IN THIS SECTION
If you report by category you can use Category Groups to merge and map your category options. Category Groups allow you to group Xero Tracking Categories and Quickbooks Classes/Locations from your source entities for reporting.
Getting Started
You can view all your existing categories and create and manage groups through the Categories page. Click on the Settings menu at the top right and select Categories.
When you first visit the Categories page you see two tabs at the top: Categories and Category Groups.
Categories Tab
shows a list of all the consolidated categories (Xero Tracking Categories and QuickBooks Classes and Locations) and options from all your connected entities.
Category Groups Tab
shows a list of any Category Groups you have created.
Viewing Consolidated Categories
The Categories tab shows a list of all the consolidated categories (Xero Tracking Categories and QuickBooks Classes and Locations) and options from all your connected entities. When you connect entities Categories will be consolidated together, just like accounts on your Chart of Accounts. So, for example, if you have multiple Xero entities, all with a Region Category, you will see only one Region Category in the list, representing the Consolidated Region category.
Category Options
Each Category shows the list of Options for that category - if there are more then a few you can click on the + button to expand the list.
Company Categories
The number of companies that the Category exists on is also shown to the right. You can expand the Category by clicking on the down arrow - this will then show a list of all the Companies with that category and the underlying options for each one.
Category Groups
The Category Groups tab shows a list of all Category Groups. You can combine Categrories into Category Groups for display on reports.
Creating Category Groups
To create a Category Group, click on the Add Category Group button.
Enter a name for your Category Group - this will be the name that is selected from the Category dropdown when you run reports.
Adding Options
Each Category Group will be made up of Options - you can create and name as many options as you like. Each option will contain the underlying Category Options from the Consolidated Categories (from your connected entities).
To add an option
- click on the Add Group Option button
- enter a name for the option
- click on the Add Group Option button
The option will be displayed with a list of consolidated category options to pick from. You can search for the desired options and select the ones you wish to map to your Group Option. As you select options, the count of options (mappings) will increase. You can view only the options you have selected by clicking on the Show Only Selected link.
You can expand or collapse each Group Option and add more options as required. You can also delete or rename options.
Once you are finished setting up your options click on the Save Category Group button to save your group.
The Category Group along with its options will be displayed on the Category Groups list page. You can expand each Category Group to see the underlying Group options and mappings.
Editing Category Groups
To edit a category group click on the Edit icon on the three-dot menu to the right of the group.
Deleting Category Groups
To delete a category group click on the Delete icon on the three-dot menu to the right of the group.
Cloning Category Groups
You can copy a Category Group into a new group by clicking on the Clone icon on the three-dot menu to the right of the group.
Running Reports with Category Groups
Once you have set up your Category Groups you can run reports By Category as you did before. Your Category Groups will appear in the Categories dropdown for selection. Once selected, each Category Group Option will be displayed as a column in the report output. You can choose to include or exclude options when you run reports and save those reports in Report Packs as usual.
NOTE: Unmapped/Unassigned options - if your Category Group does not contain all the options in the company data, any unmapped options will appear in the Unassigned column.