# Dimensions

Whether you create budgets or contribute values to them, it’s important to understand how dimensions work in Budgets & Forecasts. Dimensions control the structure of the budget and determine where your data sits and how it's analysed.

### Basic concepts

Read the [Dimensions](https://docs.phocassoftware.com/basics/getting-started/dimensions) page for general information about dimensions, a core concept in Phocas. 

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**Quick definitions**

* **Dimension**: A field you can use to group and filter financial data (for example, Account, Branch, Category).
* **Dimension entity**: An item within a dimension (for example, an account code or a category name).
* **Dimension group**: A set of related dimensions. Each group contains a primary dimension and one or more sub-dimensions.
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If you also use the Financial Statements module, your budgets and forecasts share the same account and dimension structure as your statements. Read the Financial Statements > [Overview of dimensions](https://app.gitbook.com/s/KhoFIsurMPEjkuBz9YkN/getting-started/overview-of-the-link-between-financial-statements-and-dimensions) page to learn how dimensions affect statement structure and account mapping.

### Dimensions in Budgets & Forecasts

In Budgets & Forecasts, a **dimension** represents a level in the budget hierarchy. A **dimension entity** is a specific value within a dimension. For example, a common dimension is Country. Its dimension entities might be Australia, United Kingdom, and United States.

The dimensions available in a budget or forecast come from the underlying database and are set when the [budget is created](https://docs.phocassoftware.com/budgets-and-forecasts/owner-and-administrator/create-a-budget). If you're a budget creator, choosing the right dimensions upfront ensures contributors can enter data at the right level.

When you enter budget or forecast values, you're always entering them against a combination of an account and one or more dimension entities. This determines how your values roll up and how they appear in analysis and financial statements. 

Dimensions are used in several [filtering methods](https://docs.phocassoftware.com/budgets-and-forecasts/getting-started/overview-of-key-terms-and-concepts/filtering-methods).