Categories
This article explains how categories and subcategories work in Model Reef and how to design a category scheme that keeps your reports and dashboards clean.
You will learn:
What categories are and what they control.
How to assign categories to variables.
How categories interact with branches.
How to design a simple, scalable category structure.
What categories are
A category in Model Reef is a reporting bucket that determines where a variable shows up in:
Profit and Loss.
Balance Sheet.
Cashflow Statement.
Cashflow Waterfall.
Dashboards and custom reports.
Each variable has:
A variable type (Revenue, COGS, Opex, Staff, Asset, Liability, Equity, Tax, Dividend).
A category and optional subcategory for reporting.
The variable type drives accounting behaviour. The category determines presentation and grouping.
Assigning categories to variables
When you create or import a variable, you should assign:
A high level category that reflects its nature, for example:
Revenue - SubscriptionsCOGS - DirectOpex - MarketingStaff - SalariesAssets - Plant and EquipmentLiabilities - LoansEquityTax
An optional subcategory for extra detail, for example:
Marketing - Paid SearchMarketing - SocialStaff - EngineersStaff - Sales
These choices are what you will see as line labels or grouped rows in reports.
Categories vs branches
Categories and branches work together but control different things:
Branches
Control where a variable lives in the structure.
Drive consolidation (entity, division, store, project).
Allow branch level P&L, Balance Sheet and Cashflow.
Categories
Control how variables are grouped inside each statement.
Let you compare the same category across branches (for example Opex - Marketing by entity).
Fuel custom reports and dashboards for specific cost or revenue lines.
You can have the same category used in many branches. Reports can show category totals by branch or for the entire model.
Designing your category scheme
Good category design keeps your model readable and stable over time. Guidelines:
Keep the top level list small and intuitive.
Revenue categories for main streams.
A few COGS categories.
A handful of Opex buckets (Marketing, Property, Technology, Overheads, etc.).
Separate Staff category for payroll related items.
Clear asset and liability buckets.
Use subcategories for detail rather than creating too many top level categories.
Name categories consistently so that consolidations are meaningful.
Align categories with how you present to management, the board or investors.
You can add new categories as needed, but big structural changes become harder once a lot of historical data is attached.
Editing and reclassifying categories
You can change a variable's category at any time. When you do:
All historical and forecast values for that variable move to the new category in P&L, Balance Sheet and Cashflow.
Dashboards and reports that use categories will show the new grouping.
The underlying variable type and accounting behaviour do not change unless you explicitly change the type.
This makes it possible to:
Clean up legacy category choices.
Reclassify costs or revenues for new reporting views.
Align with changes in your management or statutory reporting layout.
For large scale changes, consider using the Data Library to reclassify groups of variables consistently.
Categories in custom reports and dashboards
Categories are often used as building blocks for:
Custom P&L or cost reports (for example a marketing spend report).
Dashboards that show specific groupings such as
Staff,COGSorOperating Cash.KPI cards that display totals for particular categories.
Because categories are independent of branches, you can:
See category totals for the entire group.
Filter by branch or branch group.
Compare the same category across entities or divisions.
This is usually more robust than trying to build structurally similar branch trees for every comparison you need.
Related articles
Last updated