# Tags

Reporting tags are a named list with up to ten options, and this is where the list and its options are created.

A tag is not a single label. It is a named list, such as Location or Department, holding the options a record can be filed under. Contacts, items and transactions carry a tag value, and reports group by it, which is why a tag is worth deciding once rather than inventing as you go.

Go to **Settings > Finance > Tags**. One tab, **All Tags**, with a **Search tags** box and a **Show inactive** toggle above the list. Each tag is a card naming the tag, listing its options, and carrying its description.

![The All Tags tab of Tags settings, headed Tags above the line Create and manage tags for categorising contacts, items, and transactions, with a blue Tag button at the right. A Search tags box and a Show inactive toggle sit above three cards, each with a pencil and a bin icon. Cost Centre lists CC-100 Operations, CC-200 Maintenance, CC-300 Fleet, CC-400 Overheads and is described as The budget line a cost is charged against. Department lists Field Service, Workshop, Trade Sales, Transport, Administration. Site lists Rotherham Central, Birmingham Trade Counter, Bristol Distribution Centre, Glasgow Depot, Sheffield Depot.](https://www.sorviai.com/help/settings/tags.png)

*A tag names the category; the line beneath it is the options a record can take.*

## Create a tag

- **Go to Settings, Finance, Tags.**
- **Select Tag.**
- **Enter a Tag Name.**

  Name the category rather than one of its values: `Department`, not `Sales`. It is shown wherever the tag can be assigned.
- **Add the options.**

  These are the values a record can take. Up to ten per tag, and at least one is required. Drag to reorder them.
- **Select Save.**

*The tag form*

> **Warning:**
>
> **Ten options is the limit, and it is a design hint**
>
> A tag that wants twenty options is usually two tags, or a field that belongs on the record itself. Splitting it now is easier than re-tagging a year of transactions later.

> **Tip:**
>
> **Turn a tag inactive rather than deleting it**
>
> Everything already tagged keeps its value and stays reportable, while nothing new can be filed under it. Deleting takes the category away from the history that used it.