Expense categories settings

Settings → Expense categories holds the list an expense is filed under. The expense form only offers the active ones, so this screen decides what your team can pick. Route: /{workspaceSlug}/settings/expense-categories. For Northwind Studio that is /northwind/settings/expense-categories.

This page documents the screen. For what a category is for and how it shapes your expense reporting, read Expense categories.

Who can open it

Two things must be true before the Expense categories item appears under Content in the settings sidebar.

The Expenses app is on

An Owner or Admin switches it on in Settings → Apps. Expenses is on by default.

You hold expenseCategory.manage

Owner, Admin and Finance hold it. At Northwind Studio that is Maya Ellis, Tom Whitfield and Daniel Okafor.

If the Expenses app is switched off, the nav item disappears and opening the URL shows a card that reads Expenses is turned off. An Owner or Admin gets a Turn it back on button; everyone else gets a line telling them who can. Nothing recorded is lost while it is off. If the app is on but you lack the capability, the page opens and shows You don’t have access to Expense categories, with a line asking you to talk to a workspace admin.

Expenses is on the Free plan, so this screen never shows a plan paywall. An app being switched off and a feature not being on your plan are different things – see Plans and features.

The category table

The card is titled All categories and reads An expense form only offers the active ones.

Column	What it shows	Sortable
Category	The category name, plus an Archived or In Trash badge when it is retired.	Yes
Created	The date it was made, in your workspace date format.	Yes
(unlabelled)	The row actions – a pencil and a three-dot menu.	No

A category carries a name only. There is no colour, no default flag, and no billable flag. Whether an expense is billable is set on the expense, not on its category – see Billable expenses.

Controls above and below the table

Search categories… – filters rows as you type, across what is on screen.
Column headers – click Category or Created to sort. Created sorts by real date.
Rows per page – 10, 25, 50 or 100. It starts at 25.
Page X of Y, with Previous and Next, and a row count on the left.

The lifecycle filter

Top right of the card, a dropdown sets which state the table lists.

Choice	Shows
Active	Categories the expense form offers. This is the default.
Archived	Categories you put away.
Trash	Categories on their way to being destroyed.
All	Every category in every state.

Add a category

Type the name

Type into New category name… above the table. A name is 1 to 40 characters once trimmed. Add category stays disabled until the name is valid.

Save it

Click Add category, or press Enter in the name box.

The category appears in the table and in the expense form immediately. The name box clears so you can add the next one.

Adding a name that already exists gives you the existing category back instead of a duplicate. If that category was archived, it comes back to active.

Unlike tags, a category can only be made here. Nobody can mint one from the expense form, which is what keeps the list short and your expense reporting comparable.

Rename a category

The pencil on a row opens the Manage category dialog. It has one field.

Field	What it does
Name	The category name. 1 to 40 characters. Press Enter to save.

Save stays disabled until you change the name. Cancel closes without saving. A refused save shows the reason in red under the field. A rename reaches everywhere at once. Every expense already filed under the category shows the new name, including expenses that are already approved or already invoiced. Nothing has to be re-filed.

Retire a category

The three-dot menu holds every action that takes a category out of use. Which items appear depends on the category’s state.

Menu item	Shown when	What happens
Archive	The category is active	It leaves the category picker. Existing expenses stay filed under it.
Delete	The category is not already in Trash	It moves to Trash. Nothing is destroyed yet.
Restore	The category is archived or in Trash	It returns to your active list and to the picker.
Delete permanently	The category is in Trash	The category record is destroyed.

Each item opens a confirmation modal that names the category and states what happens.

What happens to expenses already using it

Nothing. This is the point of archiving rather than deleting.

Old expenses keep their category and keep their label, so last quarter’s totals still add up.
New expenses cannot pick it, because the form only offers active categories.
Restoring puts it back in the picker exactly as it was.

A category with expenses on it cannot be permanently deleted. The confirmation modal counts the expenses that still point at it, and the action is refused with a message telling you to archive it instead. Financial history never loses its category label.

Delete permanently is irreversible, so the modal asks you to type the category name to confirm, with a copy button beside it.

Example

Northwind Studio stops paying for a tool and wants Software licences off the expense form.

Archive it

Daniel Okafor opens Settings → Expense categories, finds Software licences, and picks Archive.

The form stops offering it

Sarah Lin files an expense the next day and no longer sees it in the list.

Reports still balance

Every expense filed under it last year keeps the label, so the annual spend breakdown is unchanged.

Empty and loading states

While the list loads, the table shows placeholder rows.
With no categories at all, the table reads: No categories yet – add your first one above. A workspace starts with an empty list, so this is what a new workspace sees.
With a search that matches nothing, the table shows the same message with no rows. Clear the search box to get the list back.

Errors you may see

Message	Why	What to do
A category with that name already exists	Renaming onto a name another category uses	Pick a different name
That category name won’t work	The name is empty or too long once trimmed	Use 1 to 40 characters
Couldn’t create the category. You may lack permission.	You do not hold `expenseCategory.manage`	Ask an Owner, Admin or Finance user
This expense category still has N expenses and cannot be permanently deleted	You tried Delete permanently on a category with expenses filed under it	Archive it instead

Common questions

Can someone add a category while filing an expense?

No. The expense form only picks from this list. Ask an Owner, Admin or Finance user to add the category here first.

Does archiving a category change any expense?

No. Archiving hides it from the picker. Every expense keeps its category, its amount and its status.

Can I mark a category as billable by default?

No. Billable is a choice on each expense, not a property of the category.

Why can I not permanently delete a category?

Because expenses still point at it. Permanently deleting it would leave those expenses without a category, so the action is refused. Archive it instead.

The nav item disappeared. Where did it go?

Either the Expenses app was switched off in Settings → Apps, or your expenseCategory.manage capability was removed. Both hide the item.