.4 Accounting & Reporting Currencies (Dual-Currency Architecture) 4.5 Foreign Currency Revaluation & Revaluation Posting Profiles
5 Chapter 5: General Ledger Journals & Allocations
5.1 Journal Names & Voucher Number Sequences 5.2 Journal Control & Posting Restriction Rules 5.3 Journal Entry, the One-Voucher Rule, Validation & Posting 5.4 Reversals, Storno Corrections & Excel Integration 5.5 Ledger Allocation Rules & the Four Allocation Methods 5.6 Allocation Processing & Periodic (Recurring) Journals
6 Chapter 6: Intercompany Accounting & Settlements
6.1 Intercompany Accounting Setup & Due-To / Due-From Postings 6.2 Intercompany Journal Processing & Multi-Company Vouchers 6.3 Ledger Settlements Configuration & Processing
7 Chapter 7: Cash and Bank Management
7.1 Bank Groups, Bank Accounts & Ledger Integration 7.2 Payment Formats, Bank FX Revaluation & Shared Payment Setup 7.3 Manual vs. Advanced Bank Reconciliation & Statement Formats 7.4 Matching Rule Sets, Reconciliation Execution & Reversals 7.5 Cash Flow Forecasting Setup & Automation 7.6 Customer and Vendor Netting
8 Chapter 8: Periodic Closing & Financial Consolidations
8.1 Financial Period Close Workspace, Closing Roles & Schedules 8.2 Year-End Close Configuration & General Ledger Balance Carryforward 8.3 Consolidations Online: Legal Entity Setup, COA Mapping & Currency Translation 8.4 Import Consolidations & Intercompany Elimination Rules
9 Chapter 9: Sales Tax & Withholding Tax
9.1 Sales Tax Engine Hierarchy, Authorities & Settlement Periods 9.2 Ledger Posting Groups, Sales Tax Codes & Calculation Methods 9.3 Sales Tax Groups, Item Sales Tax Groups & Tax Exemptions 9.4 Sales Tax Adjustments and Settle and Post Sales Tax 9.5 Withholding Tax & US 1099 Vendor Reporting
10 Chapter 10: Accounts Receivable Setup & Invoicing
10.1 Customer Master, Customer Groups & Shared Customers 10.2 Customer Posting Profiles & Account Code Precedence 10.3 Free Text Invoices, Recurring Invoice Templates & AR Charges 10.4 Sales Order Invoicing, Billing Classifications & Prepayments 10.5 Customer Payment Methods, Payment Processing & Customer Bank Accounts
11 Chapter 11: Credit Management & Collections
11.1 Credit Management Architecture & Customer Credit Groups 11.2 Risk Scoring, Credit Limits, Blocking Rules & Credit Holds 11.3 Aging Definitions, Collections Workspace & Customer Pools 11.4 Collection Letter Sequences & Interest Notes 11.5 Customer Write-Offs, Bad Debt & Write-Off Reversals
12 Chapter 12: Subscription Billing & Revenue Deferrals
12.1 Recurring Contract Billing, Billing Schedules & Milestones 12.2 Deferral Principles, Deferral Defaults & Schedule Calculation Methods 12.3 Recognition Processing, Expense Deferrals & Modifying Schedules 12.4 Multiple Element Revenue Allocation (MEA / ASC 606)
13 Chapter 13: Accounts Payable & Invoice Processing
13.1 Shared Vendors, Global Address Book & Vendor Groups 13.2 Vendor Posting Profiles, AP Parameters & Vendor Bank Accounts 13.3 Invoice Matching Setup (2-Way, 3-Way), Tolerances & Exceptions 13.4 Vendor Invoicing Methods, Journals & Invoice Automation
14 Chapter 14: Vendor Payments & Expense Management
14.1 Methods of Payment & the Vendor Payment Proposal Engine 14.2 Generating Payments, Centralized Payments & Check Lifecycle 14.3 Expense Management Configuration, Categories & Policies 14.4 Expense Reports Processing, Mobile Receipts & Intercompany Expenses
15 Chapter 15: Budgeting & Budget Control
15.1 Budget Models, Budget Codes & Allocation Terms 15.2 Budget Register Entries, Workflows & Budget vs. Actual 15.3 Budget Transfer Rules & Processing Budget Transfers 15.4 Budget Control Configuration, Cycles, Rules & Budget Groups 15.5 Budget Funds Available, Over-Budget Permissions & Document Budget Check 15.6 Budget Planning Framework, Organization Hierarchies & Planning Processes 15.7 Budget Plans, Scenarios, Allocations & Generating Register Entries
16 Chapter 16: Fixed Assets Configuration & Transactions
16.1 Fixed Asset Groups, Asset Records & Group/Book Mapping 16.2 Depreciation Profiles: Methods & Conventions 16.3 Fixed Asset Books, Derived Books & Posting Profiles 16.4 Fixed Asset Acquisition Pathways 16.5 Depreciation Proposals, Multi-Company Runs & Fixed Asset Budgets 16.6 Fixed Asset Disposals: Sale, Scrap & Disposal Accounting 16.7 Fixed Asset Splits, Transfers & Reclassification 16.8 Asset Leasing (IFRS 16 / ASC 842)
3.5 Derived Dimensions & Dimension Default Templates
Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI
Derived dimensions establish automated parent-child relationships where selecting a driving dimension value automatically defaults one or more dependent dimension values.
The 'Replace existing dimension values with derived values' parameter controls whether derived dimensions overwrite existing populated segments or only populate blank fields.
Financial dimension default templates enable percentage-based allocation distributions across multiple dimension combinations on source documents and journals.
Master data entities (Customers, Vendors, Items, Main accounts) supply default dimensions that merge onto transaction lines following a strict 5-layer system hierarchy.
A 'Fixed value' setting on a Main account's legal entity override supersedes all other defaulting sources (Customer, Vendor, Item, Journal Header), permanently locking the segment.
Last updated: August 2026
3.5 Derived Dimensions & Dimension Default Templates
To ensure transactional accuracy and accelerate data entry, Dynamics 365 Finance provides automated dimension defaulting mechanisms. Rather than requiring users to manually enter every segment on every transaction line, organizations implement Derived Dimensions , Financial Dimension Default Templates , and Master Data Defaulting Hierarchies .
1. Derived Dimensions: Architecture & Configuration
Derived Dimensions ( General ledger > Chart of accounts > Dimensions > Financial dimensions > (Select Dimension) > Derived dimensions ) establish business rules where selecting a specific value in a "driving" (parent) dimension automatically populates one or more "derived" (child) dimension values. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
- | DERIVED DIMENSION LOGIC |
- +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
- | Driving Dimension: CostCenter |
- | |
- | Rule Mapping: |
- | When CostCenter = "CC-100" (Manufacturing North) |
- | ===> Derived Department = "DEP-PROD" (Production) |
- | ===> Derived BusinessUnit = "BU-MFG" (Manufacturing Division) |
- | |
- | Key Parameter: Replace existing dimension values with derived values |
- | - Yes: Overwrites any pre-existing Department or BU on the line. |
- | - No: Only populates Department or BU if the field is currently blank. |
- +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
- The "Replace Existing Dimension Values" Parameter
A critical exam concept is understanding the toggle Replace existing dimension values with derived values :
Set to 'Yes' : The derived dimension rule acts as an authoritative override. If a user or an upstream master record (e.g., an Item default) has already stamped Department = DEP-ADMIN , selecting CostCenter = CC-100 will forcefully overwrite Department to DEP-PROD .
Set to 'No' : The derived dimension acts as a fallback. If Department is already populated with DEP-ADMIN , the system preserves DEP-ADMIN and does not overwrite it. It will only populate DEP-PROD if Department was null/blank.
Prevent Changes to Derived Values
Administrators can also enable Prevent changes to derived values . When enabled, once a derived dimension is applied to a transaction line, the derived segment is rendered read-only in the user interface, preventing manual tampering.
2. Financial Dimension Default Templates
In scenarios where costs must be shared across multiple departments or business units by a fixed percentage (e.g., allocating facility rent 60% to Operations and 40% to Corporate HQ), creating multiple manual journal lines is inefficient. Dynamics 365 Finance solves this via Financial Dimension Default Templates ( General ledger > Chart of accounts > Dimensions > Financial dimension default templates ). +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
- | FINANCIAL DIMENSION DEFAULT TEMPLATE: "FACILITY-SPLIT" |
- +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
- | Line 1: Percentage = 60.00% | BU: 001 | Department: DEP-OPS | CC: CC-MFG |
- | Line 2: Percentage = 40.00% | BU: 001 | Department: DEP-CORP | CC: CC-ADMIN|
- | Total: 100.00% |
- +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
- Application Across Source Documents
Financial dimension default templates can be selected directly on:
General Journal Lines : Automatically splits the voucher line into multiple offset entries upon distribution.
Free Text Invoices : Allocates customer billing lines across departments.
Vendor Invoices & Purchase Orders : Splits procurement expenditure lines across multiple cost centers during accounting distribution.
3. Master Data Defaulting & Dimension Merging Hierarchy
When a transaction is generated in Dynamics 365 Finance (e.g., a Sales Order Line, Purchase Order Line, or Vendor Invoice), dimensions originate from multiple master data entities simultaneously. The system uses a deterministic Dimension Merging Pipeline to resolve values. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
- | 5-LAYER DIMENSION MERGING PIPELINE |
- +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
- | [Layer 1: Document Header] (Customer / Vendor Header Defaults) |
- | | |
- | v |
- | [Layer 2: Document Line] (Item / Released Product Defaults) |
- | | |
- | v |
- | [Layer 3: Derived Rules] (Derived Dimension Automation) |
- | | |
- | v |
- | [Layer 4: Main Account] (Legal Entity Overrides - Not Fixed) |
- | | |
- | v |
- | [Layer 5: FIXED VALUE] (Main Account Legal Entity Override = FIXED) |
- +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
- Detailed Merging Rules by Scenario
- Scenario A: Sales Order Line Creation
Header Default : The Customer record has default dimensions BusinessUnit = BU-01 , Department = DEP-SALES .
Line Default : The Released Product (Item) being sold has default dimensions Department = DEP-PROD , CostCenter = CC-100 .
Merge Logic : The transaction line inherits BusinessUnit = BU-01 (from Customer Header), CostCenter = CC-100 (from Item Line), and for the conflicting Department segment, the Line/Item default takes precedence over the Header default , resulting in Department = DEP-PROD .
Scenario B: The Main Account "Fixed Value" Override
Main accounts allow setting financial dimension defaults with two distinct behaviors under Legal entity overrides > Default financial dimensions :
Not fixed : The main account dimension defaults onto the line if blank, but allows upstream defaults (from Customer or Item) and manual overrides.
Fixed value : The main account dimension strictly overrides all other values . Regardless of what is specified on the Customer, Vendor, Item, or Journal line, the General Ledger posting engine forces the segment to the Fixed Value.
Defaulting Source Defaulting Priority Overridable by User? Overrides Main Account Fixed Value?
- Document Header (Customer/Vendor) Level 1 (Base) Yes No
- Document Line Master (Item/Asset) Level 2 (Mid) Yes No
- Derived Dimension Rule Level 3 (High) Conditional ( Replace setting) No
- Main Account Default ( Not fixed ) Level 4 (High) Yes No
- Main Account Override ( Fixed value ) Level 5 (Absolute) NO (System enforced) N/A (Overrides everything)
4. Configuration Walkthrough: Derived Dimensions Setup +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
- | DERIVED DIMENSION STEP-BY-STEP FLOW |
- +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
- | 1. Open GL > Financial dimensions > Select 'Department' |
- | 2. Click 'Derived dimensions' in Action Pane |
- | 3. Add Segment: 'CostCenter' as derived target |
- | 4. In Values Grid: Add row for Department 'DEP-100' |
- | 5. Set Target CostCenter = 'CC-100' |
- | 6. Set 'Replace existing dimension values' = Yes |
- | 7. Click Save and Test in General Journal Entry |
- +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
- Step-by-Step Implementation
Navigate to General ledger > Chart of accounts > Dimensions > Financial dimensions .
Select the Department dimension from the grid.
In the Action Pane, click Derived dimensions .
In the Derived dimensions form, click Add segment and select CostCenter .
In the Values tab, click New .
In the Department column, select DEP-100 (Human Resources).
In the derived CostCenter column, select CC-HR-01 .
Set the toggle Replace existing dimension values with derived values to Yes .
Close the form. When a user creates a journal entry and selects Department = DEP-100 , the system automatically inserts CostCenter = CC-HR-01 .