Categories tell Blackpurl which GL accounts to use when transactions integrate to your accounting package. Every part, labor code, fee, sublet, and unit needs a category assigned—the category determines where revenue, costs, and inventory post.
Categories are the bridge between Blackpurl transactions and your accounting package—they determine which GL accounts get hit when you sell a part, invoice labor, or add a fee. Set them up correctly and department profitability flows to your accounting automatically. Skip this step and your P&L is garbage.
Every category type maps to different GL accounts:
Category Type | Income GL | COGS GL | Inventory GL | Used For |
Part | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Part records |
Unit | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Stocked units |
Labor | ✓ | ✓ | — | Labor codes |
Vendor Product | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Sublets, warranty plans, dealer options |
Fee | ✓ | — | — | Fee codes |
Adjustment | ✓ | — | — | Stock/cost adjustments |
Internal | ✓ | — | — | Internal expense allocation |
Tax | ✓ | — | — | Tax collected/payable |
Example: You sell a $100 part (cost $60) on a service job.
Income GL posts $100 credit (revenue)
COGS GL posts $60 debit (cost)
Inventory GL posts $60 credit (inventory reduction)
The category assigned to that part controls which GL accounts receive each posting.
Create a New Category
Go to System Settings > Accounting Integration > Categories.
Click + Add Category
Select a Category Type (Part, Fee, Labor, etc.)
Enter a unique Category Name (descriptive—you'll see this in reports)
Assign GL accounts for each required field
Click Save
Pro Tip: Name categories by department and purpose: "Parts Retail," "Parts Wholesale," "Labor Service," "Labor Warranty." Clear names make reports actionable.
Category Types Explained
Part Categories
Assign to part records. Controls GL accounts for parts sales and purchases.
Required GL Accounts:
Income - Parts Revenue (where sales post)
COGS - Parts Cost of Goods Sold (where cost posts at sale)
Inventory - Parts Inventory (where cost sits until sold) Example Categories:
Parts Retail (retail counter sales)
Parts Wholesale (dealer-to-dealer sales)
Parts Service (internal service job consumption)
Accessories (tonneau covers, floor mats, lift kits) Journal Entry Pattern (Sale):
Debit COGS, Credit Inventory (cost relief)
Credit Income (revenue recognition)
Unit Categories
Assign to stocked unit records. Controls GL accounts for unit sales.
Required GL Accounts:
Income - Unit Sales Revenue
COGS - Unit Cost of Goods Sold
Inventory - Unit Inventory (Current Asset type, not "Inventory" type) Example Categories:
Units New
Units Used
Units Consignment
Labor Categories
Assign to labor codes. Controls GL accounts for labor sales on service jobs.
Required GL Accounts:
Income - Labor Revenue
COGS - Labor Cost (technician wages applied) Example Categories:
Labor Service (customer-pay work)
Labor Warranty (warranty claims)
Labor Internal (internal work orders) Pro Tip: Create separate labor categories if you want to track warranty labor profitability separately from customer-pay labor.
Vendor Product Categories
Assign to sublets, warranty plans, and dealer options. Controls GL accounts for these third-party products.
Required GL Accounts:
Income - Sublet/Warranty Revenue
COGS - Sublet/Warranty Cost
Inventory - Typically an accrual liability account (holds cost until vendor invoiced) Example Categories:
Sublets (outside work—glass, upholstery, machine shop)
Warranty Plans (extended warranties sold)
Dealer Options (accessories added to unit deals)
Fee Categories
Assign to fee codes. Controls GL accounts for fee revenue or expense.
Required GL Accounts:
Income - Fee Revenue OR Fee Expense (depends on use) Important: Fee categories work for both sales AND purchases. The GL type must match:
Selling fees (charged to customers) → Income GL account
Purchasing fees (charged by vendors) → Expense GL account Example Categories:
Freight Out (recovery from customer) → BP Freight Revenue
Freight In (charged by vendor) → BP Freight Expense
Shop Supplies (charged to customers) → Shop Supplies Revenue
Doc Fee → Documentation Fee Income Pro Tip: Don't use the same fee category for incoming and outgoing freight. Create "Freight In" (expense) and "Freight Out" (income) separately.
Adjustment Categories
Used when processing stock quantity or cost adjustments on parts and units.
Required GL Accounts:
Income - Inventory Adjustments Expense Journal Entry Pattern:
Quantity decrease: Debit Adjustment GL, Credit Inventory GL
Quantity increase: Credit Adjustment GL, Debit Inventory GL Example Category:
Inventory Adjustments (default—most dealerships only need one) Pro Tip: For unit cost adjustments to fix keying errors, contact Blackpurl Support rather than processing an adjustment. Adjustments don't update the vendor invoice in your accounting package.
Internal Categories
Used with Transaction Types to expense internal work to specific GL accounts.
Required GL Accounts:
Income - Internal Expense GL Example Categories:
Internal PDI (pre-delivery inspection expense)
Internal Goodwill (customer goodwill expense)
Internal Marketing (marketing department expense)
Tax Categories
Assign to tax codes. Controls GL accounts for tax collected and tax payable.
Required GL Accounts:
Income - Tax Collected GL (for sales tax collected)
Setting Default Categories
Some category types allow setting a default. When you create new parts, the default Part category applies automatically.
Go to the category list and click Set as Default on your preferred category for each type.
Pro Tip: Set your most common category as default, then override when needed. Most dealerships set "Parts Retail" as the Part default since it's their highest-volume category.
Common Category Structures
Simple (Small Dealership)
1 Parts category
1 Labor category
1 Unit category
1 Fee category
1 Adjustment category
Departmental (Medium Dealership)
Parts Retail, Parts Wholesale, Parts Service
Labor Service, Labor Warranty
Units New, Units Used
Multiple fee categories by type
Full Tracking (Large Dealership)
Separate categories by department AND product type
Accessories split from Parts
Different labor categories by warranty type
Sublets split by vendor type
Bottom Line
Categories are the bridge between Blackpurl transactions and your accounting package. Set them up once, assign them correctly to your products and codes, and your financial reports will track profitability by department automatically.