The Categories screen is central to Tresio’s functionality, serving as the foundation for organizing and managing your financial data. Given its complexity, we strongly recommend setting it up in collaboration with a Tresio representative to ensure accuracy and avoid potential issues that could impact your data integrity moving forward.
Categories enable you to structure your financial data by mapping transactions to predefined groups, ensuring clarity and consistency. Once categorized, this structured data becomes the basis for leveraging Tresio’s powerful tools, including liquidity planning, reporting, and advanced financial analysis.
1. Structure and basic settings
Using Category groups, you can quickly customize categories to fit specific frameworks, such as the Swiss SME standard accounting framework, or import them directly from connected accounting solutions like Bexio or STRIPE. This flexibility allows for more efficient mapping of structures like cost centers or project assignments, streamlining financial management and analysis.
Categories are managed within Tresio under the Categories section.
- In the ‘Categories’ section, you can view the categories currently in use within Tresio. New categories and subcategories can be added by clicking the ‘New’ button
- The ‘Category Sources‘ section allows you to specify which sources should be used for categorization
- Categories can be reorganized or reclassified under the ‘Category mapping‘ section.
2. Categories screen
The Categories screen serves as the central hub for managing categories and subcategories in Tresio. Here, you can view all active categories, add new ones, and disable or remove categories that are no longer needed.
For instance, consider a trading company with three main product groups that also sells service contracts. The standard SME plan without customization may look something like this:
For this example, the company might benefit from analyzing income by individual product groups (A, B, and C) while also separating service-related income. To achieve this, subcategories can be added under the parent category ’30 – Production Yield’ to reflect this breakdown.
By structuring categories in this way, businesses gain better financial insights tailored to their specific operations.
Creating additional sub-categories
Adding new categories or subcategories in Tresio is straightforward. Click the ‘New’ button to begin:
- Category Name: Enter the name of the new (sub)category. Optionally, you can assign an account number (e.g., 301).
- Category Number: Assign a category code as per the government standard. Subcategories automatically inherit settings from their parent category.
- Category No. format: Select the appropriate government framework. Currently, Tresio supports two options: Swiss – for Swiss accounting standards; Other – a flexible, free-format option for non-standard use.
- Category parent: Specify the parent category to which the new subcategory belongs.
- Showing for company: For accounts linked to multiple companies, new categories can be set up for specific companies or applied globally across all companies.
- Category comment (optional): Add internal notes or specifications related to the category.
Advanced Options: Options such as ‘Is fixed‘, ‘Data sign conversion rule‘, ‘Accounting logic‘ and ‘Year-end logic‘ are explained in detail in Section 5: FAQs.
For our example trading company, the newly adapted category structure would look like this:
30 – Production Yield
- Subcategories for Product Groups A, B, and C.
- A separate subcategory for Services.
Time-saving tip: to save time, click the checkbox next to an entry to easily duplicate it. This feature is particularly helpful for creating complex category structures efficiently.
3. Category sources screen
The Category sources screen provides a comprehensive view of category sources and their associated source names. Here’s how to make the most of this functionality:
Overview of the Screen
- Source name (1):
Tresio offers various category sources that can be flexibly activated, partially enabled, or deactivated as needed. Examples include:- Tresio Standard Set (recommended default).
- Swiss SME Short Set – aligned with the SME list of accounts.
- Bexio Software – importing lists of accounts directly from Bexio.
- Status (2):
Indicates the activation status of each category source. - Category count (3):
Displays the number of active categories from a source. For example, 38 categories were selected from the “Swiss SME short set.” - Records count (4):
Shows how many records (e.g., invoices, planning data) are currently associated with these categories. - Unused Category Count (5):
Indicates how many additional categories are available in the selected source but are not yet activated in Tresio. - View Categories (6):
Clicking this opens a window where you can manage which categories within an active source are used in Tresio.
- Actions Column (7):
This column allows actions for records without a grey lock in the Status column. Actions include:- Remove: Deactivates the selected categories from Tresio.
- Show Categories: Opens a pop-up to select or deselect specific categories, letting you customize your list.
- Remap: Enables remapping of categories from a source to align with your custom list.
Pro Tip:To simplify data entry and improve clarity, begin by selecting only the categories that are essential. Additional categories can always be added later when needed, ensuring streamlined management and data input.
4. Category mapping screen
The Category mapping screen facilitates importing accounting frameworks from Bexio and STRIPE into Tresio, providing seamless integration for budget and liquidity planning.
For Bexio customers:
The accounting framework in Bexio can now be directly imported into Tresio, enabling efficient financial planning.
There are two import options:
- Import only used accounts (recommended):
Transfers only the accounts actively used in Bexio (e.g., those tied to invoice imports). - Import the complete list of accounts:
Imports the entire account framework from Bexio, regardless of activity.
Detailed Steps:
Option A: Import Only Used accounts (recommended)
- Navigate to Categories → Category sources in Tresio.
- Locate Bexio Software and change the Status to Create automatically.
- Tresio will now automatically pull relevant accounts with every invoice import. No further action is required.
Option B: Import the Complete List of accounts
- Navigate to Categories → Category sources in Tresio.
- Under the Bexio Software source, select the Configure option.
- A pop-up will appear with two options:
- Import categories: Imports all accounts from Bexio into Tresio. Note that existing data in Tresio will not be altered.
- Category remap: Allows mapping of Bexio accounts to Tresio categories to ensure consistency.
Category Mapping Process
The actual (re-)mapping of imported accounts occurs under the Category mapping menu.
- Classification Rules: Define how imported Bexio accounts align with existing categories in Tresio.
- Adjust mappings to ensure imported accounts integrate smoothly with Tresio’s category logic.
This process helps tailor the imported data to your company’s unique needs while maintaining clarity and consistency.
5. FAQs
What does the ‘Is Fixed’ checkbox mean when managing categories and subcategories?
The ‘Is Fixed’ checkbox should be activated when cash flows are planned within a category, but no invoices are associated with those transactions.
Examples include: Permanent order leasing, Wage payments, Rent and Loan repayments.
These types of cash flows are included in both planned and actual data, ensuring they are accurately accounted for in financial analyses.
What Do the Settings in the Data Sign Conversion Rule Do?
The Data Sign Conversion Rule determines how positive and negative numbers are handled in financial data. You can choose from three options:
- Don’t Convert: Negative numbers are treated as deductions (subtracted from the total), and positive numbers are treated as additions. This is the default behavior for most accounting systems.
- Always Positive: All numbers are treated as positive values, regardless of whether they have a minus sign. This setting is useful in scenarios like accounts payable, where negative signs might be applied by certain accounting systems.
- Always Negative: All numbers are treated as negative values, irrespective of their original sign. This is particularly useful for specific categories where all amounts are inherently meant to reduce totals.
By setting the Data Sign Conversion Rule appropriately, you ensure accurate interpretation and alignment with your accounting requirements.
What Does ‘Accounting Logic’ Mean?
The ‘Accounting Logic’ setting is used to define how a category is treated in journal calculations. This determines whether the category is associated with specific financial accounts or excluded from accounting entirely. The available options are:
- Asset: Categories booked as assets reflect resources owned by the business.
- Liability: Categories representing obligations or debts owed by the business.
- Income: Categories classified as income indicate revenue-generating activities.
- Cost: Categories booked as costs reflect expenses incurred by the business.
- No Accounting Ledger: Categories marked with this option are not included in journal entries and are used exclusively for liquidity planning purposes.
This flexibility allows you to tailor your financial data management in Tresio to meet your specific accounting and planning needs.
What Is ‘Year-End Logic’ Used For?
The ‘Year-End Logic’ setting defines how category balances are handled at the end of the accounting year (typically December 31) when closing the old year and opening a new one. This setting ensures accurate reporting and continuity based on the category’s purpose. The available options are:
- Default: This option applies standard year-end handling as defined by Tresio, based on the category’s type.
- Transfer of Balance: Used for balance sheet categories (e.g., bank accounts, assets, liabilities). The balance from the previous year is carried forward to the new year, ensuring continuity.
- Opening Balance: Used for income statement categories (e.g., revenue, expenses). The balance resets to zero at the start of each year, meaning previous-year amounts are not considered for the new period. For example:
- Revenue and expenses: Start from zero every January to reflect a fresh accounting period.
- Bank balances: Retain their amounts from the previous year to carry forward.
This logic mirrors real-world accounting principles, where certain balances (like bank accounts) roll over into the next year, while others (like revenue or costs) are reset annually.
Why Is Some Plan Data Shown as Unclassified?
Unclassified plan data indicates that certain entries have not been mapped to a category. To resolve this:
- Navigate to the Category mapping Section
- Go to ‘Categories’ -> ‘Category mapping’.
- Verify Category Transfer
- Ensure all old categories have been correctly mapped to new categories.
- Any fields labeled Apply in green indicate untransferred data and should be resolved.
- Assign Categories
- Check that every entry has a corresponding category.
- Use the dropdown menu to assign a suitable category for any unclassified entries.
By ensuring all categories are correctly mapped and assigned, you can eliminate unclassified data and maintain consistent financial reporting.
What If My Category Structure Differs From the Suggested Logic?
If your financial setup requires a unique category structure that doesn’t align with Tresio’s default logic, follow these steps to customize it:
- Delete Existing Categories
- Navigate to ‘Categories’.
- Select and delete individual entries by clicking the checkbox next to them.
- To remove all entries, use the checkbox at the top-left corner of the table.
2. Create Your Custom Structure
- Once cleared, you can design your own category structure and logic to suit your specific requirements.
3. Restore Deleted Entries (If needed)
- If you’ve accidentally deleted essential categories, you can easily revert to one of the predefined system suggestions by going to ‘Category Sources’ and reactivating a source.
Need Assistance?
Our team is ready to assist you in setting up your categories. We can guide you through the process, typically as part of your onboarding to Tresio.
Customizing your categories ensures Tresio aligns perfectly with your business operations, enabling precise financial management.