Inventory
Product categories
Create main categories and subcategories to group the catalogue, then edit, disable or import them so filtering and reporting stay useful.
Updated 12 September 2026
Categories organise your catalogue. They decide what appears in the left panel of the product list, which category filters you get in reports, and how quickly anyone can find a product. Plan them before you load a thousand products.
Open the categories page
- Go to the left navigation panel.
- Click Inventory.
- Select Product Category.
The header has Import Category, Add Main Category and Add Subcategory. The table shows the serial number, category name, parent, the date added and an options menu. The page also has a search box, a records display selector and Export Data in XLSX, PDF or CSV. View Inactive Categories is in the options menu.
Add a main category
- Open Product Category.
- Click Add Main Category.
- Enter the Category Name, for example clothing, electronics, grocery or skincare.
- Add a Description explaining what belongs in it.
- Click Add Category to save, or Clear to reset the fields.
Use main categories for broad groups. Too many main categories are as unhelpful as too few. With too many, the left panel on the product list becomes a long list to scroll through instead of a quick way to filter.
Add a subcategory
- Open Product List or Product Category.
- Click Add Subcategory.
- Enter the Name, for example men’s shirts or gaming accessories.
- Select the Parent Category it sits under.
- Add a Description.
- Click Save.
Add subcategories when a main category has become too broad to filter usefully. For example, Clothing with subcategories for men, women and kids is helpful. Clothing with forty subcategories of three products each is not.
Edit or disable a category
Use the options menu on each row:
- Edit Category changes the name and description.
- Disable Category makes the category unavailable across the system. A confirmation message explains this first.
A disabled category keeps its history. You can find it under View Inactive Categories.
Import categories
Import Category uses the same four-step import as everywhere else: upload the file, match headers, match fields, finalise. Download the sample first and copy its column names.
A test for a good structure
Ask two questions. Can you find any product in three clicks? Would a category filter on a report tell you something you would act on? If both answers are yes, stop adding categories.