We hear it again and again, because the terms master data and transaction data are often used in IT projects. In this blog entry we would like to highlight the differences and explain why this data is so important.
Master data
Master data contains all information that is assumed to play a key role in the core business of a company. Master data can contain data about customers and clients, employees, products, suppliers, analyses and more. Master data is typically shared by multiple users and groups within an organization and stored in different areas.
They have a high degree of static, which means that they rarely change and are usually valid in the long term. Since master data is used by several areas of a company, it is highly relevant for all business processes. This is particularly evident in the fact that master data is often used as a criterion in statistics and data evaluations.
Furthermore, transaction data is dependent on master data. No transaction data without master data. For these reasons, master data is generally held on a long-term basis.
Transaction data
In the context of data management, transaction data is the information collected from transactions.
Transaction data is therefore dynamic data that is used by individual departments and whose relevance is only limited to a certain time. In the statistics mentioned above, it provides the facts behind the master data criteria.
Typical transaction data are for example orders, stocks, purchase orders or invoices.