Best Practices

A well-designed data model makes Primentra easier to use and maintain. Here are some guidelines for structuring your models and entities.

Start from the top down: Design your hierarchy starting from the highest level (e.g., Country or Region) and work your way down to the most granular level (e.g., Costcenter or Store). This makes the domain attribute chain clear and logical.

Keep entities focused: Each entity should represent one type of record. Avoid combining different concepts (e.g., customers and suppliers) into a single entity — create separate entities so each can have its own attributes, permissions, and integration views.

Use meaningful codes: The Code field is the unique identifier for each record and is used during import, export, and domain resolution. Use short, meaningful codes (e.g., "NL" for Netherlands, "EUR" for Euro) rather than auto-generated numbers when possible.

Leverage shared entities: If the same reference data (countries, currencies, status codes) is used across multiple models, create it once and enable Shared across models rather than duplicating the entity in each model.

Plan for permissions: Think about who needs access to what before creating your model structure. Since permissions cascade from model → entity → attribute, a well-organized model structure makes permission management simpler.

Use descriptive names: Give models and entities clear, business-friendly names. These names appear in the sidebar, dashboard, and integration views — descriptive names reduce confusion for end users.