You manage Categories in the web app under Account settings → Categories. Pick Expense, Income or Document at the top to see that set of Categories, then use Create expense category (or Create income category) to add one. Click a Category's name to rename it, or use Edit on its row to change its name, Category code and Parent category. Remove deletes it. In the mobile app, open Account settings and tap Document categories.
Categories are your chart of accounts: the expense and income accounts your documents and line items are booked to. They are separate from Tags, which you can add freely on top. See How to use tags (dimensions).
Who can change Categories
- Everyone on the account can see the Categories.
- Creating, editing and removing Categories is open to every role except Contributor.
- Import categories, which applies a template or imports a file, is for Admins, Owners and Accountants.
Add a Category
- Open Account settings → Categories in the web app.
- Choose Expense, Income or Document at the top.
- Click Create expense category, Create income category or Create document category.
- Fill in Name. Category code is optional and only used for expense and income Categories: if you use accounting software, you can use the same account code here. Parent category is optional too.
- Save.
You can also create a Category straight from the Category field of a document, by typing a name that does not exist yet.
To add many Categories at once, apply a template or import your own file. See Pre-defined chart of accounts templates and AI-based chart of accounts import.
Rename a Category or change its code
Click the Category's name in the list and type the new one, or click its code to change the code. You can also click Edit on the row. Renaming a Category changes its name on every document that uses it.
Nest Categories under a parent
Open Edit on a Category and pick a Parent category. The Category is then shown indented under its parent. Choose None to move it back to the top level.
A Category that has sub-categories works as a heading. You book documents to its sub-categories, not to the parent itself. See the next section.
Why a Category is greyed out
When you pick a Category for a document or a line item, some Categories can be greyed out. A greyed-out Category has sub-categories under it, so it is a heading and cannot be chosen. Pick one of the sub-categories listed below it. This is the same on the web and in the mobile app, and in the bulk Set category action.
If you want to book documents to that Category itself, move its sub-categories to the top level (set their Parent category to None) or remove them.
Categories from your accounting software
If you connected accounting software that brings its accounts into SparkReceipt, those Categories have no Edit or Remove action in the list. Change them in the accounting software. Categories you created in SparkReceipt next to them can still be edited.
Delete a Category, and what "archived" means
- Click Remove on the Category's row.
- Read the dialog Delete the category? and click Confirm.
What happens to the documents that use it:
- Recent documents using it are re-categorized automatically where possible.
- Documents in closed periods and older documents keep the Category. In that case SparkReceipt archives the Category instead of deleting it, so your past reports stay the same.
- If an active automation assigns the Category, the dialog warns you, because that automation stops categorizing documents. Update the automation afterwards.
An archived Category is no longer offered when you pick a Category, on any document. A document that still carries one shows it with "(archived)" after the name. To move documents off an archived Category, select them in Documents and use Actions → Set category, or Auto-categorize uncategorized, which treats a document with an archived Category as uncategorized. See How do I change the Category or other details of many documents at once?.
The order of Categories
SparkReceipt orders Categories the way a chart of accounts is ordered:
- Categories with a Category code come first, in the order of their codes (500 comes before 4000).
- Categories without a code follow in alphabetical order.
- Sub-categories are listed under their parent, in the same order.
You cannot drag Categories into your own order. If you want a different order, set the codes accordingly. If you use no codes, your Categories are already listed A to Z.
Category names in German, French or another language
Category names are saved on your account as they are. Changing the app language does not translate them, so Categories created in English stay in English.
To get Categories in your language:
- Rename them by hand. Click each name and type the new one. Documents keep their Category, only the name changes.
- Apply a template in your language. Set Language in your Profile to the language you want, then open Categories → Import categories → Use a pre-defined chart of accounts. Templates that have names in your language are applied in that language. There are country charts for Germany (SKR04), France (PCG), Spain (PGC), Sweden (BAS), Finland, Japan and Turkey. See Pre-defined chart of accounts templates.
To swap your current Categories for the template instead of adding to them, set Replace existing categories to Yes, remove old categories. SparkReceipt then re-categorizes the documents in open periods into the matching new Categories. Replacing is not available while some of your Categories are synced from QuickBooks or Xero.
Copy Categories from another linked account
When you create a new linked account, Copy categories from in the Create new account dialog lets the new account start with the Categories of one of your existing accounts.
There is no button to copy Categories between two accounts that already exist. Apply the same template to both, or import the same file into each one.
Turn Categories into Tags
If you created Categories that should have been Tags, you can copy them over with a bulk edit and then replace your Categories with a template. See Turn Categories into Tags.