| This is a database containing the **financial** data of *APEX*, an (imaginary) international **automobile** manufacturing and sales company. Specifically, there are **6 key dimensions**: *Period* (time, monthly), *Product*, *Region*, *Customer*, *Dealer*, and *Report Item* (revenues and expenses). Also, there are extra dimensions including: *Contract*, *Project*, *Currency*, and *Caliber*. The minimal granularity of the data is a **payment** of a **project**. Each **project** happens between APEX and a **customer** at a specific **region**, with an optional **dealer**, over a **period** of time. Payments of a project can be distributed over multiple months in that time period. Each project may contain multiple **products**. Each **contract** may contain multiple projects. |
| The products of APEX are divided into **3 major divisions**: *Automobiles*, *Accessories*, and *Services*. *Automobiles* are produced by enterprise brand groups, which are **6 sub-brands** under APEX. Each brand group has its own `INCOME` and `BUDGET_AND_FORECAST` tables. *Accessories* and *Services* each have their own `INCOME` and `BUDGET_AND_FORECAST` tables. Accessories only have equipment revenues and costs, while services only have service revenues and costs. |
| Financial amounts presents both `ptd` (monthly) values and `ytd` (year-to-date) values. For example, `ptd` of `YYYYMM` means the amount for that month, while `ytd` of `YYYYMM` means the cumulative amount from `YYYY01` to `YYYYMM` (inclusive). Furthermore, `_py` columns contain previous year data, which means that, for exammple, `ytd` py columns with `period='YYYYMM'` contain cumulative amounts from `YYYY-1 01` to `YYYY-1 MM`, etc. |
| When users query about factual knowledge (e.g., locate a sales office or find projects and contracts), always use SALES_LEDGER for most dimensions, as this is the most comprehensive; PROFIT_AND_LOSS has comprehensive information for report items. |
