Build with production orders

A manufacturing order is one build. It names the product you are making, pulls the components from that product's bill of materials, and tracks the build from start to finish. When you mark the order done, the components leave stock and the finished goods arrive, so Inventory stays right without a separate count.

Define a bill of materials

A bill of materials lists what goes into one product. You write it once, and every order for that product pulls the same list.

1. Open Manufacturing and go to Bills of Materials.
2. Click New and pick the product you are building.
3. Add a component line for each part the build consumes, with its quantity.
4. List any by-products the build also produces, and any sub-assemblies that are themselves built from their own bill of materials.
5. Save.

Launch a manufacturing order

1. Go to Manufacturing Orders and click New.
2. Select the product and the quantity to build. The order fills in the components from the bill of materials.
3. Click Confirm to move the order into production.
4. Click Check Availability to reserve the parts from stock. The order shows what is reserved and what is still missing.

If a part is short, restock it through Purchase before you build.

Follow the build through its work steps

Work steps come from the operations on the bill of materials. Turn on Work Orders in the Manufacturing settings to track them. Without it, a manufacturing order is a single step you mark done.

1. Open the order's Work Orders tab to see each step in sequence.
2. Start a step at its work center, record the time, and close it when the step is complete.
3. Move through the steps in order until the build is finished.

Stock updates when you finish

1. When the build is complete, click Mark as Done.
2. The components listed on the order come out of stock, and the finished product goes in.

There is no separate stock move to key in. Component stock lives in Inventory, and parts are restocked through Purchase.

Related

• Manufacturing — the app overview: bills of materials, work centers, and stock sync.
• Inventory — where component and finished-goods stock lives.
• Purchase — buy the parts a build needs.