PeopleSoft HCM tables

Control tables, transaction tables and prompt tables

Tables that are central to PeopleSoft HRMS include control tables, transaction tables, and prompt tables.

Control Tables

• Control tables store information that is used to process and validate the day-to-day business activities (transactions) users perform with PeopleSoft HRMS applications.
• The information stored in control tables is common and shared across an organization, for example, master lists of customers, vendors, applications, items, or charts of accounts. By storing this shared information in a central location, control tables help to reduce data redundancy, maintain data integrity, and ensure that users have access to the same basic information.
• The information stored in control tables is generally static and is updated only when fundamental changes occur to business policies, organizational structures, or processing rules.
• Note: Control tables are tables that include the SETID key field (setID).

Transaction Tables

• Transaction tables store information about the day-to-day business activities (transactions) users perform with PeopleSoft HRMS applications.
• The information stored in transaction tables often changes and is updated more frequently than the information stored in control tables.
• Note: Transaction tables are tables that include the BUSINESS_UNIT field (which may or may not be used as a key field).

Prompt Tables

• Prompt tables are tables that are associated with fields on PeopleSoft application pages and which display valid data values for those fields when a user selects a prompt or search option.
• The data values stored in prompt tables are retrieved from control tables, transaction tables, or other PeopleSoft tables.

Effective dates

PeopleSoft HRMS uses effective dates to store historical, current, and future information. Effective dates enable you to:

• Maintain a chronological history of your data. By storing effective-dated information in tables, the system enables you to review past transactions and plan for future events.
• Maintain the accuracy of your data. By comparing the effective dates in prompt tables to the effective dates on application pages, the system displays only those values that are valid for the current time period.

Person or position structure

PeopleSoft HRMS enables you to structure or drive your PeopleSoft Enterprise Human Resources system by person or by position. Before you set up information in the control tables, you must decide which method to use. The system processes the information differently depending on your choice.