Each Deliverable has a category that defines what kind of Deliverable it is. For example, a Deliverable's category might be "Artwork," "Writing," or "Video." When you create a new Deliverable, you must choose its category.
Choosing a Deliverable's category also affects budgets and contracts.
Budgeting: When you create a Release, you may assign it a budget by category. For example, if your Release is a book, you may have one amount budgeted for the Artwork category, and another amount budgeted for the Writing category. When assigning Deliverables to that Release, they must belong to either the Artwork or Writing category, and their cost can't exceed the budget for that category.
Contracting: When you create a Job, you can assign multiple Deliverables to that Job, but they must all be part of the same category, since each category may have its own type of contract. An "Artwork" contract might pay per illustration, for example, while a "Writing" contract might pay by the word. (If you wish to assign a contract template to a category, you can learn how to do so here.)
By default, a Deliverable may have one of the following categories:
3D Model
Artwork
Audio
Photography
Video
Writing
If you wish to add new categories, edit existing categories, or delete categories you don't use anymore, you can learn how to do so here.
Category Types
A category's "type" further defines what kind of item a Deliverable is, or how it is to be used. For instance, the category "Artwork" may have the type "Cover Art," "Graphic Design," or "Illustration." A category's type has no inherent effect on contracts or budgets, but is another way for your organization to track and organize the work being done.
If you wish to add or delete types to or from a category, you can learn how to do so here.
Category Steps
A Deliverable can go through multiple steps over the course of a project, and its category determines what those steps are. The "Artwork" category, for example, starts with the "Initial Sketch" step, and ends with "Final" step.
When a contractor first sends you a Deliverable file to review, that Deliverable is by default marked as the first step for its category (such as "Initial Sketch"). When you review the file (or any subsequent files), you may click on any of the other steps to indicate that the Deliverable has move on to that next step. (Note that while the contractor can see what step a Deliverable is on, only your organization can change what step it's on.)
Each category has its own set of default steps. If you wish to add, delete, or re-order any of these steps, you may learn how to do so here.