> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.classcents.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Transaction Categories

> Organize the reasons you award and deduct points into reusable categories and templates

**Transaction Categories** let you create reusable groupings of reasons (templates) for awarding and deducting points. They feed the dropdowns you see on the Award/Deduct flows and on Quick Buttons.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/joshuamakes/G5j-M0tSaQs4mL9T/images/advanced/transaction-categories-settings.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=G5j-M0tSaQs4mL9T&q=85&s=cb90174323d4616961b3239d47e80881" alt="Classroom settings transaction categories section with category and template controls" width="1600" height="1000" data-path="images/advanced/transaction-categories-settings.png" />

<Tip>
  Open from **Settings** → **Classroom Settings** → **Transaction Categories**. URL: `/settings/classroom/transaction-categories`.
</Tip>

## Default Categories

ClassCents ships with three default categories so you have something to start with:

* **Academic** — homework completion, test performance, helping a peer with schoolwork
* **Social-Emotional** — kindness, teamwork, conflict resolution
* **Behavioral** — following directions, on-task behavior, classroom expectations

## Adding a Category

<Steps>
  <Step title="Click Add Category">
    Top right of the Transaction Categories page.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Name and color">
    Give the category a clear name and pick a color so it's easy to spot in dropdowns.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add templates">
    Each category holds a list of **templates** — the actual reasons you'll pick when awarding/deducting. Examples for Academic: *"Completed homework"*, *"Aced quiz"*, *"Brought materials to class"*.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    Save the category. It now appears in the reason dropdowns wherever you award or deduct points.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Restoring Defaults

If you've deleted the built-in categories or want them back, click **Restore Defaults** at the top of the page.

<Note>
  Restoring defaults **adds the three default categories back** but does **not** delete any custom categories you've created.
</Note>

## How They're Used

* **Award/Deduct dialogs** — The reason dropdown shows your templates grouped by category.
* **Quick Buttons** — When configuring [Quick Buttons](/features/transactions#quick-buttons), you can attach a template so the button records a consistent reason.
* **Reports & filtering** — Reason notes saved with transactions make the [Activity Feed](/features/activity) and [Transactions page](/features/transactions) easier to scan.