Financial categories are the broadest layer of your financial setup — the reporting buckets that group your line items. Every line item you create needs a category, so these come first. Families never see category names; they're internal labels that shape your reports and any data you export to accounting software.
Complete this step before building line items. You can't assign a line item to a category that doesn't exist yet.
In this article:
How to create financial categories and what each field controls
Common categories to consider — and guidance on a few specific ones
How to edit or delete categories
Video Walkthrough
Define Financial Categories
Navigate to Admin > Financial Admin. From the Definitions menu in the upper right corner, select Financial Categories.
Click Define New.
Enter a category name.
💡 Tip: Use broad categories rather than narrow ones — they hold up better as your financial setup grows. Common examples: Tuition, Transportation, Additional Options, Discounts, Credits, Fees, Medical, Paid Activities, Scholarships.
Optionally, enter a General Ledger Code if you export Campminder data to accounting software such as QuickBooks.
💡Tip: click on the image below to enlarge
For Exclude Balance Forward, choose Yes or No. This controls whether transactions in this category are included in the balance carried forward at season end. The default is No — leave it unless your accountant advises otherwise.
Set State to Active.
Click Save, or Save + Add Another if you have more to create.
📋 Note: Think about the reports you'll need before finalizing your categories. Categories drive how charges group in reports and exports — changing them later can affect historical data.
🎯 Try it now: Navigate to Admin > Financial Admin > Definitions > Financial Categories and create at least one category. Use a real name you'll use this season — Tuition is a good starting point. Come back when you've saved it.
Category Notes
A few categories are worth thinking through before you decide how to structure yours.
Discounts vs. Credits | these are different things in accounting, and worth keeping separate. A discount reduces a charge from the start (Early Bird tuition is a discount). |
Medical | Medical charges are often better handled through a discretionary account, which lets you bill items individually and transfer balances as needed. A Financial Category is still useful to create, but you'll likely set up the discretionary account alongside it. |
Transportation vs. Travel | Transportation means getting to and from camp at the start and end of a session. Travel refers to trips taken during the session. Keep them as separate categories if your camp runs both. |
Scholarships | Many camps create two billing items under this category: "Scholarship" and "Scholarship Pending." Entering a promised scholarship as a charge with an equivalent pending credit lets you track what's been promised, then adjust the record when the funds arrive. |
Discretionary Accounts | If you run a camp store, canteen, or medical account, create a category here. When a parent funds a discretionary account, there's an entry to the financial ledger and a corresponding entry to that specific account. |
📖 Related: Get to Know: Accounts
🏕️ Camps in Action
A director setting up financials for the first time used a single Tuition category — even though her site ran both day camp and overnight programs.
Midseason, she couldn't produce a clean report that separated the two, which had very different price points. It also made board reporting by program type nearly impossible. The following season, she split it into Day Camp Tuition and Overnight Tuition — and her reports finally reflected how the business actually ran.
Edit Financial Categories
Navigate to Admin > Financial Admin > Definitions > Financial Categories.
Click the Edit button next to the category you want to modify.
Make your changes and click Save.
Delete Financial Categories
Navigate to Admin > Financial Admin > Definitions > Financial Categories.
Click the Delete button next to the category you want to remove.
In the confirmation window, click Yes.
📋 Note: If any line items are assigned to a category, you won't be able to delete it. Mark it Inactive instead — this removes it from active use without affecting historical reporting.
Before you move on, check yourself:
Do you understand why financial categories need to be created before line items?
Can you explain the difference between a Discounts category and a Credits category?
Have you thought through which categories your camp will need before you start building?
Ready for the next step?
Financial Admin: Additional Definitions — complete the remaining Definitions menu items before building line items
Financial Admin: Define Line Items — create the charges and credits that will appear on family invoices