Bulk Import of Expense Categories for Administrators

This article explains how to complete the categories' template when you import categories' and category managers' data in bulk.

Adding and updating data in the categories' template

To create and organize your categories across entities with proper hierarchy, refer to the information in the following table.

Column name

Description

Notes

Parent

The name of the parent category if the category is part of a hierarchy.

The parent column shows only values in the Name column.
Leave blank if the category (Name column) is at the highest hierarchical level.

Name

The name of the category.

(Required) This is the label that will appear in expenses. It must be unique within the same entity and parent.
If you want to create a subcategory, enter it on a new row and choose its parent from the Parent name column.

Accounting code

The code is used to create a general ledger account from the accounting or ERP system.

This matches your external systems' chart of accounts, if applicable.

Tax rate

The VAT suggestion for this category.

Category manager

The list of already existing users in the Payhawk system.

Category name ID (do not change)

The unique ID generated by Payhawk when categories are initially created.

This ensures that updates apply to the correct category, even if rows are reordered. For examlple, adding a multiple category managers has to contain the same Category ID from Payhawk on each row for each single manager.
You must leave this one blank for new categories.

Full path (auto-generated)

You can ignore this column; it's auto-generated.

If your group includes multiple entities and your categories are managed on a group level, the following column is also applicable.

Column name

Description

Notes

Entity

The specific entity in your group where the category will be visible.

To ensure data consistency, verify that all values, especially Parent, Entity, and Category manager, match your existing system records.

As a Payhawk administrator, you can import your categories in bulk in the following way:

In the Payhawk web portal, go to Settings > Expense fields > Categories.
Under Values, click on the three-dot menu and select Import.
On the next screen:
1. To keep existing team data while adding new teams, select Add new values.
2. To update existing team data and add new teams, select Update values.
3. From the Hierarchy drop-down menu, select how you want the system to reflect the relation between your custom fields.
Click on Generate to download the template file.
Enter the required data in the template file, then return to the wizard and upload the file. Click on Upload.
On the Preview screen:
1. Review the data to be added or updated.
2. From the Import options drop-down menu, choose how you want the system to add the new data.
3. Select the confirmation checkbox.
4. Click on Import.
On the success screen, click on Done.

To export your categories' data and download it as a ZIP folder, select the Export option from the three-dot menu.