Manage Repair Categories
Managing repair services can quickly get complicated as your business grows and new types of repairs are added. RepairDesk allows you to create, manage and use repair categories using a repair category tree. A well-structured Repair Category Tree helps you organize services into clear categories and subcategories, making it easier to search, filter, and select the right service during ticket creation, checkout, or reporting. It also keeps your POS and online booking channels consistent and easy to navigate.
Watch Guide:
What is a Repair Category Tree?
The Repair Category Tree is a flexible, hierarchical system that lets you organize services using multiple levels of categories and subcategories.
Think of it like folders within folders:
Example: Laptop Repair → MacBook Repair → MacBook Keyboard Repair
This structure mirrors how products are organized in your Product Category Tree and helps create a logical flow for your repair services.
How Does the Repair Category Tree Help?
The Category Tree is designed to make service management easier, especially for new users setting up their system for the first time. Here’s how it helps your team:
-
Simplifies service organization: Group similar services together for easy navigation.
-
Improves speed at checkout: Quickly find and select the right service from the POS or ticket screen.
-
Enhances visibility: Display relevant services on the POS, Customer Portal or Widgets.
-
Supports reporting and analysis: Reports now show the full category path.
-
Prepares for future scalability: Supports multi-level categories (nth-level) so you can manage complex service structures like Jewelry, Mechanical, or Electronics.
Create Categories and Sub-Categories
Go to Settings → Repair Categories in the Repairs section.
Click Create Category to create a top-level category (e.g., “Mobile Repair”).
Select a Parent Category and click Add Sub-Category to create nested levels under it.
Configure Categories
You can configure the following settings for each parent category:
Show on POS / Widget / Customer Portal
Choose to make the repair category visible on POS, Widgets or the Customer Portal.
Mark as General/Billable
A general/billable category allows you to skip brand and model mapping, and all services under this category are set as hourly rate services by default.
Update Pre/Post Conditions
Select which pre/post conditions should be visible while selecting a service of this repair category.
Set up Default or Custom Fields (e.g. Password, Serial No., Location etc.)
Manage fields, their types and decide to make them visible while selecting a service of this repair category.
Apply your Repair Category Tree directly to services and keep your repair catalog structured, searchable, and perfectly aligned with your workflow.
Applying Category Tree to Services
Each repair category shows a Service Count. Selecting it opens the Manage Services page in a new tab with that category pre-filtered.
The filter dropdown includes a full Category Tree, allowing you to refine results by navigating the hierarchy.
To assign a category path to a service, open the service from the Services Listing page. Example: For “MacBook Pro Keyboard Replacement,” assign it to Computer Repair > Laptop Repair > MacBook Repair for accurate classification.
Use Add Services to associate existing services or Create Service to add a new one.
To learn more, watch the How to Manage Repair Services video.
Using Repair Categories in Your Workflow
Once you’ve set up your category tree:
- You can select services through the tree on POS, Invoices, Estimates, Inquiries, Leads, Tickets, and Reports.
- The category path is displayed in printed documents and reports.
-
Bulk price editing and service imports/exports now support category mapping.
Selecting a Category on the POS
On the POS screen, you can see the Parent Categories by default. Select the Parent Category.
Select the sub-category and navigate through categories according to the tree to find the service you want.
-
Example: Laptop Repair → MacBook Repair → MacBook Keyboard Repair
-
If you want to select the current category, simply click on the Next button to progress.
Continue with the current POS flow.
Viewing in Reports
To view reporting filtered via the Category Tree, open the Reports mega dropdown.
Select your reporting criteria, then filter results using the service Category Tree.
FAQs
The Repair Category Tree is used anywhere you select or work with repair services, including creating a ticket from the POS, Manage Tickets, Manage Invoices, Manage Leads + Inquiries, Manage Estimates, and viewing category paths in Reports. It also applies to customer-facing tools such as the Customer Portal, Appointments Pro, and RD Forms, ensuring a consistent service structure across all workflows.
Yes, you can import/export categories with their full hierarchy and settings.
No, duplicate names in the same level aren’t allowed. The system automatically checks for spacing and punctuation differences.
It’s hidden from all modules (POS, Reports, Forms, etc.), but you can re-enable it anytime.
You can restrict users to add/edit repair categories on POS by disabling the permission under the employees roles and permission section.
Settings > Employees > Manage roles permission
Open the service you want to update, use the Category dropdown to search and select the new category or subcategory, and save your changes.
If you need to update multiple services at once, the Repair Services Import/Export feature allows you to adjust categories in bulk.
No. Categories are only used to organize your services. Manufacturer and device details remain linked at the service level, not the category level, so you don’t need to create separate categories for each brand or device.