Managing your Categories in the Tech Spend Module

Managing your categories and subcategories in the Technology Spend module is like finally getting that messy shared drive under control—everything neatly organized, easy to find, and free from mystery files named "New Folder (27)".

In this article, we’ll walk you through how to reorder your categories, hide the ones you don’t need (because clutter is the enemy), create subcategories like a pro, and even add a personal touch to make things more visually appealing. Because let’s be real—if you’re staring at data all day, it might as well look good.

Some categories are more important than others—like "Critical Security Tools" vs. "Swag Budget" (unless you’re really into branded hoodies). If you want to keep your high-spend categories front and center, reordering them is as easy as rerouting a help desk ticket (but way less frustrating). Just follow these steps:

🛠 Step 1: Click the three dots next to the blue "Add" button.

🎨 Step 2: Select "Customize View".

📦 Step 3: You’ll see a list of all your categories. Use the grabber tool (a.k.a. the tiny hand that makes dragging things fun) to move them around until they’re exactly where you want them.

Boom! Your categories will dynamically shift into their new spots, making your tech spend dashboard as organized as your cable management (or at least, how you wish your cable management looked).

HighGround comes with some generic default categories & subcategories to save you time and effort. These categories are shown in the table below:

But we get it. Not every category is relevant to you. While you can’t delete them, you can hide them so they’re not cluttering up your view.

Here’s how:

Step 1: Click the three dots next to the blue "Add" button.

Step 2: Select "Customize View".

Step 3: Click the eye icon next to the category you want to banish from your list.

Poof! It’s gone (but not really gone).

Don’t worry - if you ever need it back, you can find it in the "Hidden" list at the bottom of your categories. Because nothing in IT ever truly disappears, right?

You can also hide subcategories from being visible. Here's how:

Step 1: Find the category the subcategory belongs to in category management.

Step 2: Click on the drop-down arrow beside the category name.

Step 3: untick the subcategories checkbox from the module(s) you want it hidden from.

And just like that, your subcategory will no longer be visible.

Custom Categories: Because One Size Never Fits All

Sure, HighGround gives you a solid set of default categories, but we know IT budgets don’t always fit into neat little boxes. Maybe you’ve got spend in “Unexpected Emergency Hardware Replacements” or “Yet Another SaaS Tool”—whatever it is, you can create your own custom categories in just a few clicks:

Step 1: Click the blue "Add" button and select "Add Category"

Step 2: Give your category a name, and pick a colour

Step 3: Add subcategories if you need them—because sometimes, "Software" just isn’t specific enough.

Step 4: Click "Save" and boom—your custom category now sits alongside the defaults, ready to help you track spend your way.

If you love a clean, structured system (or just want to avoid future headaches), adding subcategories is a game-changer. It lets you neatly tuck spending into specific buckets within a larger category, making everything easier to find—because no one enjoys scrolling through a financial black hole.

Whether you’re tidying things up or just forgot to add one earlier, here’s how:

Step 1: Select the category where your new subcategory will live.

Step 2: Click the blue "Add" button and select "Add Subcategory".

Step 3: Give your subcategory a name (make it make sense) and a colour.

Step 4: Hit "Save", and just like that, your subcategory is officially part of the family.

Want to see all the subcategories under a category? Just select the category and check out the "Subcategories" section under the total spend circle. There, you’ll find your full list, color-coded and ready to go.

Add a splash of colour so you can spot what you need at a glance, saving time and reducing the risk of misplacing spend data (yea, "Miscellaneous" isn’t a real strategy).

🎨 To assign a colour to a category:
​Step 1: Select the category you want to customize.

​Step 2: Click the colour dropdown at the top right of the screen.

​Step 3: Choose a colour that speaks to you (or at least makes sense).

​Step 4: Press "Save", and voilà—your category is now easy to spot!

🌈 To assign a colour to a subcategory:
​Step 1: Open the category that contains your subcategory.

​Step 2: Click on "Subcategories" to see the full list.

​Step 3: Select the subcategory you want to apply a colour to.

​Step 4: Use the colour dropdown at the top right.

​Step 5: Hit "Save".

Now even your subcategories are looking sharp.

We now have a category management feature within HighGround which allows you to control all categories from a centralised place. This is where you can control visibility, rename, assign colours, create and delete categories.

To learn more please read our Understanding Category Management article.