Manage and Customize Client Categories
Categories let you divide clients into organized groups (such as wholesale, retail, VIP, or by region), with the option to create main categories and subcategories under them, and to link a client to one or more categories. You then use these categories in search, reports, the loyalty program, and printable templates. This guide explains what categories mean, how to create and manage them, how to link them to clients, and how their name changes based on the account’s business activity.
Contents
What do categories mean?
A category is a group where you put similar clients to make them easier to find and follow up on. Instead of typing free text for each client, you create a fixed list of categories once, then choose from it in each client’s profile; this gives you consistent names that you can search by and filter in reports.
| Concept | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Main category | A category that has no category above it, such as “Wholesale”. |
| Subcategory | A category inside a main category, such as “Wholesale → Cairo”. |
| More than one category per client | A client can be linked to one or more categories at the same time. |
Example
Screen name based on business activity
The name of the clients module in the main menu changes based on the business activity you chose when you signed up; in accounts with a medical business activity (clinics and medical centers), clients appear as Patients, and Client Settings appears as Patient Settings.
So the Categories in Patient Settings are the same client categories explained in this guide: the screen, fields, and rules are the same, and only the naming is different. Wherever “client” appears in this guide, read it as “patient” in medical accounts.
| In this guide | In an account with a medical business activity |
|---|---|
| Client Settings → Categories | Patient Settings → Categories |
| Client category | Patient category |
| The Clients tab on the category page | The Patients tab |
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Note: If you can’t find Client Settings in the main menu, look for the settings of the module that contains your clients by its name in your account (such as Patient Settings).
Categories list screen
- Search tools: Name to search by category name, and Parent Category to show the subcategories of a specific category, then Search or Reset.
- The list shows the category name and the Parent Category, if any.
- The New Category button to add a category.
- Checkboxes with the actions menu to run a bulk action such as Delete.
- The three-dot menu next to each category, which contains Edit and Delete.
Add or edit a category
- Open Client Settings (or Patient Settings) → Categories.
- Click New Category, or Edit from the three-dot menu of an existing category.
- Enter the Name (required).
- To create a subcategory, choose the Parent Category it belongs to; leave it empty for a main category.
- Add a Description and Attachments if needed, then save.
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Note: You can’t choose a category as its own parent category.
Delete a category
You can’t delete a category in two cases:
- If it’s linked to one or more clients.
- If it has subcategories under it.
The following message appears: This category can’t be deleted because it is linked to clients or subcategories. Please reassign it first. To delete it, move the clients to another category, and delete or move the subcategories first.
View a category and its linked clients
- Click View next to the category.
- The Details tab: the name, parent category, description, and attachments.
- The Clients tab (Patients in medical accounts): appears when the category has at least one client, and shows the clients in the same format and with the same actions as the clients list, with filtering by status, name, or client barcode if enabled.
Link a client to a category
- In the add or edit client form, the Category field is a searchable dropdown list that lets you choose more than one category.
- The selected categories appear as tags inside the field.
- Subcategories appear under their main category in the list to make selection easier.
Migration of old categories
The category used to be free text in the client profile, and then became an organized list of categories. During the conversion:
- All old category values are moved automatically to the categories list as main categories.
- Duplicate values (even if they differ in uppercase and lowercase letters) are merged into one category.
- Each client is linked to the category that matches their old value.
- The migration runs in the background without interrupting the use of the system.
Where categories are used
| Place | Use |
|---|---|
| Advanced search in the clients list | Filter clients by category. |
| Loyalty program | Link a loyalty rule to a specific client category. |
| Reports | The Clients Balance report, the Clients List report, and the Product Sales Profit reports (by products, client, employee, and sales person). |
| Printable templates and messages | The {%client_category%} variable prints the client’s categories on invoices and documents, and in message and notification templates. |
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Note: Because a client may belong to more than one category, the {%client_category%} variable shows all of the client’s categories, not just one.
FAQs
What do the categories in Patient Settings mean?
They’re the same client categories; in accounts with a medical business activity, clients appear as Patients, so the screen appears as Patient Settings → Categories. You use them to divide patients into groups such as “Insurance” and “Cash” or by insurance company, then search and report by them. See Screen name based on business activity.
Why are the menu names in my account different from this guide?
Because the naming of clients changes based on the account’s business activity. The functions are the same, and only the name is different.
Can a client be linked to more than one category?
Yes, the category field in the client profile accepts more than one category.
Why can’t I delete a category?
Because it’s linked to clients or has subcategories. Move the clients and subcategories first, then delete it.
What happened to the old client categories that were written as text?
They were migrated automatically to the categories list as main categories, duplicates were merged, and each client stayed linked to their category.