Tracking Categories
How Tracking Categories add a second layer of reporting to a client’s transactions, so the same ledger can be read by region, department, partner or any other split the client needs.
A tracking category is a label placed on a transaction alongside its account code. The account code records what the amount was. The tracking category records which part of the business it belongs to.
An account code of Sales tells you revenue was earned. A tracking category of Region, with the option for example Auckland, tells you where it was earned. Both are recorded on the same transaction, so the ledger can be read either way without creating a separate account code for every combination.
Availability
• Tracking Categories is a client-level panel, available from the client overview.
• It applies to both Xero-connected clients and manual-upload clients.
• Tracking values appear on the General Ledger, on job reports and on Manual Journals. They are labels only and never change any figure.
Terms used
Limits
Xero applies a fixed limit to tracking categories. Zato applies the same limit to Xero-connected clients so the two always agree, and a wider limit to clients that are not connected to Xero.
The panel shows the current position at the top, for example “2/4 categories · 2/4 active”.
Note: The total counts both active and archived categories. Four categories of which two are archived still means no further category can be added until one is deleted.
How categories reach Zato
Xero-connected clients. The client’s tracking categories are read from Xero automatically whenever the general ledger is refreshed. Anything created in Zato, and anything archived, is preserved through the refresh.
Manual clients. When an uploaded general ledger contains columns Zato does not recognise, the panel lists them at the top under Unrecognised columns in this client’s GL. Tick the columns that are tracking categories, give each a name, and confirm. Zato tags the transactions already uploaded and builds the category from the values found in that column. The ledger does not need to be uploaded again.
Adding a category
• Enter a name in the field at the top of the panel and select Add.
• The field is unavailable once the client is at its category limit.
Adding options
• Select the option count on a category to expand it.
• Enter a name in the Add option field and confirm.
Renaming
Select the edit icon on a category to rename it. A rename carries through to every transaction already tagged with that category, on both the general ledger and Manual Journals, so no historical record is left showing the old name.
Archiving and deleting
These are two different actions and only one of them is available in most cases.
A category or option that has been used anywhere shows an in use label and its delete control is unavailable. Archive it instead.
Archiving removes the label from live general ledger and Manual Journal lines and hides the category from new tagging. The category remains in the panel as inactive and can be made active again at any time.
Note: These rules match Xero’s own behaviour. Xero does not allow a tracking category to be deleted once it has been used on a transaction, and Zato applies the same rule to every client so the two sides never disagree.
Sync with Xero
For a Xero-connected client, Sync with Xero appears at the top of the panel. The count on the button shows how many categories exist only in Zato and are waiting to be sent.
Selecting it:
• reads Xero’s current categories and options into Zato
• sends any categories created in Zato up to Xero
Where a category exists on both sides, Xero’s name and status take priority.
Note: Sync with Xero is not available for clients that are not connected to Xero. There is no Xero side to synchronise with.
When more categories exist than Xero allows
If sending the Zato categories would take the client past Xero’s limit of four categories, or two active, nothing is sent automatically. An approval is raised instead.
Opening it returns to the Tracking Categories panel, where you choose:
• which categories to send to Xero, within the room available
• which of those should be active
Categories not sent remain in Zato as archived categories. They stay available for client-level Manual Journals but do not appear in Xero.
Where tracking appears
• General Ledger and job reports: one column for each active category, showing that transaction’s option.
• Manual Journals: the tracking fields on each journal line offer the active categories and their active options.
• Past transactions: keep the values they were tagged with, including values since archived.
A change made in the Tracking Categories panel is reflected across all of these immediately.
Good practice
• Set categories up before a large general ledger is processed. Tagging at the source is easier than correcting later.
• Keep the number of active categories small. Two well-populated splits are more useful than four partly-populated ones.
• Archive rather than delete when retiring a category. Delete is for a category created in error and never used.
• For a Xero-connected client, treat Xero as the master record. Correct a name in Zato and sync, but expect Xero’s version to take priority on the next refresh for anything that exists on both sides.
How to access
• Go to Clients and open the relevant client.
• Open the menu on the client overview and select Tracking Categories.
Note: Viewing, managing and synchronising tracking categories are separate permissions. Without the view permission the menu option does not appear.