Finance

# Pricing categories and cost elements

Group revenue and costs into pricing categories with ledger codes, and add one-off costs to locations, orders and trips as cost elements.

Updated 5 October 2026

**Who can do this:** Settings > Variables: a role level above 600\. Cost elements: the Financial platform feature.

A pricing category groups money by kind, such as "Freight", "Waiting time", "Toll" or "Fuel surcharge". Every price module, quote line and invoice line has a category. The category carries the ledger codes that are used when invoices go to your accounting package, and decides whether the amount counts as trip revenue.

## Create a pricing category

1. Open the side menu (☰) and choose **Settings**.
2. Open the **Variables** tab.
3. Go to the **Pricing Category** section.
4. Enter the **Name**.
5. Enter the **Credit code** (the revenue ledger account, for example 8000) and the **Debit code** (the cost ledger account, for example 4000).
6. Optional: enter a **Default value**.
7. Switch on **Enabled** so the category can be chosen.
8. Leave **Trip revenue** on if amounts in this category count as revenue of a trip. Switch it off for pass-through items you do not want in trip revenue.
9. Click **Create**.

The table below the form lists all categories with their codes, **Default value**, **Enabled** and **Trip revenue**. Filter it on **Enabled** or search by name.

## Edit or remove a category

1. Find the category in the table, or search for it.
2. Click **Edit** on the row. The values move into the form at the top.
3. Change them and click **Update**, or click **Cancel**.
4. To delete a category, click **Remove** on the row.

Disable a category instead of removing it once it has been used. Disabled categories disappear from the selection lists, while existing lines keep their category.

## Add cost elements

A cost element is a single amount in a pricing category, for example a terminal fee at a location or an extra handling charge on an order. You add them in the **Cost elements** section of a location, and in the financial section of a transport order or trip.

1. Open the form of the location, order or trip.
2. Go to **Cost elements** and click **\+ Add cost element**.
3. Choose the category in **Select pricing category**.
4. Choose the business the cost relates to, if any.
5. Enter the amount.
6. Optional: click **\+ Add comment** and add a description.
7. Click **Save** on the form.

A **Price elements** module bills the cost elements of one category that it finds on the trip, its consignments and the locations it visits. See [Price modules explained](/en/help/price-modules).

A cost element marked **Managed by trip spot-quote** is part of the spot quote of a forwarded trip. You change it there, not on the transport order.

## Related articles

* [Price modules explained](/en/help/price-modules)
* [Tax rates and VAT rules](/en/help/tax-rates)
* [Prices, costs and invoices of a transport order](/en/help/transport-order-financials)
* [Trip costs and revenue](/en/help/trip-costs-and-revenue)

## Still need help?

Our support team is happy to answer any question about Transportial.

[Contact support](/en/contact)[Report an issue](/en/report-issue)

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Canonical page: https://transportial.com/en/help/pricing-categories