How do I merge duplicate cashbook categories?

Open Income & expense types. Categories that look like the same thing are listed at the top; press Keep "…" on the one you want to keep. Every entry moves into it and the empty category is removed. Nothing is merged unless you press the button.

Where to find it

Admin › ERP › Accounts Department › Income & expense types (আয় ও খরচের ধরন).

Only the store owner (Super Admin) can merge. Other people do not see the merge buttons.

Step by step

From the suggestions:

1. Open Income & expense types.
2. Look at the box Look like the same category. Each line shows two names, how many entries each has and how alike they are, for example "Nasta bill (42) ≈ nastar bil (3) · 78% alike".
3. Press Keep "Nasta bill" to keep that one.
4. Confirm. The page says how many entries were moved.

Any two categories:

1. Find the category you want to remove in the list.
2. Press its merge button (Merge into…).
3. Choose the category to keep. Only categories of the same money direction are offered.
4. Press Merge and confirm.

How it works

• Every entry of the removed category moves to the one you keep, including deleted entries, so old records stay complete.
• Money changes still waiting in Need approval follow the move too.
• If the kept category has no usual unit and the other one had, the unit is kept.
• Totals and reports stay the same. Only the category name on the entries changes.

Example: at Rangdhanu Fashion, staff wrote breakfast as "Nasta bill", "nasta bil" and "Nastar bill". The owner keeps "Nasta bill" twice. Now Spending by category shows the whole breakfast cost on one line.

Good to know

• Some categories cannot be merged away: salary and advance categories, supplier categories, and the categories the app uses for factory sales ("Sales from factory" and "Order paid at the factory"). The button that would remove them does not show. Supplier categories are left out of merging altogether.
• Money in and money out stay apart. A money-out category cannot be merged into a money-in one.
• Prevent new duplicates. The cashbook already warns with "Similar: … use this" when someone types a close name.

Common problems

• "… is used by the app itself … so it cannot be merged away." Merge the other way: keep the built-in one.
• "Choose a category of the same type." The category you chose is for the other money direction.

Related

• Why does the cashbook say "Similar: … use this"?
• How do I set up income and expense types?
• How do I see spending by category?
• Why do money edits and deletes wait in Need approval?