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Asked: 2026-06-08T03:43:15+00:00

I have an ERP application with about 50 small lookup tables containing non-transactional data.

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I have an ERP application with about 50 small lookup tables containing non-transactional data. Examples are ItemTypes, SalesOrderStatuses etc. There are so many different types and categories and statuses and with every new module new lookup tables are being added. I have a service to provide List objects out of these tables. These tables usually contain only two columns, (Id and Description). They have only a couple of rows, 8 – 10 rows at max.

I am thinking about putting all of them in one table with ID, Description and LookupTypeID. With this one table I will be able to get rid of 50 tables. Is it good idea? Bad Idea? Very bad idea?

Are there any standards/best-practices for managing small lookup tables?

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    Among some professionals, the single common lookup table is a design error you should avoid. At the very least, it will slow down performance. The reason is that you will have to have a compound primary key for the common table, and lookups via a compound key will take longer than lookups via a simple key.

    According to Anith Sen, this is the first of five design errors you should avoid. See this article: Five Simple Design Errors

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