Add Manufacturing Order

A manufacturing order is a document that specifies the finished product to manufacture and its quantity, plus the expected materials, expenses, manufacturing operations, and scrap items, and the cost of each. You can create the manufacturing order manually, or based on a BOM that fills the order’s data automatically. This article explains how to add a manufacturing order, and what happens after you save it.

How to access

• Direct link: Add Manufacturing Order.
• From the menu: Click Manufacturing, then Manufacturing Orders, then click Add Manufacturing Order.

Steps

1. Open Manufacturing Orders and click Add Manufacturing Order.
2. In the Manufacturing Order Information section, enter the Name, set the Date From and Date To, and choose the Account.
3. Choose the Employees responsible for the order, and the Client if the order is for a specific client.
4. Choose the finished product, and enter the Requested Quantity.
5. From the BOM field, choose the bill of materials you want to manufacture with. If the product has an active Default BOM, it’s selected automatically once you choose the product, and you can change it to another BOM of the same product.
6. Choose the Production Routing if you use production stages.
7. Review the Materials, Expenses, Manufacturing Operations, and Scrap Items sections. If you chose a BOM, these sections are filled automatically, and you can edit them for this order only. If you didn’t choose a BOM, add the rows manually by clicking Add.
8. Click Save. To save the order and complete it later, click Save as Draft.

Fields and sections

Manufacturing Order Information

Field	Description	Required	Appears when
Name	A name that identifies the manufacturing order.	Yes	Always
Code	The manufacturing order number, generated automatically by the system.	Yes (automatic)	Always
Date From	The manufacturing start date.	No	Always
Date To	The expected manufacturing end date.	No	Always
Account	The production account in the chart of accounts that the manufacturing order costs are recorded to. It’s copied from the BOM when you choose one.	Yes	Always
Employees	The employees responsible for the manufacturing order. You can choose more than one employee.	No	Always
Client	The client the product is manufactured for, if any.	No	Always
Product	The finished product you want to manufacture.	Yes	Always
Requested Quantity	The quantity of the finished product to manufacture. When you change it, the material quantities and costs copied from the BOM are recalculated.	Yes	Always
BOM	The bill of materials that fills the order’s sections. Only the active BOMs of the selected product appear.	No	Always
Production Routing	The production stages that manufacturing goes through. It sets the stage for each row in the following sections.	No	Always

Materials

Field	Description	Required	Appears when
Product	The raw material consumed in manufacturing.	Yes (at least one row)	Always
Qty	The quantity of the raw material needed to manufacture the specified product quantity, in the selected unit of measure.	Yes	Always
Price	The unit price, set automatically from the raw material’s average cost, or from its purchase price if there’s no average cost. It can’t be edited manually.	Yes	Always
Production Operation	The stage in which the raw material is used.	No	When a production routing is chosen

Expenses

Field	Description	Required	Appears when
Account	The expense account in the chart of accounts.	Yes	Always
Estimated Amount	The expense amount. If the row is copied from the BOM, the amount is calculated based on the Cost Type set in the BOM: Fixed Amount doesn’t change with the quantity, Based on QTY changes in proportion to the requested quantity, and Equation is calculated using the set equation.	Yes	Always
Description	A description of the expense.	No	Always
Production Operation	The stage in which the expense is incurred.	No	When a production routing is chosen

Manufacturing Operations

Field	Description	Required	Appears when
Workstation	The workstation the operation runs on. Its cost is calculated from the workstation cost and the operation time.	Yes	Always
Operation Time	The operating duration in the time unit set on the workstation. Example: if the workstation unit is minutes and you want one hour, enter 60. If the row is copied from the BOM, the time changes based on the Cost Type.	Yes	Always
Description	A description of the operation.	No	Always
Production Operation	The stage in which the operation takes place.	No	When a production routing is chosen

Scrap Items

Field	Description	Required	Appears when
Product	The product that results as scrap or a by-product of manufacturing.	Yes	Always
Qty	The scrap item quantity.	Yes	Always
Price	The unit value of the scrap item, entered manually. The value of scrap items is deducted from the order cost.	Yes	Always
Production Operation	The stage in which the scrap item results.	No	When a production routing is chosen

Rules and restrictions

• You must add at least one row in Materials.
• Raw materials and scrap items must be active products, not services.
• The BOM field shows only the active BOMs of the selected product.
• The raw material price is set automatically and can’t be edited, while the scrap item price is entered manually.
• Editing a manufacturing order doesn’t change the original BOM, and editing the BOM later doesn’t change existing manufacturing orders.
• When you change the Requested Quantity, the raw material and scrap item quantities change in proportion to the new quantity against the BOM quantity, and expenses and manufacturing operations change based on the Cost Type.
• You can’t change the Account after a stock request or permission is created for the order’s raw materials.
• All costs are in the account’s main currency.

Error messages and solutions

Cause	Message	Solution
No raw material was added.	You should add one Row at least in Materials	Add at least one raw material in the Materials section.
The user doesn’t have permission to add manufacturing orders.	You are not allowed to access this page	Ask the account owner to add the Add New Manufacturing Order permission to your role from Roles.

Effect on the system

• On saving, the order gets an automatic number and its status becomes In Progress. When saved as a draft, its status is Draft until you click Issue.
• Saving a manufacturing order doesn’t deduct raw materials from stock or add the finished product. Raw materials are deducted when they’re issued from the order page through Receive Materials.
• When you click Finish Manufacturing Order, the finished product and scrap item quantities are added to stock, the production journal entries are recorded, and the order status becomes Finished.
• Creating the order is recorded in the activity log.

Statuses and settings that affect it

• Default BOM: If one of the product’s Bills of Materials is set as Default and active, it’s selected automatically when you choose the product. Only one default BOM can be set per product.
• BOM status: Inactive BOMs don’t appear in the manufacturing order.
• Production routing: The Production Operation field appears in the sections when a production routing is chosen.
• Branches: When branches are enabled, only the current branch’s BOMs appear.
• Closed financial periods: They prevent finishing a manufacturing order, or undoing its completion, within a closed period.

FAQs

Can I edit the raw materials price when creating a manufacturing order?

No, you can’t edit the raw material price in a manufacturing order. The price is set automatically from the raw material’s average cost, or from its purchase price if there’s no average cost. The raw materials’ cost in the order changes when the quantity changes. For scrap items, you can enter the price manually.

Can I have a variable bill of materials for the same product, so I use a different BOM or edit the BOM with each manufacturing order?

Yes. You don’t have to use one fixed bill of materials per product; you can choose the right BOM with each manufacturing order in two ways:

1. More than one BOM for the same product: for recurring compositions.

1. Create a separate bill of materials for each composition you use for the product, such as a BOM with different raw materials or different quantities.
2. Set the most used BOM as Default, so it’s selected automatically when you choose the product in the manufacturing order.
3. When creating the manufacturing order, choose the product, then choose the BOM you want for this order from the BOM field.

2. Editing inside the manufacturing order: for one-time changes.

• After choosing the BOM, edit the raw materials, quantities, expenses, or manufacturing operations inside the manufacturing order itself.
• This edit applies to this order only, and doesn’t change the original BOM.

Notes:

• The BOM field shows only the active BOMs of the selected product.
• Only one default BOM can be set per product.
• Editing the BOM later doesn’t change manufacturing orders created before.

Why doesn’t the BOM appear in the manufacturing order?

Only the active BOMs of the selected product appear. Make sure the BOM is for the same product, its status is Active, and it belongs to the current branch if branches are enabled.

Can I create a manufacturing order without a BOM?

Yes. Leave the BOM field empty, and add the raw materials, expenses, manufacturing operations, and scrap items manually.

If I edit the BOM, do previous manufacturing orders change?

No. A manufacturing order keeps a copy of the BOM data at the time it was created, and editing the BOM affects only new manufacturing orders.

When are raw materials deducted from stock?

They aren’t deducted when the manufacturing order is saved. They’re deducted when issued from the order page through Receive Materials. The finished product is added to stock when you click Finish Manufacturing Order.

I saved the manufacturing order as a draft. How do I start manufacturing?

Open the manufacturing order and click Issue. The order gets its final number and its status becomes In Progress.