In this article, you'll learn how to create item categories, put your items in them, and keep them tidy. Categories group the items in your price book, so when you're adding items to a job or estimate you can open one category instead of scrolling through everything.
To open item categories:
- In the menu, click Price book.
- Click the Item categories tab.
The tab has an Add new button, a dropdown set to Active, and a table with the columns Name, Description, Parent category, No. of active items and Actions. The table has its own Search box and an Export button that downloads what's listed as a CSV.
Creating an item category
- On the Item categories tab, click Add new. The Create new category form opens.
- To add a picture, click the + on the Upload Image square. The picture shows as a thumbnail in the table and on the category's tile when you browse the price book.
- Type a Category name. This is the only required field.
- To nest it under another category, click Browse on Choose parent category (optional), click the parent, then click Apply. The × on the field clears it.
- Add a Category description (optional) if it helps your team.
- Leave Enable category on.
- Click Save.
Assigning items to a category
You pick the category on the item itself, either when you create the item or later.
- Click the Items & products tab.
- Click Add New to create an item, or click an existing item in the table to open Edit Item.
- Under Choose category (optional), click Browse.
- Click the category, then click Apply.
- Click Save.
The Category column in the items table shows where each item lives, and No. of active items on the categories tab counts the enabled items in each one. An item with no category sits at the top level of the price book.
Categories when browsing the price book
Categories are the first thing you see when you add items from the price book to a job. On the web, click Price book in the job's items section. The browser opens with a Search the price book box, a Categories row of tiles showing each category's picture and item count, and an Items section listing the whole book below. Click a category to see only its items, click the item you want, then click Apply. The item opens on the job's add form so you can set the quantity before you save it. The Categories link at the top of the browser takes you back out.
Understanding parent categories
A parent category puts one category inside another, so you can group categories the same way you group items. The one rule is that a category can't be its own parent. When you edit a category, it's left out of the Browse list, and the CRM refuses the save if it's picked some other way.
Editing, hiding and deleting a category
- On the Item categories tab, click the category's name, or the pencil under Actions, to open Edit category.
- Change what you need and click Save.
To hide a category without losing it, open it and turn off Enable category. Hidden categories stay out of the pickers, but the items inside keep their own on/off switch, so turning the category back on brings everything back as it was. To see hidden categories, change the dropdown above the table from Active to Inactive or All.
To delete a category, click the trash can under Actions and click Yes, delete. If the category still has active items, the CRM asks whether to delete it anyway and leave those items uncategorised. The items themselves aren't deleted. Any categories that used it as their parent lose the parent and stay in the list.
On the phone app
The phone app has the same Price book screen with an Item categories tab. Tap Add new to open Add New Category, which has Name, Description (optional), a Parent category (optional) dropdown set to No parent, a Picture (optional) row with Take photo and Choose, and an Enable category switch. Tap a row in the table to open Edit Category. Tap the Active box above the table to show Inactive categories or All categories. On an item, the category is a dropdown under Choose category (optional).
When you tap Add item on a job in the app, the Price book sheet opens. Open the Categories fold and tap a category to show only its items. Tap All items to go back to the full book.