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Dynamics 365 Community / Forums / Small and medium business | Business Central, N... / Large volume of Dimens...
Small and medium business | Business Central, N...
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Large volume of Dimension Values - Performance

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Posted on by SL_GP_BC_123 907
We are working with a customer that is looking at implementing a dimension code were where could be adding 1000 or more dimension values during the course of any given year.  Given that scenario are there any potential performance issues down the road?  The dimensions will be used for P&L's generated from either within BC or within an external reporting tool such as Cosmos.
 
Look forward to a response.
 
 
Categories:
Dynamics 365 Business Central
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  • Suggested answer
    Aman Kakkar Profile Picture
    Aman Kakkar 1,723 on at
    Large volume of Dimension Values - Performance
    Hi,
     
    So, this is a mix of AI Generated answer, and my personal opinions.
     
    Business Central can handle 1,000+ dimension values in a single dimension very easily. But there are some important performance considerations depending on how the dimension is used.
     

    The real performance load happens when:

    1. Posting thousands of G/L entries with complex dimension combinations

    Each entry inserts a record into Dimension Set Entry, and dimension set IDs need to be generated.

    Having 1000+ values is fine — but having millions of dimension combinations can slow down dimension set creation.

    2. Reporting that filters heavily on dimensions

    When queries apply:

    • Dimension filters

    • Grouping on dimensions

    …it means extra joins on G/L Entry → Dimension Set Entry.

     

    This is still OK, but performance depends more on:

    • Number of G/L Entries
    • Number of Dimension Set Entries
    • Number of unique combinations (Dimension Set IDs)

     

    If you expect heavy posting volume and large number of dimension combinations, follow these best practices:

    • If you add 1000 values every year, consider archiving older ones or marking them blocked.
    • For complex reporting → use COSMOS/Power BI - much faster for dimension-heavy entries.
    Do mark it as verified if this helps,
    Aman K
  • Suggested answer
    OussamaSabbouh Profile Picture
    OussamaSabbouh 3,157 on at
    Large volume of Dimension Values - Performance
    Hello,
     
    Using 1,000+ dimension values is totally fine in Business Central.
    BC supports unlimited dimension values, and performance issues only appear if you misuse global/shortcut dimensions or create huge analysis views — not because of the number of values itself.
     
    So yes: large dimension value lists are safe, both inside BC and in external tools like Cosmos.
     
    Regards,
    Oussama Sabbouh

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