New Work Order
A Work Order orders a production run. It records what is being made, how many, by when and at whose cost, and it becomes the document everything else attaches to — the components issued, the labour and overhead added, and the finished goods received back into stock.
Where to find it
Go to Manufacturing > New > Work Order.
Before you start
- The item must be flagged as manufactured. If no manufacturable items exist, the form offers a link to add or update them.
- A BOM must exist for the item — without one the order cannot be raised.
- The components need to be in stock at the location they will be issued from.
Key Features of Work Order
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Customer | No | Who the run is for. Leave as No Customer for general production to stock. |
| Reference | Yes | The unique number the order is tracked by. |
| Type | Yes | Assemble, Advanced Manufacture or Unassemble — see below. |
| Process Type | No | The named production stage, from Process Types. |
| Branch / Department | No | Who is accountable for the run. |
| Item | Yes | What is being made. |
| Quantity | Yes | How many. Must be above zero. |
| Inventory Location | Yes | Where the finished item will be stored. |
| Date | Yes | When the order starts. |
| Date Required By | Yes | The deadline. This drives the overdue count on the Overview. |
| Batch No / Exp Date | No | Batch and expiry for tracked items. A batch number already in use is rejected. |
| Labour Cost / Credit Labour Account | No | Labour on the run and the account it is credited from. |
| Overhead Cost / Credit Overhead Account | No | Overhead on the run and its credit account. |
| Memo | No | Instructions or notes for whoever picks the job up. |
Labour and overhead entered here apply to Assemble orders. On an Advanced Manufacture order the costs are added later through Costs, as the run progresses.
Creating a work order
- Go to Manufacturing > New > Work Order.
- Fill in the details above.
- Click Add Work order.
Auto Work Order
Enable Auto Work Order under Setup > Preferences. A sales order containing manufacturable items then raises its work order automatically, so an order taken from a customer goes straight into production without anyone re-keying it.
Make Work order against Sales Order
A work order can also be tied to a specific sales order, which keeps the production run linked to the customer commitment it is fulfilling.
Action buttons
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Add Work order | Creates the order. |
| Draft | Saves without releasing it. |
| Update | Saves changes to an existing order. |
| Close This Work Order | Completes it. Nothing further can be issued or produced. |
| Delete This Work Order | Removes it. Only while nothing has been issued against it. |
A closed work order cannot be edited. If costs or production are still to come, leave it open — reopening is not an option once it is closed.
What happens next
- Issue the components — see Issues.
- Add any further labour or overhead — see Costs.
- Receive the finished goods — see Productions.
Related pages
- New BOM — the recipe this needs
- Work Order View — the order once raised
- Work Orders — the list
- Process Types — production stages