Transactional entities

They represent real-world transactions, such as requests, orders, quotations. These records are often created via UI screens and may then move through workflows in which they are reviewed, updated, approved, or completed.

When to use a transactional entity

Use a transactional entity when your app requires:

• User-created or process-driven data
• Data that change over time
• Data that moves through a workflow (e.g., submitted, reviewed, approved, or rejected)
• Data that represents real-world actions (e.g., requests, orders, approvals)

Key characteristics

• Created and updated during workflows
• Can participate in relationships with other entities (e.g., header and detail entities such as PurchaseRequest and PurchaseRequestItem)
• Often reference static entities (e.g., currency, costCenter)
• Persisted in the Server Data Store (when linked)

Common patterns

Transactional entities are often structured using a header–detail pattern:

• Header entity: Represents the main record (e.g., PurchaseRequest)
• Detail entity: Represents related line items (e.g., PurchaseRequestItem)

This structure allows you to model complex business data while keeping it organized and scalable.

How transactional entities are used

Transactional entities are used throughout the application:

• Screens create and update records,
• Workflows route tasks and determine how records progress through a process,
• Expressions read and transform data, and
• Relationships connect records to other entities.

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Key Lesson

Use transactional entities to capture and manage data that evolves through a process.

They form the core of workflow-driven applications and enable you to model real-world business operations.