AddedEach variation can have a description of its own, and is named after its product

Categories & Organizing Your Inventory

4 min read

Published April 12, 2026

Updated September 11, 2026

Creating Categories in Settings

The primary place to manage your inventory categories is the Settings > Inventory page. Here you can create, rename, and delete categories and their sub-categories.

  1. Navigate to Settings > Inventory from the sidebar.
  2. In the Inventory Categories section, click Add Category.
  3. Enter the category name and save.
  4. The new category appears as a collapsible card that you can expand to manage sub-categories.

Creating Sub-Categories

Sub-categories live under a parent category and provide a second level of organization. For example, a 'Screens' parent category might have sub-categories like 'iPhone Screens' and 'Samsung Screens'.

  1. In Settings > Inventory, find the parent category and expand it.
  2. Click the option to add a sub-category.
  3. Enter the sub-category name and save.
  4. The sub-category now appears nested under its parent in all category dropdowns and filters.

Quick-Creating Categories from the Item Form

When you are adding or editing an item and realize a category is missing, you can create one without leaving the form.

  1. On the add or edit item form, find the '+ New category name' field below the Category dropdown.
  2. Type the name of the new category.
  3. In the parent selector, choose 'Top-level (no parent)' for a new parent category, or select an existing category to create a sub-category.
  4. Press Enter or click the plus button.
  5. The new category is created instantly and automatically selected for the current item.

Tip

Inline category creation is a fast way to build your taxonomy organically as you add items, rather than planning everything in advance.

Renaming, Merging, Archiving & Deleting Categories

All four live in one menu at the end of each row on Settings > Inventory. The row shows what uses that category, which is what decides whether Delete is offered.

  1. Go to Settings > Inventory.
  2. Hover the category or sub-category and open its menu.
  3. Rename corrects the name everywhere it appears.
  4. Merge into moves every item, repair and service onto another category, then removes this one.
  5. Archive keeps it out of the dropdowns for new items while the items already in it stay put.

Warning

A parent with sub-categories cannot be deleted until they are moved or removed. Deleting it used to leave them behind as top-level categories, with nothing said.

Filtering Inventory by Category

Categories become powerful when combined with inventory filters. Use them to quickly find groups of items.

  1. On the inventory list page, use the Category dropdown filter to select a parent category.
  2. If the selected category has children, a Sub Category dropdown appears, select one to narrow further.
  3. The inventory list updates in real time to show only matching items.
  4. Combine category filters with the search bar, Supplier filter, or Usage Type tabs for even more precise results.

Managing Brands

Brands are managed separately from categories in Settings > Inventory. They represent the manufacturer or brand name of your products.

  1. Go to Settings > Inventory and scroll to the Brands section.
  2. Click Add Brand to create a new brand.
  3. Enter the brand name and save.
  4. Edit or delete brands using the icons next to each entry. The usage count shows how many items use each brand.

Frequently asked questions

Categories define what type of item it is (e.g., Screens, Batteries, Cables), while Brands identify the manufacturer (e.g., Samsung, Apple, Belkin). They are managed separately in Settings > Inventory and serve different organizational purposes.

Fixmo supports two levels: parent categories and sub-categories. You cannot create a sub-sub-category. For deeper organization, consider using a naming convention within sub-categories.

No. Fixmo shows how many items, repairs and sub-categories use a category, and refuses to delete one that anything uses, so no item is silently left uncategorised. Archive it to stop it being offered on new items, or merge it into another category to move the items across. Delete is available once the count is zero.

Below the Category dropdown on the add item form, type a name in the '+ New category name' field. Select whether it should be top-level or a child of an existing category, then press Enter or click the plus button.

Yes. Go to Settings > Inventory, open the menu at the end of the category row and choose Rename. The new name applies at once to every item, repair and service filed under it, because they point at the category itself rather than at a copy of its name.