Income categories help you see at a glance how much of your revenue comes from each part of your business. Assign them to your invoice line items and Dubsado tracks the totals for you on the Chart of Accounts.
Income categories overview
Each invoice or package line item can be assigned to one income category. When a client pays an invoice, Dubsado distributes the payment across categories based on the line item totals, so the Chart of Accounts stays in sync as money comes in.
You manage all of your income categories on the Chart of Accounts page, alongside your expense and tax categories. For the bigger picture of how this fits with the rest of Dubsado's bookkeeping tools, see the bookkeeping overview. For expense categories, see the article on tracking your expenses.
The Chart of Accounts page labels these as Revenue category (in the + New category dropdown and the edit modal). Invoice and package line items label them as income category. Both refer to the same thing. This article uses "income category" throughout, except when quoting a specific button or label.
Creating an income category
You can create an income category two ways: from the Chart of Accounts page when you're setting up your categories ahead of time, or directly from a line item on an invoice or package template.
From the Chart of Accounts page
To create an income category from the Chart of Accounts page:
Open the Home page.
Click Finance Reports.
Click Chart of Accounts.
Click + New category.
Select Revenue category.
Enter a Name for the category.
Select a Type (Sales, Services, or Non-operating).
Click Save.
You can also reach the Chart of Accounts through global search by searching for Income & Expenses (or any word from that phrase). Searching for Chart of Accounts does not return results in global search.
From a line item
If you're setting up a line item and realize you need a new category, you don't have to leave the line item editor. Click New income category in the category selector to create one inline. Full instructions are in the next section.
Income category types
When you create an income category, you'll choose one of three types. Each type is a high-level classification that helps you see your revenue grouped the way an accountant would:
Sales — Tangible products you sell, like albums, prints, or other physical merchandise. Some digital products may also fit here.
Services — Work you perform for clients, like consulting, photography, design, social media management, or branding.
Non-operating — Income from activities outside your primary business, like the sale of a business asset.
If you're not sure which type to use, your accountant or tax preparer can confirm what makes sense for your business.
Assigning income categories to line items
To track how much you earn in each category, assign an income category to every line item. The fastest way to stay consistent is to set categories on your package templates so they carry over automatically whenever the package is added to an invoice.
On an invoice
To assign an income category to a line item on an invoice:
Open or create the invoice.
Click into the line item to edit it.
Click + Add income category.
Select an existing category from the popover, or click New income category to create one without leaving the line item.
For more on creating and editing invoices, see the article on creating an invoice.
On a package template
Setting categories on your package templates means you only have to do it once. Every time you add the package to an invoice, the category comes along with it.
To assign an income category to a line item on a package template:
Navigate to Invoicing ➔ Packages, or open Settings ➔ Package templates.
Open the package and click into a line item.
In the category selector, pick an existing category, or click New income category to create one inline.
Setting categories on your package templates saves time. Once a category is on the template, it carries over every time you add the package to an invoice.
Editing and deleting income categories
You can rename an income category, change its type, or delete it entirely from the Chart of Accounts page.
To edit an income category:
Open the Home page.
Click Finance Reports, then click Chart of Accounts.
Click the category you want to edit. The edit modal opens.
Update the Name or Type.
Click Save.
To delete an income category, open the same edit modal and click the trash icon. Confirm the deletion when prompted.
Deleting a category moves all of its income to Uncategorized. To recategorize that income afterward, you'll have to update each transaction individually.
FAQ
Can I assign more than one income category to a line item?
No. Each line item can only have one income category. If you need to split a charge across two categories, create two separate line items.
What happens if I don't use income categories?
That's up to you -- Dubsado works without them. Just know that if you skip categories now and start using them later, all of your income up to that point shows up under Uncategorized, and recategorizing it would mean updating each transaction by hand.
What happens when I delete an income category?
All income previously assigned to that category moves to Uncategorized. Recategorizing the affected transactions has to be done one at a time.