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GET
/
v1
/
businesses
/
{businessId}
/
categories
Fetch transaction categories
curl --request GET \
  --url https://sandbox.layerfi.com/v1/businesses/{businessId}/categories \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <token>'
{
  "type": "Category_List",
  "categories": [
    {
      "type": "AccountNested",
      "id": "e95c8640-f87b-43bf-a9c6-cabc7ebfdec6",
      "stable_name": "EXPENSES",
      "display_name": "Expenses",
      "subCategories": "<array>"
    }
  ]
}

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.layerfi.com/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Retrieves the list of usable transaction categories based on the business’ chart of accounts. This endpoint returns a list of transaction categories that should be used when building your own user interface to display options in a transaction categorization user interface.
If you are primarily using Layer’s embedded components, you likely won’t need to use this API endpoint directly.

​
Types

There are three types of categories you’ll find in the category list: AccountNested, OptionalAccountNested, and ExclusionNested.

​
AccountNested

AccountNested represents a required template account in the business’s chart of accounts.

​
OptionalAccountNested

OptionalAccountNested represents an optional template account in the business’s chart of accounts.

​
ExclusionNested

ExclusionNested represents an exclusion type that can be used to exclude a transaction from the business’s accounting.

​
Interpreting the category list

In all cases, use display_name to present the category to the user. Use the columns below to choose a stable identifier.
Category typeAccountIdStableNameIdentify withNotes
Optional template accountAfter instantiationYesStableName (always); AccountId once instantiatedOptional accounts only have an AccountId after first use. Use StableName to reference them before instantiation.
User-defined custom accountYesNoAccountId onlyA new AccountId is created when the account is added; no stable name is assigned.
Required template accountYesYesAccountId or StableNameThe stable name is the same as the account name.
ExclusionNoYesStableNameThe exclusion type acts as the stable name; exclusions have no AccountId.

Authorizations

​
Authorization
string
header
required

Bearer authentication header of the form Bearer <token>, where <token> is your auth token.

Headers

​
Content-Type
string

Content-Type must be set to application/json.

Path Parameters

​
businessId
string
required

The UUID of the business to fetch the tree of available categories for.

Response

200 - application/json

List of the categories available for a business.

​
type
string

Resource type. Value will be 'Category_List'.

Example:

"Category_List"

​
categories
(AccountNested · object | OptionalAccountNested · object | ExclusionNested · object)[]

Array of categories in a business, where each category is a polymorphic type that can be an Account, OptionalAccount, or an Exclusion. For more details, see Account Identifiers and Categorization.

A category that represents a required template account in the business's chart of accounts.