Databases

Learn about databases, the foundation upon which your Phocas site is built.

Each database in Phocas is populated with raw data sourced from an ERP or other business system, which is commonly refreshed overnight. Your actions in Phocas do not affect that source data.

Common databases are Sales, Purchasing, Inventory, and Financial Statements, but you might see different databases depending on your Phocas setup and database permissions. Typically, financial databases open in the Financial Statements module, and all operational (non-financial) databases, such as Sales, open in the Analytics module.

Ways to open a database

Whereas access to a database depends on multiple factors, you can physically access a database in the following ways:

Phocas homepage

On your Phocas homepage, dashboard content items are identified by the database icon, as illustrated in the image on the left below. You can filter the grid to view data-specific items:

• To see a list of databases only, in the Type column header, click the All dropdown menu, click Select none, then select the Database checkbox and click out of the filter.

• To see only the content items in a specific database, in the Database column header, click the All dropdown menu, click Select none, then select the checkbox for that database and click out of the filter.

Phocas menu

In the Phocas menu, click Analytics or Financial Statements to view a list of its databases, then click the database you want to open.

Recents menu

After you open a database for the first time, it displays in your Recents list, which you can access via the Phocas menu.

Database status

When you open a database, in the top left of the screen, you'll see the database name next to a colored dot. The color of the dot represents the database's status. A blue dot means the database is being rebuilt, green means the database is available, and red means the latest rebuild has failed, so there is a risk you are not looking at the latest data. You can hover over the dot to get more information.

Suspended databases

Sometimes, databases become redundant, forgotten, or not used for a long period. These databases become suspended until they are next accessed. If you access a suspended database, you'll see a warning box to let you know that's the case, and a new build will kick off immediately. You don't need to do anything. The database, with updated data, will be available to use in around five minutes.