Complete a work order

Completing a work order is the formal end of production. You record the last batch, the system receives the finished goods, returns unused materials and calculates what the goods really cost. After completion the order is read-only, and only a reversal can undo it.

Before you start

• The order must be In Progress and not on a quality hold.

• The materials for all the output must be issued.

• If lot or serial tracking is on in the manufacturing settings, have the lot number or serial reference ready.

Steps

1. Open Manufacturing › Production › Work Orders. Open the order, or use the row's actions menu, and select Complete.

1. In Completed qty, enter the good units finished in this last batch. Units already received through production reports are counted already. Enter only the new ones.

2. In Scrapped qty, enter the units spoiled in this batch, or 0.

3. If there is scrap, choose the Spoilage type:

   • Normal: an expected process loss. Its cost is spread over the good units.

   • Abnormal: an unexpected loss. Its cost is charged to the abnormal spoilage account instead.

4. If the panel shows Lot number or Serial reference, fill it in. It is required when tracking is on.

5. If the total output is below the planned quantity, tick Final completion to close the order short.

6. If the run produced secondary items, select Add by-product and enter the item, its Expected qty, the Actual qty and the By-product warehouse.

7. Select Complete.

The message Work order completed confirms it, and the status becomes Completed.

The checks at completion

• Output against plan. Without Allow over-production, good plus scrapped units cannot exceed the planned quantity. Below the plan, the system asks you to tick Final completion or produce the rest.

• Output against issued materials. Completion cannot cover more output than the issued materials allow.

• Consumption. If materials show no consumption at all, the system stops and explains why. After checking, you can tick Force complete to proceed. It does not bypass the issued-materials limit.

• Lot, serial and mass balance, when those options are on.

What completion does

1. The new good units enter the finished goods warehouse, scrap goes to the scrap warehouse and by-products to their warehouse.

2. The materials of the batch are consumed from work in progress. Anything issued and not consumed is returned to its source warehouse.

3. The system reads everything charged to the order: materials, labor and overhead. It deducts the value of by-products and recoverable scrap, and charges the rest to the finished goods. Labor is part of that product cost, not a separate expense.

4. The product's average cost is updated with the actual unit cost.

5. If Calculate variances is on, the planned-versus-actual variances are stored for the variance report.

6. If the order came from a production plan, the plan's progress is updated.

See How manufactured cost is calculated for the full picture.

Common questions

Can I complete part of an order and continue later? Use Report production for partial output. Complete always closes the order.

I completed with the wrong quantity. What now? Reverse the order and create a new one. See Cancel or reverse a work order.