Categories
Every product belongs to one category, so create your categories first.
A category is the main shelf for your products, such as "Shirts", "Gold Jewellery" or "Tablets". It also decides how products inside it are priced. Set up categories well once, and adding products becomes much faster.
Why categories matter
The Add Product form opens only after you pick a category. With no categories, you cannot add a product.
The category's price type controls whether products show a simple MRP box or a cost calculator.
When a catalog link has products from more than one category, buyers see a filter button for each category.
On the Products page you can filter by category, so you find items quickly even with hundreds of products.
Create a category
- Open Categories and click + New Category.
- Enter a Category Name, for example "Shirts".
- Choose a Price Type and click Create Category.
The category name can be up to 100 characters. The placeholder in the name box shows examples for your industry, such as "Sarees, Kurtis, Shirts" for fashion or "Tablets, Syrups, Injections" for pharma.
Good category names
Name categories the way your buyers think about your range. Keep the names short and clear, because buyers may see them as filter buttons.
| Business | Example categories |
|---|---|
| Garment wholesaler | Shirts, Trousers, Kurtis, Sarees |
| Jeweller | Gold Jewellery, Bangles, Rings, Silver Articles |
| Pharma distributor | Tablets, Syrups, Injections |
| Fabric trader | Cotton Fabric, Denim, Curtains |
Price types
Each category uses one of two price types. Pick the one that matches how you set prices for that kind of product.
| Price type | Use it when |
|---|---|
| Fixed Price | The price stays the same. You type one MRP per product. Most businesses use this. |
| Formula Price | The price follows daily material rates, such as gold. See Formula Pricing. |
Which one should I choose?
- A shirt sold at ₹500 this month and next month
- A strip of tablets with a printed MRP
- You change the price by hand when you need to
- A gold bangle priced by weight × today's gold rate
- Cost is built from Material, Manufacturing, Fixed, Extra, Loss or Other rows
- Update one rate and every linked product's price updates
You can mix both. For example, a jeweller can keep "Gold Jewellery" on Formula Price and "Gift Boxes" on Fixed Price.
After you create your first Formula Price category, the Material Rates menu appears under Catalog. That is where you enter daily rates.
Subcategories
Inside each category, type a name and click + Add Subcategory, for example "Formal" and "Casual" under Shirts.
Subcategories are optional. They help you sort a big category into smaller groups. On the product form, the Subcategory list shows only the subcategories of the category you picked.
- Shirts → Formal, Casual, Kids
- Gold Jewellery → Necklaces, Earrings, Chains
- Tablets → Antibiotics, Pain Relief, Vitamins
Each category card on the Categories page shows how many subcategories and products it has. Subcategories appear as small chips under the category name.
Edit or delete
Use Edit to rename. A category or subcategory that still has products cannot be deleted.
- Edit a category: click Edit, change the name or price type, then click Update Category.
- Edit a subcategory: click the ✏️ on its chip, change the Subcategory Name and click Save Changes.
- Delete a subcategory: click the ✕ on its chip. The ✕ is greyed out while products use it.
- Delete a category: click Delete. The button is disabled while the category or any of its subcategories has products.
To delete a category that is in use, first move its products to another category, or delete those products. Then the Delete button works again.
Common mistakes
- Too many categories. Ten categories with one product each are hard to manage. Use subcategories for small groups.
- Using a category as a collection. "Diwali Offer" is a temporary group, so make it a collection, not a category.
- Wrong price type. If your price follows the gold or silver rate, choose Formula Price. Otherwise you will retype prices every day.