A product category groups products in the product register and helps you find them. Every product must have a category. A category is not a stock balance, a spare part link to a Spot or product consumption recorded on a task.

Requirements and permissions

Product categories are managed in the browser. The warehouse feature must be enabled in the service. Open Products → Product settings → Product categories.

Viewing, creating, editing and deleting categories require the corresponding permissions. Permission to create or edit products grants read access to categories, but does not grant permission to manage them. A local administrator can manage categories and help arrange the necessary permissions. Moving a product to another category requires permission to edit the product.

Create a product category

  1. Select Create new product category above the category list.
  2. Enter a Name. It is required, must be no more than 256 characters long and must not match the name of an existing category.
  3. Optionally, add a Description explaining which products belong in the group.
  4. Save using the Create new product category button on the form.

Creating a new category does not create products or add items to stock. Check that the category appears in the list, then open it by clicking its name to check the saved details. If it does not appear, clear the list's column filters.

You can also create a category on the product creation or editing form: on the Basic info tab, there is a Create new product category button next to the Product category selection. Once created, the new category is added to the selection list and selected for the product. Check the selection and save the product separately. The category is saved using its own create button: cancelling the product form does not delete it. See also creating a product.

Edit the shared name or description

In the category list, click the category's name or the pencil icon on its row. Change the Name or Description and select Save on the form. The name must also be required, unique and within the maximum length when editing. With read permission only, you can view the details but cannot save changes.

You can also edit the name or description by double-clicking the corresponding cell in the list. The cell change is submitted for saving when you finish editing the cell. If saving reports an error, correct the information and check the saved value by reopening the category.

Changing the name renames the same shared category. All products belonging to it remain in the same group, and the group appears under its new name when the product details are retrieved again. The change does not move products to another category or record a stock transaction.

Move a product to another category

Open the Products list in the Products menu. Open the product by clicking its name or the pencil icon on its row. In the Product category field on the product's Basic info tab, select another existing category and click Save on the product form. The field cannot be left empty.

Reopen the product and verify the selection. Also check the product counts for the old and new categories in the refreshed category list. Changing a product's category selection and changing the name of a shared category are separate actions. For more information on finding a product, see product search and product details.

What does Product count mean?

Product count in the category list shows how many records in the product register refer to the category. It is the current number of records without a date range restriction, not the number of units in stock or products used. For example, two different products in the same category give a count of 2 regardless of their stock balances.

The count also includes products taken out of use and product records marked as deleted, if their category reference still exists. However, products marked as deleted are excluded from normal product searches and from the product check that prevents category deletion. The displayed count therefore does not by itself determine whether the category can be deleted.

You can filter the list using the column filters, for example by name, description or product count. Export view to Excel above the list exports the category table data to Excel.

Delete an unnecessary category

A category cannot be deleted if it contains products included in normal product searches. A product with the Product in use option cleared also prevents the category from being deleted. Taking a product out of use keeps it in its category; it does not mark the product as deleted.

First move the products you want to keep to another category and save each change. Also check products that have been taken out of use. You do not need to delete products just to delete a category.

Then click the trash icon on the relevant row in the Product categories list and confirm by selecting Yes. No cancels the deletion. A successful deletion removes the category itself and does not move or delete its products. If deletion is blocked, the category remains; check the products belonging to it and your permissions.

Verify the deletion by reopening the category list and checking that the category no longer appears with all filters cleared. A deleted category can no longer be selected for a product.

Categories in imports and on mobile

Create the required categories before importing products. An import that uses a name looks for an existing category with the supplied name and does not create a missing category. Check the names after renaming a category as well: import data using the old name must be corrected. If both a name and an identifier are supplied in the import, a populated name determines the category selection; the identifier is used only when the name is missing. See product import, export and bulk editing.

The Category field on the Android and iOS product creation forms uses categories already created in the service. Manage categories in the browser as described in this guide.

On the iOS creation form, the category menu opens only when more than one category has been retrieved. A sole category is not selected automatically. If the category selection does not open when there is only one category, create the product in the browser.