Item Categories
Organize your item catalogue into a hierarchical structure for filtering and reporting.
Item categories give your catalogue structure. Instead of scrolling through hundreds of products to find what you need, categories let you filter the item list and see stock and sales figures per product group. Categories can be flat (a single level) or hierarchical (parent categories with sub-categories nested inside them).
The Categories Page
Navigate to: Operations → Items → Categories (administrators only)
The Categories page shows all categories in a list view. Each row displays the category name with its colour dot, description, parent category (if any), and the number of items assigned.
Page controls:
- New Category — opens the category creation form
- Search — find categories by name
- Export — CSV or PDF
- Columns — show or hide columns
- Import — bulk upload with the columns Name, Description, Color, Parent Category, Is Update
- View switcher — table, grid, or kanban
Selecting rows shows a bar with a single Delete action. Clicking a row opens the category page.
Creating a Category
Click New Category to open the creation form.
| Field | Required? | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes | The category label as it appears in filters and on item pages. Short and descriptive. Examples: "Electronics", "Raw Materials", "Professional Services", "Consumables". Must be unique. |
| Parent Category | No | Assign a parent to nest this category inside a broader group. Leave blank for a top-level category. Shown only once at least one category exists. A category can have only one parent. |
| Description | No | A brief explanation of what belongs in this category. Helps other users assign items correctly. |
| Color | No | A colour swatch (any colour; default blue) shown as a dot in the list and as the tint of the category chip on item pages. Useful when two categories have similar names. |
Hierarchical Structure
Categories can be nested to any depth. The most common pattern is two levels: a broad parent and specific children beneath it.
Example structure for a manufacturing business:
- Finished Goods
- Beverage Bottles (250ml)
- Beverage Bottles (500ml)
- Beverage Cans
- Raw Materials
- Glass
- Aluminium Sheet
- Labels and Packaging
- Maintenance Supplies
- Lubricants
- Replacement Parts
- Safety Equipment
The parent category's page lists its sub-categories, and each category page shows the items, stock and sales figures for that category.
If your chart of accounts has sub-accounts for different revenue streams (4010 Electronics Sales, 4020 Accessories Sales), mirroring that structure in item categories gives you two independent views of the same segmentation — the accounts view in Finance, and the category view on the category pages. They should agree when both are filtered to the same period.
Assigning Items to Categories
Categories are assigned per item on the item creation or edit form. One item can belong to only one category. To reassign, open the item, click Edit, and select the new category from the dropdown.
Where Categories Appear
| Location | How Categories Are Used |
|---|---|
| Items page (Operations → Items) | A Categories select on the summary strip narrows the list to one category. |
| Item page | The category appears as a coloured chip in the header, linking to the category page. |
| Category page | Total Items, Stock On Hand, Stock Value and Out of Stock; the sub-categories; an items table (Item Name, SKU, Rate, Stock Level with reorder point, Status); and Total Sales, Total Cost, Units Sold, Units Bought, Average Rate. |
| Inventories page | A category filter scopes the stock buckets and the stock table. |
Deleting a Category
Categories that contain items or sub-categories cannot be deleted — the attempt is refused with a message naming how many could not be deleted "because they contain items or have subcategories". To delete a category, first reassign its items to other categories (or remove their category assignment) and move or delete its sub-categories, then delete the now-empty category from the list.