A vendor category is a named template with default posting settings that is linked to one or more vendors. The purpose is to avoid having to select financial account, VAT type, payment term and payment type manually every time you register a vendor invoice. When a vendor is assigned a category, all expense journal lines for that vendor automatically inherit the category settings as default values.
You can create as many categories as your company needs — typically one per vendor type (e.g. one for domestic purchases of goods, one for foreign purchases, one for freight costs).
Financial → Accounting → Setup → Vendor categories.
If you cannot see the menu item, you most likely do not have permission for it. Contact support.
Vendor categories is a definition screen. What you define here is used in the following places:
On the vendor card the vendor is assigned one vendor category. The category assignment is what links the vendor to the posting defaults you have defined here.
In the expense journal (Accounting → Journal) the system automatically looks up the category settings when you create or edit a creditor entry for a vendor that has a category assigned. Financial account, VAT type, payment term, currency and payment type are suggested as default values, but can be overridden per entry.
In the vendor list (Vendors) you can filter and sort on the Vendor category column so you can quickly find all vendors within the same category.
Financial account validation — when accounts are changed, the system checks whether a financial account is in use by vendor categories and warns about invalid combinations.
The overview shows all vendor categories created for the selected level. The columns include System name, Display name, Financial account, Default VAT type, Extra VAT type, Payment term, Without VAT, Currency and Discount account. The Default org. unit column is hidden by default, but can be added via column selection.
You can double-click a row to open the edit form.
See How to search in lists for more about searching and filtering.
New — always available. Opens the edit form for creating a new vendor category.
Edit — enabled when a row is selected. Opens the edit form for the selected category.
Delete — only visible and enabled when a row is selected. Requires confirmation before the deletion is carried out. A category cannot be deleted if there are still vendors linked to it.
Validate — always available. Checks whether all categories are configured correctly, including whether the linked financial accounts and VAT types are valid in the active accounting period. The result shows either "Categories are set up correctly" or a list of the categories that have setup errors, with a description of what is wrong.
The edit form opens when you click New or Edit. The form is divided into two columns of fields and contains, at the bottom, a tab with the linked vendors.
You save by clicking Save and close. If you click Cancel, all changes are discarded.
System name: A unique technical name for the category, e.g. "VAREKOB_DK". The field is required and can only be edited at creation — it is locked once the category has been saved the first time. The system name is used as a key internally in the system.
Display name: The name users see on the vendor card and in the vendor list, e.g. "Goods purchases Denmark". The field is required.
Financial account: The financial account that the expense journal suggests as default when you post an invoice to a vendor with this category. Select from the list of accounts in the active accounting period. The field is optional, but it is recommended to fill it in to avoid manual account selection when posting.
Default VAT type: The VAT type suggested as default when posting. Validated against the active accounting period. Optional.
Extra VAT type: An extra VAT type that can be specified in addition to the default VAT type — used in special cases, e.g. with reverse charge VAT. Validated against the active accounting period. Optional.
Default other payer: A vendor that is to pay on behalf of the actual vendor. Selected from the actor list and filtered to actors with the Vendor role. Used in the creditor flow when a party other than the normal vendor is to be settled.
Default account for expense journal: The financial account suggested as default in the expense journal's offset account field. Optional. Useful if all invoices in this category are typically offset on the same account.
Default description for journal entry: A text string suggested as the entry text in the expense journal. Optional. Can save typing if the category's invoices typically have the same description.
Payment term: The payment term suggested when posting — e.g. 30 days net. Selected from the payment terms defined in the system. Optional.
Currency: The currency in which invoices to vendors in this category are typically traded. Selected from the active currencies in the system. Optional.
Payment type: Determines how payment to the vendors in the category is generated and sent. Possible values:
Bank account — payment is sent as a normal bank transfer to the vendor's account number.
FIK — payment is generated as a FIK payment (Fælles Indbetalingskort).
Generate cash entry automatically — the system automatically generates a cash entry without sending a bank payment.
Generate bank entry automatically — the system automatically generates a bank entry without manual approval.
If no payment type is selected, no automatic payment logic is used.
Discount account: A financial account used for posting discount amounts in the vendor payment flow. Optional.
Default org. unit: Specifies which organizational unit is, by default, linked to the vendors in the category. Optional. The column is initially hidden in the overview.
Without VAT: Check the field if the vendors in this category generally trade without VAT — e.g. insurance or financial services.
At the bottom of the edit form is a tab that shows all the vendors currently assigned to the category at the selected level. The tab is read-only and provides a quick overview of which vendors are affected by changes to the category.
If your Sapera installation is configured to maintain vendor categories per organizational unit (department/store) rather than at a shared accounting level, an extra navigation panel is shown in the overview, where you switch between the different levels in the organizational structure.
In this case, three extra action buttons are shown:
Use from parent — replaces the current level's own category definitions with those inherited from the parent level. The button is active when the current level has its own overrides that can be replaced. Note that this deletes the locally defined overrides for the selected level.
Apply to all levels below — copies the selected category's definition down to all subordinate levels in the organizational structure. The button is active when a category is selected.
Clear defined at current level — removes the overrides defined specifically at the current level, so the level again inherits from the parent. The button is active when overrides exist at the current level.
These buttons are only visible when the system is configured for inheritance per level. If your company does not use a chain structure, they are not shown.
If you have any questions, you are welcome to contact support.
Want to know more?
Read more in these related articles:
Vendors
How to use the vendor register and vendor card in Sapera: list view with filters and actions, create and edit vendors, all tabs on the card (Entries, Purchase orders, Receipts, Purchase invoices, Stock archive, Notes, Attachments, Discounts, Sent emails, Actor info) as well as Vendor setup and SEO setup.
Creating a vendor category
In this guide we will explain how to create vendor categories in Sapera.
Vendor setup
This article explains how to access and change the vendor setup for a specific vendor
