A column rule checks one value. A row rule checks one record across its fields.
| Level | What it checks | Examples | Where it runs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Column | one value: format, range, list, checksum, verification | IBAN checksum; VAT format and VIES; GTIN check digit; postcode pattern; unit in the list | on save; in the grid as you type |
| Row | one record across its fields | ship-to country equals region's country; a made item at a plant has a BOM and a routing there; a blocked customer has a reason and a date | on save; on demand |
| Business | across records, tables and totals | open orders + receivables under the credit limit; parent revenue = sum of children; weights sum to 100%; every purchased item has a source; safety stock under 12 weeks of demand | on schedule; on demand; as a gate |
A business rule needs the transactions: the open orders, the receivables, the revenue by node, the average demand. Because they sit in the same bed as the master data, the rule is a query the platform evaluates at once, on save or on demand, with the totals computed in the engine.
The result is stored with the rows it judged: which suppliers exceeded their cap, by how much, on which orders. A steward opens the failure and sees the orders; a controller pivots the failures by category and month.
| supplier | credit limit | open POs | over by | action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Fasteners | €400K | €462K | €62K | task opened · buyer |
| Corvid Plastics | €250K | €268K | €18K | warn |
| Acme Components GmbH | €1.5M | €1.2M | — | pass |
Profiling runs on any table in the bed and proposes column rules from what it finds: value ranges, patterns, lists, null rates. Anomaly detection flags values that changed too often or drifted from their history. A quality contract bundles rules per domain with thresholds that can hold a feed or a publication until they pass. The Backbone's exceptions page covers alerts and routing to owners.
The same rule text runs on the source tables and on the golden view, so the results can be compared per source: which system delivers the failing values, and since when.
Stewards and domain owners, in the editor or as a sentence; application teams keep the gates for rules that block saves or hold feeds.
Yes: address verification, VAT checks, sanctions screening and enrichment services run as rule steps with their receipts stored.
On the showcase estate the credit-limit rule over 9,340 suppliers and 214,000 open order lines runs in under four seconds, because the totals are computed in the engine.
Bring two systems that hold the same customers, suppliers or materials. In one working day we connect them, run the match on live rows, review the queue with your steward and publish the first golden view with its API.
