Categories organize the line items used on Flute invoices.
Categories are intended to be a convenient way to group and locate line items. Line items are used to create invoices. Each line item is product or service with predefined values such a name, unit type, and price. To build an invoice, add the appropriate line items to itemize billing.
Categories can organize groups of line items. The use of categories is optional.
A category may contain zero, one or more line items. Line items may be assigned to a category. However, line items are not required to be assigned to a category. For more about line items, see Line Items.
Each category has:
- A name, which must be unique within a merchant account.
- An optional default unit type, such as each, hour, or pound, that applies automatically to line items created under it.
A category may be deleted, This does not delete the line items assigned to it. Those line items will remain but without a category.
Each category returned by the API also reports an item count. This gives a quick view of how many line items currently belong to it. With that information, a merchant may decide to rename, reassign, or delete it.
The Categories endpoints support listing, creating, updating, and removing categories. The following endpoints are available:
| Endpoint | Explanation |
|---|---|
GET /pay-int-api/categories | The list endpoint accepts a search string along with paging and sort parameters. A merchant catalog with many categories can be filtered to relevant results rather than paged through in full. |
POST /pay-int-api/categories | Creates a new category. The category name must be unique within the merchant account. |
PUT /pay-int-api/categories/{categoryId} | Updates an existing category's name or default unit type. The name must remain unique within the merchant account. |
DELETE /pay-int-api/categories/{categoryId} | Deletes a category. Line items that referenced it stay in the catalog, now with an empty category. |