Using Categories to Organise Services and Products

Introduction

Categories (also called tags) help you organise your services and products into logical groups. You can create categories for service types, product lines, brands, or any other grouping that makes sense for your salon. Categories appear as filters on the Services and Products pages, making it easy to find specific items.

Who this is for: Owner, Admin, Manager, Receptionist What you'll learn:

• Create and manage categories
• Assign categories to services and products
• Choose between Product, Service, and Both types
• Merge and delete categories

Time to complete: 10 minutes

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Prerequisites

• Logged in as a user with the manage-services or manage-products permission (Owner, Admin, Manager, or Receptionist)
• Complete Tutorial 7.1 (Creating Services) or 7.2 (Product Catalog)

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Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Access Category Management

From the Services or Products page:

1. Click Manage Categories in the top-right area
2. The Categories page opens with three tabs:
   • Product: Categories for products only
   • Service: Categories for services only
   • Both: Categories that apply to both products and services

Each tab shows a badge with the number of categories it holds.

The tab you see first depends on which page you came from. If you navigated from Services, the Service tab is selected; from Products, the Product tab is selected. Otherwise, the Product tab is shown by default.

A Back to Services (or Back to Products) link sits above the page title, so you can return to the list you came from. The link disappears after you create, edit or delete a category — use the breadcrumbs or the sidebar instead.

Step 2: Create a Category

1. Click Add Category in the top-right corner
2. A dialog opens with the following fields:

Name (required): Enter a descriptive category name.

Example: "Hair Cutting", "Colour Services", "Styling Products", "Olaplex"

Type (required): Select where this category can be used. The dropdown starts on the type of the tab you are viewing. Open the Service tab first if you want a service category.

Type	Use For
Product only	Categories for products (e.g., "Hair Care", "Retail")
Service only	Categories for services (e.g., "Colour Services", "Styling")
Both products and services	Categories that span both (e.g., "Premium", "Vegan")

Color (optional): Click a colour from the 12-colour palette to identify the category visually. Click the same colour again to deselect, or click the No color button (marked with ✕) to clear the selection. Categories with colours show a coloured dot on the Categories page and in the category filter, and a coloured badge on the Services and Products lists.

3. Click Create

The new category appears in the tab that matches its type. The page keeps the tab you were on, so switch tabs if you created a category of a different type.

Step 3: Apply Categories to Items

Categories are applied when creating or editing services and products:

For Services:

1. Navigate to Services → Add Service or Edit
2. Find the Categories field
3. Type to search existing categories
4. Click to select one or more categories. Each category you pick becomes a chip in the field. Click the ✕ on a chip to remove it
5. You can also create new categories inline by typing a name that doesn't exist and selecting Create: "[name]" from the dropdown

For Products:

1. Navigate to Products → Add Product or Edit
2. Find the Categories field
3. Type to search existing categories
4. Click to select one or more categories
5. You can also create new categories inline (same as services above)

The field only lists categories that suit the item. A service form shows Service only and Both categories; a product form shows Product only and Both categories.

Inline categories get the form's type. A category you create from a service form is saved as Service only, and one you create from a product form is saved as Product only. Use Manage Categories afterwards if you want it to be Both.

Inline categories save straight away. The category is created the moment you click Create: "[name]", and it is added to the item automatically. If you then abandon the form, the category still exists — delete it from Manage Categories if you don't want it.

Step 4: Use Categories to Filter

Categories enable filtering on the Services and Products pages:

1. Navigate to Services or Products
2. Click the All Categories filter dropdown
3. Tick one or more categories in the list
4. The list filters to show only matching items

The button shows the category name when you pick one, or "2 selected" when you pick more. Click the ✕ on the button to clear the filter.

Multiple categories: Selecting multiple categories shows items that match ANY of the selected categories (OR logic).

Step 5: Edit a Category

To modify an existing category:

1. Go to Manage Categories
2. Find the category in the appropriate tab (Product, Service, or Both)
3. Click Edit next to the category
4. Update the name, type, or colour
5. Click Update

Note: Narrowing a category's type removes it from the items the new type no longer allows. For example, changing a category from "Both" to "Product only" takes it off every service that used it. The dialog warns you first and tells you how many items are affected, and the confirmation message after you save says what was removed.

Widening a type — "Product only" to "Both", for example — removes nothing.

Step 6: Delete a Category

To remove a category:

1. Go to Manage Categories
2. Find the category to delete
3. Click Delete next to the category
4. If the category is used by any items, and another compatible category exists to move them to, you'll see an Optional: Reassign items panel with a Reassign to (optional) dropdown:
   • Leave it as Don't reassign to delete the category without moving items
   • Select another category to reassign all items before deleting
5. Click Delete to confirm

A category with nothing assigned to it gets a plain confirmation instead, with no reassignment panel.

Step 7: Merge Categories

Merging combines two categories into one, moving all items from the source category to the target and then deleting the source. This is useful for consolidating duplicates or similar categories.

1. Go to Manage Categories
2. Find the category you want to merge (the source)
3. Click Merge next to the category
   • The Merge button only appears when there are other compatible categories to merge into
4. Select the target category from the dropdown
5. Review the summary showing what will happen:
   • All products/services will be moved to the target category
   • The source category will be permanently deleted
6. Click Merge to confirm

Example: You have "Cutting" and "Hair Cuts" categories. Click Merge on "Cutting", select "Hair Cuts" as the target, and all items tagged "Cutting" will be moved to "Hair Cuts". The "Cutting" category is then deleted.

Note: Merge handles duplicates automatically. If an item already has both categories, it won't create duplicate assignments.

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Viewing Category Usage

The Categories table shows how many items use each category:

Column	Description
Name	Category name, with a coloured dot if you gave it a colour
Usage	Shows "X products" and/or "Y services" using this category
Actions	Edit, Merge (when available), and Delete buttons

Categories showing "Not used" have no items assigned and can be safely deleted.

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Common Pitfalls

"I can't find my category when editing a service"

Check the category type. If it's set to "Product only", it won't appear when editing services. Edit the category and change the type to "Both" or "Service only".

If a category's usage count on the Manage Categories page mentions services while its type is "Product only" (or the other way round), those are leftover assignments from an older version. Open the category and save it again without changing anything — the leftovers are cleared and the message tells you how many went.

"I created a category but I can't see it"

The Categories page stays on the tab you were viewing when you saved. A Service only category lands on the Service tab, a Both category on the Both tab. Switch tabs to find it.

"It says a category with this name already exists"

Category names must be unique across your whole salon, not just within one tab. You cannot have a Product only category called "Premium" and a Service only category with the same name. Use one Both products and services category instead, or give the two categories different names.

"Category is used but shows 0 items"

The count may need to refresh. Navigate away and back to the Categories page, or refresh the page.

"I have duplicate categories with slight variations"

Use the Merge feature. Click Merge on the duplicate category and select the correct category as the target. All items will be moved automatically.

"I don't see a Merge button"

The Merge button only appears when there are other compatible categories to merge into. If you only have one category in a type (Product, Service, or Both), there's nothing to merge into.

"I deleted a category by mistake"

Deleted categories cannot be recovered. You'll need to create a new category with the same name and reapply it to items.

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Tips and Best Practices

1. Plan before creating - Decide on your category structure before adding many items
2. Use consistent naming - "Colour Services" not "Color", "Coloring", "Colours"
3. Keep it simple - 10-20 categories is usually enough; avoid over-categorising
4. Use colours strategically - Assign similar colours to related categories
5. Review periodically - Remove unused categories and consolidate duplicates
6. Consider both dimensions - Service categories by type (Cutting, Colour) and product categories by line (Hair Care, Styling)

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Example Category Structure

Service Categories:

Category	Type	Colour
Hair Cutting	Service	Blue
Colour Services	Service	Purple
Styling	Service	Pink
Treatments	Service	Green

Product Categories:

Category	Type	Colour
Hair Care	Product	Blue
Styling Products	Product	Pink
Tools	Product	Stone
Olaplex	Product	Orange
Redken	Product	Red

Cross-Category:

Category	Type	Colour
Premium	Both	Yellow
New	Both	Green

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Related Tutorials

• Tutorial 7.1: Creating and Managing Your Service Menu - Applying categories to services
• Tutorial 7.2: Product Catalog and Inventory Management - Applying categories to products

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many categories can I create?

There's no limit, but we recommend 10-20 categories for most salons. Too many categories makes filtering less useful.

Can one item have multiple categories?

Yes. Services and products can have multiple categories assigned. For example, "Balayage" might have both "Colour Services" and "Premium".

What's the difference between Product, Service, and Both?

• Product: Only appears when categorising products
• Service: Only appears when categorising services
• Both: Appears in both contexts

Use "Both" for characteristics that span both (Premium, Vegan, Eco-Friendly). A name can only be used once per salon, so you cannot create a product "Premium" and a service "Premium" side by side.

Do categories affect pricing or booking?

No. Categories are purely for organisation and filtering. They don't change how services are booked or priced.

Can I see all items in a category?

Yes. Go to the Services or Products page and filter by the category. You can also see the usage count in the Categories table.

What happens to items when I delete a category?

Items lose that category assignment but remain in the system. Their other categories (if any) are unaffected. You can optionally reassign items to another category before deleting.

What's the difference between Merge and Delete with reassign?

Both move items to another category and delete the source. Merge is more intuitive—click Merge, pick the target, done. Delete with reassign is in the delete dialog. Use whichever feels more natural; the result is the same.

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Last Updated: August 2026