Classes in CustomBooks™ | Create and Manage Classes

Classes in CustomBooks™

Overview

Classes in CustomBooks™ provide a flexible way to categorize and group transactions for organizational and reporting purposes.

A Class can represent a department, sales team, business line, division, or another meaningful category within your organization. Once Classes are created, they can be assigned to supported transactions so you can identify and report on activity associated with each Class.

Classes can also be organized using Parent and Child Classes, allowing you to create a hierarchical structure for more detailed categorization and reporting.

For example, a business could create:
  • Departments
    • Sales
    • Marketing
    • Operations
  • Sales Teams
    • North Region
    • South Region
  • Business Lines
    • Consulting
    • Product Sales
    • Support Services

Classes are particularly useful when you need to track transactions across different parts of a business while maintaining a single CustomBooks™ account.


When to Use Classes

Classes can be used to group transactions based on how your business is organized or how you want to analyze your financial activity.

Common examples include:

  • Departments – Track income and expenses by department.
  • Sales Teams – Group sales transactions by sales team or division.
  • Business Lines – Separate activity for different products, services, or lines of business.
  • Divisions or Locations – Categorize transactions associated with different areas of an organization.
  • Separate Companies – Track transactions for multiple companies operating under one account and Tax Identification Number.
  • Other Internal Categories – Create custom groupings that are meaningful to your business and reporting needs.

Classes are different from Projects/Jobs. Projects/Jobs are generally used to track activity for a specific customer-related project or job, while Classes can provide a broader, longer-term method of grouping transactions.

Transactions That Support Classes

Classes can be assigned to the following transaction types:

  • Sales Quotes
  • Sales Orders
  • Sales Invoices
  • Credit Memos
  • Projects/Jobs
  • Time Tracking Entries
  • Purchase Orders
  • Bills
  • Shipments
  • Assembly Builds
  • Purchase Returns

The availability and location of the Class field may vary depending on the transaction type.

For example, Time Tracking entries include an optional Class field that can be used along with the Company, Project, and Task information.


Creating a Class

To create a new Class:

  1. Navigate to Lists → Classes.

    Alternatively, go to Accounting/Sales/Purchase module → List: Classes.

  2. Click Create.
  3. Enter the Class Description or Name.
  4. Enter the Code, or you can use the auto-populate option.
  5. If the Class should be organized under an existing Class, select the appropriate Parent Class.
  6. Click Save and Close.


The new Class will be available for use in supported transactions.

Parent and Child Class Structure

Classes can be organized hierarchically by creating Child Classes under a Parent Class.

For example:

Sales

  • Retail Sales
  • Wholesale Sales
  • Online Sales

In this example, Sales is the Parent Class, while Retail Sales, Wholesale Sales, and Online Sales are Child Classes.

This structure allows you to create more detailed categories while maintaining an overall grouping.

Creating a Child Class

When creating a new Class:

  1. Navigate to Lists → Classes.

    Alternatively, go to Accounting/Sales/Purchase module → List: Classes.

  2. Click Create.
  3. Enter the Class Description or Name.
  4. Enter the Code, or you can use the auto-populate option.
  5. In the Parent field, select the Class under which the new Class should be organized.
  6. Click Save and Close.

Changing a Class's Parent

You can change the Parent Class assigned to an existing Class.

Using Drag and Drop:
  1. On the Class list view, highlight the Class you want to move.
  2. Drag the Class to the Class that should become its Parent.
Using the Class Record:
  1. Double-click the Class you want to modify.
  2. In the Parent drop-down list, select the new Parent Class.
  3. Save the changes.

To make a Child Class a top-level Class, remove the value from the Parent field.


Assigning a Class to a Transaction

After creating your Classes, you can assign them to supported transactions.

When entering or editing a supported transaction:

  1. Open the transaction.
  2. Locate the Class field.
    1. Classes can be assigned on the document header or on each line item.
  3. Select the appropriate Class.
  4. Complete the remaining transaction information.
  5. Save the transaction.

Assigning Classes consistently allows transactions to be grouped and analyzed according to your organization's chosen categories.


Using Classes for Reporting

Classes provide an additional way to organize transaction data for reporting.

For example, if you create a Class for each department, transactions can be categorized according to the department responsible for the activity. This can help you review financial activity across different areas of the business.

Because Classes can be organized hierarchically, you can create both broad categories and more detailed subcategories.


Tips for Setting Up Classes

When creating your Class structure:

  • Use names that are clear and easy for users to understand.
  • Establish a consistent naming convention.
  • Use Parent and Child Classes when you need multiple levels of categorization.
  • Avoid creating duplicate Classes that represent the same category.
  • Decide how Classes will be used for reporting before creating a large Class hierarchy.
  • Assign Classes consistently to supported transactions so reports provide meaningful results.

Managing Classes

Classes are maintained from the Classes List. From there, you can create new Classes, modify existing Classes, and reorganize Classes by changing their Parent Class.

Classes are also supported by CustomBooks™ utilities such as Auto-Numbering and the Merge Tool, which can help with maintaining Class records as your account grows.