Reference data

Reference data is data describing a physical or virtual object and its properties as opposed to transaction data.

Typical reference data are:

Physical: products, material, assets, customers, locations
Virtual: cost centers, planned buildings

Reference data can change over time via transactions (described in transaction data). E.g. a logistical transaction can change the location of an object, a financial transaction like adding tax can change the price of an object and a series of work transaction can change a virtual object like a planned building into a physical object.

A special type of reference data is 'master reference data - this is reference data shared over a number of systems.