Categories help organize parts for browsing, filtering, and reporting.
One Category per Part — and How to Classify on Two Axes
A part holds exactly one category, and categories cannot be nested. That is rarely a problem, because the two things people usually want to record — what kind of spare it is, and how critical it is — are not both categories. Use the category for the kind of spare, and the built-in Critical Part checkbox for criticality.
Kind of spare → Category
Electrical, Pneumatic, Hydraulic, Mechanical, Consumables… This is the axis with many values, so it belongs in the category: it is filterable, groups the tree view, and round-trips through export and import.
Criticality → Critical Part checkbox
Tick "Critical Part" on the part form. Critical parts show a red Critical badge in the list, can be filtered from the Critical Part dropdown in the filter bar, and are included in the export and import template so you can flag a whole inventory from Excel. Free on every plan.
A third axis → Custom field (Business)
If you need more, an Admin can add a Select custom field on entity = Part in Company Settings > Custom Fields. Custom fields are part of the Business plan.
Managing Categories
Admins create/edit categories in Settings > Categories > Parts.
Classify several parts at once
In Inventory › Parts, tick the parts to classify, then click "Bulk edit" — in the table view it sits in the bar that appears above the selected rows. Choose a category, a location and/or a storage location: only the fields you fill in change, the others are left as they are. Stock quantities never move with this action (use Stock Transfers for that), and the supplier is still edited part by part.
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