What is a business unit in Dataverse?

A business unit is a boundary in Dataverse to which users and records belong. Together with security roles, it determines who can see what.

It is not the organizational chart

It can be tempting to mirror the organizational chart exactly. This usually results in an unnecessarily complex model. Instead, ask: who should not be able to see each other’s customers? That is the question the structure should answer.

The hierarchy controls upward access

Roles can provide access to a user's own unit, to subordinate units, or to the entire organization. A sales manager overseeing two departments needs access to both — this is handled through the hierarchy rather than through manual sharing.

It is difficult to change later

Moving users and records between units in a live system is a significant undertaking. Take the time to plan the structure before rollout—this is one of the few decisions that is costly to reverse.