What Categories Do
Categories are the method Blackpurl uses for mapping transactions to your accounting package. Every category tells Blackpurl which General Ledger (GL) accounts to use when a transaction integrates — whether that transaction involves a part, a labour code, a sublet, a fee, a tax, or anything else. Understanding categories is essential to a successful integration between Blackpurl and your accounting package.
This article is Step 7 of the Understanding Accounting Integration series. To see all steps, refer to Accounting Integration Setup: All Steps.
For a video walkthrough of categories, see Blackpurl Categories.
How Categories Work
In most cases, categories follow a few straightforward rules:
Depending on the category type, you may need to assign 1, 2, or 3 GL accounts to it — Income, Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), and/or Inventory.
Every part, labour code, sublet, fee, adjustment, internal expense, and tax must have a category assigned to it.
The assigned category determines which GL accounts are affected when that item is used in Blackpurl.
Categories are used to integrate both sales and purchases into your accounting package.
Some category types are not attached to a product record. For example, Adjustment categories define where inventory adjustments are posted, and Internal Expense categories define how to allocate an expensed customer service job.
Default Categories
Blackpurl comes with a basic default set of 9 categories covering all category types. You can modify these defaults and add additional categories as needed.
Creating a New Category
To create a new category, follow these steps:
1. Click + Add a New Category.
2. Select a Category Type from the dropdown. The type you select determines where the category can be used — for example, a Category Type of Part can only be assigned to a part record.
3. Enter a unique name for the new category in the Name field.
4. Assign GL accounts from your Chart of Accounts to the category. The category type you selected determines which of the following fields are required:
Income General Ledger — must be a Revenue or Income GL account.
COGS General Ledger — must be a COGS GL account.
Inventory General Ledger — for a Parts or Unit category, this must be a Current Asset GL account (not an Inventory account type); for a Sublet category, this must be your accrual liability GL account.
Category Types Reference
The following category types are available in Blackpurl. The type you select determines where the category can be applied and which GL accounts are required.
Category Type | Description and Further Information |
Adjustment | Use an Adjustment category when performing a Unit Cost Adjustment or a Part Cost/Quantity Adjustment. See Adjustment Category Type Explained. |
Fee | A Fee category is assigned when creating a fee. Fees can be added to a Customer Order or to a Vendor Invoice. See Fee Categories Explained. |
Internal Expense | Used in conjunction with Transaction Types for items that need to be expensed to internal GL accounts. See Internal Expense Categories Explained. |
Labor / Labour | Assign a Labor/Labour category to your labour codes or to relevant Transaction Types. See Labor / Labour Category Type Explained. |
Miscellaneous | A general-purpose category for miscellaneous items that do not fit another category type. |
Part | A Part category is assigned to individual part records. It defines which GL accounts are used when that part is involved in an accounting entry, such as a Customer Order or Vendor receiving. See Parts Category Type: General Ledger Setup. |
Vendor Product | Assign a Vendor Product category to sublets, warranty plans, and dealer options. It defines which GL accounts are used when these items appear in accounting entries such as a Customer Order or Vendor receiving. See Vendor Product Category Type Explained. |
Tax | Use a Tax category to define the GL accounts for Tax Collected and Tax Payable. See Tax Category Type Explained. |
Unit | Assign a Unit category to stocked units. It defines which GL accounts are used when a unit transaction needs to integrate into your accounting package. See Unit Category Type: Unit — Accounting Integration Explained. |