The Categories feature in your software gives you a powerful new way to track and report on transactions. By setting up Categories, you can now record and track transaction information using your own criteria, such as lines of business, divisions or departments. Unlike the jobs function, Categories can be used to track and report on virtually all transactions, not just income and expenses.
Set Up: (> means click)
> Set Up > Preferences > System tab, tick: Turn on Category Tracking, and choose whether Required or not > OK

Create Categories:
>Lists > Categories > New > Category ID – give a code name, > tab > OK > Close
Transaction screens (some don’t such as Pay Bills etc) will now have a box lower in the screen where you can assign a category.

Use reports under the Accounts tab in Index to Reports – scroll down to the Categories Group. Try the Activity Summary or Detail reports that give per account. You can filter for selected accounts only or the full Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss. You can also select the Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet Category Reports too.
Note you can filter by Categories in the Sales (and Purchase) Item Detail & Summary reports – filter by category or add a column for the categories used.
Further info at the MYOB support note: Categories
Thanks for the information – do you know how to move expenses OUT of a category? I have a client who has 3 categories…. Dept1, Dept2 and Admin. The Rent goes to Admin but should be split by % across the other two departments. Any ideas? All help appreciated!
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Hi Tania it would seem opening the transaction and then selecting another category is needed. if you need to split the transaction cannot be done as jobs – by splitting to several lines. The client will need to split the amount and enter three transactions each with a different category. It sounds like they may be better to use jobs to track the Dept and Admin – this will give profit and loss for each area, or they can select reports to see transactions in that category – but would a profit and loss be of use to them?
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Hi, thanks again for the information. The client is using Categories and Jobs, so the “Corporate” over seeing Category might pay rent, but then wish to split it across the other two Categories (which each have their own job structure).
I think it is going to be a journal via a clearing account situation – darn but hey ho.
Thanks again for taking the time to reply, hope you had a great break and ready for a huge 2013!
T
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CHeers Tania, yes i was away last week, gettinmg back into the swing this week! Glad to work through your issue – team is better!
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