Create departments and class tracking categories

A department record has a company or entity, a Name and an optional Description. Use it to define an organizational department such as Finance or Operations. The employee form has a Department field, but creating a department does not by itself assign every employee to it.

A class has a Class Name and one or more Tracking Options. For example, a class named Sales Channel can have Retail and Wholesale as options. Class creation defines choices for tracking; this guide does not establish which document or report automatically uses them.

Departments and class categories are separate records. Giving them the same name does not prove that HelloBooks automatically links them. Use a naming plan approved by the person responsible for your books and verify the intended document or report workflow separately.

Select the correct organization and entity. Search existing departments and classes before adding another version of the same name. Decide the purpose of each record and the options users should select.

A department form has its own Company or Entity selector; confirm that field even if you already selected an entity in the header. Class creation uses the active organization and entity.

Class availability depends on the company's tracking preference, class-creation permission and any applicable plan restriction. The reviewed Class screen disables adding more categories when its current list has four categories. This is not a published plan entitlement or a limit on the number of options; ask support when the control is unavailable.

Do not remove an existing category merely to make room without checking its use in transactions. Archiving, deleting and retroactively changing reporting classifications need a separate reviewed procedure.

The current Settings procedure uses Users & Roles, then Departments. It shows Grid view and List view choices for the same department data. A new department needs a Company and Name.

1. Open your profile or avatar menu, select Settings, expand Users & Roles and select Departments.
2. Select Add Department. The form heading is Create Department.
3. Check Company and select the intended entity. Do not rely only on the entity selected before opening the form.
4. Enter Name, such as Operations, and an optional Description that explains its purpose.
5. Select Create and wait for Department created. Correct any required-field error before retrying.
6. Find the new department in the refreshed view and verify its company and description. If you created it for another company, select that company and check the record there.

The organization department screen also has a Create Department form with Name, Description and an Entity selector. In Settings the selector is labelled Company; these labels should not lead you to skip the entity check.

Both reviewed creation forms send Name and Description for the chosen entity and report Department created on success. The organization department screen has additional edit and archive-related actions. Their effect on existing assignments is outside this creation guide; ask support before removing or restructuring departments already in use.

Open Tracking Options and select the Class tab. The other tabs include Location, Project and Cost Code; they are separate dimensions with separate procedures.

If the page shows Multiple classes tracking are not enabled, it is asking to change the current company's tracking preference. Confirm with the person responsible for your books that this is the intended change. Enabling the preference does not itself create categories or classify existing transactions.

1. Confirm the active entity and open Tracking Options, then Class.
2. If tracking is disabled and you are authorized to enable it, select Enable Multiple Classes Tracking.
3. Read the Confirmation asking whether to enable multiple classes tracking. Select Confirm to proceed, or Cancel to leave the preference unchanged.
4. Wait for Multiple classes tracking enabled and review the Class screen. If Failed to enable multiple classes tracking appears, check the current state and ask support for help rather than assuming the preference saved.

A class is a category; Tracking Options are the values within it. The manual form requires Class Name and a nonblank Option Name for every option row. At least one option must remain.

The reviewed Class Name input accepts letters A–Z, digits and spaces, and removes other characters as you type. Check the resulting name before saving. If your required name uses other scripts or punctuation, contact support for a supported naming approach.

1. From Tracking Options, select Class and choose Add Class or its Add New Class menu entry.
2. In Add New Class, enter Class Name, for example Sales Channel.
3. Under Tracking Options, enter the first Option Name, for example Retail, and an optional Note.
4. Select + Add Option for another value, such as Wholesale. Give every visible option row a name. Remove an unwanted extra row before saving; the form keeps at least one option.
5. Select Save and wait for Class created. If an error or a plan-availability message appears, record it and check the list before trying again.
6. Inspect the saved category and every option in the Class view. Verify its intended use on a relevant draft document before relying on a report split.

Add New Class can display Suggested for your industry. The banner depends on the selected entity's industry and an available suggestion service; its absence does not prevent using the manual form when creation is allowed.

Customize before adding lets you choose which suggested categories to add. Already added entries are identified and disabled in this suggestion list. The local duplicate comparison is not a guarantee against every possible duplicate or concurrent change.

Use + Add Selected only after reviewing the selected categories. + Add All Suggested submits all currently available suggestions. These actions create categories; they do not apply tags to historical transactions or establish that a report is ready. Check the resulting list and any service or plan message.

Fictional example: Example Studio needs an Operations department and wants to distinguish Retail from Wholesale work. Create the Operations department for Example Studio, with Description set to Delivery and fulfilment. Separately create the Sales Channel class with Retail and Wholesale options.

The expected setup result is one department record and one class category with two options. It is not two class categories. Creating these records alone does not assign a customer, employee or invoice to either option.

Before using the setup for management reporting, confirm how the relevant document accepts the category, save a reviewed example and check the resulting report's scope. If the option is absent or the expected report cannot be found, email hello@hellobooks.ai with the document and report names. Do not assume that a department and a class with similar names are linked.

Please fill all required fields or Name is required when creating a department: select Company or Entity and provide a nonblank Name. Description is optional.

Add Class is disabled: check class-creation access, the company's tracking preference, any plan message and the number of categories shown. The reviewed list has a four-category creation guard. Contact support if that conflicts with your intended setup; do not delete used categories as a workaround.

Class Save does not proceed: check Class Name and each Option Name, including blank extra rows. The form rejects blank option names even if other options are filled.

A class name changes while typing: the reviewed manual Class Name field removes punctuation and characters outside A–Z, digits and spaces. Check the actual value and contact support if the approved name cannot be represented.

A department or class is missing after saving: confirm the entity and visible archive/filter state, then refresh and search before creating another record. A creation error should be preserved with the attempted name and timestamp for support.

Email hello@hellobooks.ai with the organization and entity, whether the record is a department or class, the intended category and options, exact error and the document or report where you want to use it. Include a redacted screenshot and say whether the record is already used in transactions.

The public knowledge-base assistant cannot verify your saved classifications or report balances. Review and send the support email draft, then keep the reply or reference; opening the draft alone does not create a ticket.