Product categories

Every product in Rundoo belongs to a three-level hierarchy — Department > Class > Fineline — that drives how sales, inventory, and margin roll up in reports, labels, and the Products list. This page covers what each level is for, creating and editing categories, what happens to products when you delete one, and how to assign products to categories.

In the Admin mode, open Product in the left sidebar, then scroll to the Product categories section.

Department, Class, Fineline

The three levels nest: every Fineline belongs to a Class, and every Class belongs to a Department. Only Department is required on a product — Class and Fineline are optional refinements that let you slice the same department into finer reporting buckets.

Department — the top level. The broadest grouping, the one reports default to, and the only level required when you add a product. A paint store typically has departments like Benjamin Moore, Cabinet Paint, Exterior Stain, Floor Coatings, Sundries. A hardware store has Building Materials, Electrical, Plumbing, Tools, Paint. A farm & feed store has Feed, Seed, Livestock Supplies, Animal Health.
Class — a mid-level bucket inside a department. Use it when one department needs to split into meaningfully different sub-groups — Interior Paint vs. Exterior Paint inside Benjamin Moore, Hand Tools vs. Power Tools inside Tools, Horse Feed vs. Cattle Feed inside Feed.
Fineline — the most specific level, inside a class. Use it when you want a report line for a narrow product family — Regal Select Matte, Regal Select Eggshell, Regal Select Semi-Gloss inside the Interior Paint class.

You don't have to use all three. Smaller stores often stop at Department; large stores with dozens of vendors usually ride Class too; Fineline gets serious use for SKU-by-SKU reporting in paint and chemicals.

Suggested categorization

If you're seeding a new tenant, the tables below are reasonable starting points by vertical — not prescriptive, just patterns Rundoo customers in each segment have landed on. Adjust to your store; nothing here is locked once products are imported.

Paint store

Department	Class examples	Fineline examples
Benjamin Moore	Interior Paint, Exterior Paint, Primers, Stains	Aura Interior, Regal Select Interior, ben Interior, Aura Exterior, Regal Select Exterior
Cabinet Paint	Advance, INSL-X Cabinet Coat	Advance Satin, Advance Semi-Gloss
Floor Coatings	Garage, Industrial	Epoxy, Urethane
Sundries	Brushes, Rollers, Tape, Drop Cloths, Caulk, Spackle	Wooster Brushes, Purdy Brushes, Frog Tape
Wallcovering	Wallpaper, Adhesives, Tools	—
Spray Equipment	Sprayers, Tips, Hoses	Graco Sprayers, Titan Sprayers

Hardware store

Department	Class examples	Fineline examples
Building Materials	Lumber, Drywall, Insulation, Roofing	2x4 Studs, Sheetrock, Shingles
Electrical	Wire, Outlets, Switches, Lighting	Romex, GFCI Outlets, LED Bulbs
Plumbing	Pipe, Fittings, Fixtures, Tools	PEX, Copper Fittings, Faucets
Tools	Hand Tools, Power Tools, Storage	Hammers, Drills, Tool Chests
Hardware	Fasteners, Hinges, Locks	Screws, Bolts, Deadbolts
Paint	Interior, Exterior, Sundries	Latex, Oil-Based, Brushes
Lawn & Garden	Tools, Soil, Plants	Shovels, Potting Mix, Fertilizer

For farm & feed, lumber, lawn & garden, or flooring — message Rundoo Support and we'll share starter taxonomies from comparable customers.

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One department is marked Default (shown with a DEFAULT pill next to its name in the list). New products created without a department picked land here. Use the Set as default checkbox in the Add/Edit modal to move the default to another department.

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Adding a category

Which level you're adding depends on which top tab is selected — Department, Class, or Fineline. Pick the tab first, then click Add department / Add class / Add fineline in the top-right. The same shape of modal opens each time; the fields are slightly different per level.