Methods, computer program products, and system for generating code for an extract, transform, and load (ETL) data flow are provided. In one implementation, the method includes receiving an ETL data flow representing a logical transformation and flow of data, placing a staging table at a pre-determined location in the ETL data flow to reduce a total number of staging tables required by the transformation, and generating code for the transformation based on the ETL data flow including the staging table placed at the pre-determined location.