--- title: "Reporting Categories | Marlin Reporting" slug: "reporting-categories" description: "Learn about Reporting Categories in Marlin Tyre and Mechanical Workshop Software by Megabus." updated: 2023-08-11T06:16:41Z published: 2023-08-11T06:16:41Z canonical: "help.megabus.com.au/reporting-categories" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.megabus.com.au/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Reporting Categories **Marlin Tyre and Mechanical Workshop Software**'s reporting categories enable flexible reporting and inventory organisation. Reporting groups can be set up for various record types, including **Branches**, **Contacts**, **Customers**, **Customer Orders**, **Items**, **Packages**, **Suppliers** and **Users**. Each reporting category can be set up with various reporting levels, each containing multiple reporting groups. Reporting categories can be viewed and edited by selecting **System > Reporting Categories** from the menu bar. The Reporting Categories module will open on the **Search** page, showing a list of active reporting categories. ## Adding Reporting Categories #### System > Reporting Categories To the top right of the Reporting Categories Search list, click on the **Add** action button. The Reporting Category will open on the **Details Tab**, containing a form for adding a new category. In the **Name** textbox, enter the name of the new reporting category. Use the **Type** drop-down to select the type of reporting category. To make it mandatory to select a reporting group for the reporting category when filling out a master file or order for the selected reporting category type, tick the **Required** checkbox. Leave the **Active** checkbox ticked to enable the new reporting category within the Marlin system. The reporting category structure can then be set up using the **Reporting Levels** list below. ### Reporting Category Levels #### System > Reporting Categories > [Reporting Category] A reporting category's structure is determined by the **Reporting Levels** list at the bottom of its Details tab. Reporting categories must contain at least one level. To add the first level click in the empty **Name** cell and enter the name of the "lowest" or *most-specific* reporting level for the category. Once the lowest level has been added, additional levels can be added above it by clicking on the **Add** button that appears in the Add column of the reporting level that they will be added above. The **Add** pop-up window will open. Enter a name for the new reporting group and click the **Ok** button below. Repeat the process to add as many levels as necessary. Example A "Tyre" reporting category might be set up with "Size" as the most-specific level, and then "Series" and "Manufacturer" levels above that. Note Reporting Levels are not visible outside of the Reporting Categories module. Reporting itself is based on **Reporting Groups**, which are added in the next section. The number in the **Code** column indicates the level within the reporting category structure, beginning with "1" as the "lowest" or most specific level. Levels can be deleted by clicking the **Delete** button at the end of the relevant row. Note Once added, levels cannot be rearranged. To change the level order, the relevant levels will need to be deleted and readded. To save the reporting group and return to the Search List, click on the **Save** action button to the top right of the module window. Once the reporting category has been saved, reporting groups can then be added at each category level using the **Hierarchy** tab. > Warning! > > > > Reporting category levels cannot be easily edited once reporting groups have been added to them. Make sure the levels are set up correctly before adding reporting groups. ## Adding Reporting Groups #### System > Reporting Categories > [Reporting Category] Open the desired reporting category in **Edit** mode and click on the **Hierarchy** tab at the top of the Reporting Category window. On the left of the Hierarchy tab is a list of **Reporting Groups** contained within the reporting category. To add a reporting group, right-click in the Reporting Groups list and select the **Add** option for the desired reporting level, beginning with the "highest" or *least-specific*. The **Insert** pop-up window will open. In the **Name** textbox, enter a name for the new reporting group. Leave the **Active** checkbox ticked to enable the reporting group as part of the reporting category. To add the reporting group and return to the hierarchy tab, click on the **Ok** button at the bottom right. Right-click beneath the relevant reporting group and repeat the process to add additional or more specific reporting groups at each level. Note Lower/more-specific reporting groups cannot be added until higher/less-specific reporting groups have been added to contain them. ### Adding Records to Reporting Groups #### System > Reporting Categories > [Reporting Category] > Hierarchy Clicking on the **Unassigned** list at the top of a reporting group's Hierarchy tab will reveal the list of unassigned records on the right. Once the reporting group hierarchy is adequately established, individual records can be added to them by selecting them in the unassigned records list and dragging them into the appropriate group, or using the **Reporting Categories** or **Order Classification** lists in the relevant master file or order module. Tip Press and hold **Ctrl** on the keyboard to select multiple individual records or hold **Shift** to select a range of records. Note The number of unassigned records for the reporting category type is shown in brackets at the right of the Unassigned group at the top. To save the reporting hierarchy and return to the Search list, click o the **Save** action button at the top right of the module window.