Create a work order

A work order asks the factory to make a quantity of one product. It takes its materials from the product's BOM and its operations from the routing, scaled to the quantity you enter. Creating it does not move stock or post entries. That starts when the order is released and materials are issued.

Before you start

• The product needs an approved BOM and an approved routing. See Approve, clone and version a BOM and Create and approve a routing.

• The manufacturing settings of your branch should be complete.

Steps

1. Open Manufacturing › Production › Work Orders and select Add work order.

1. Choose the Bill of Materials. The Routing list then shows only the routings of the same product. Choose one.

2. Enter the Planned qty.

3. Choose the Type (production, rework, sample or maintenance) and the Priority (low, medium, high or urgent).

4. Set the Planned Start and Planned End dates. The end date cannot be before the start date.

5. Optionally choose the Source Warehouse for the materials and the Destination Warehouse for the finished goods. If you leave them empty, the warehouses in the manufacturing settings are used.

6. Review the Estimated cost breakdown (see below), and select Check stock availability if you want to confirm the materials before saving.

7. Add a Description if useful, then select Save.

The estimated cost

As soon as a BOM, a routing and a quantity are chosen, the form calculates the cost of the order. The Estimated Cost field fills itself, with the hint Auto-calculated from the selected BOM, routing and quantity. The breakdown shows:

• Materials: each component's quantity, Unit cost and Line cost, at the items' current cost.

• Operations: each operation's Work center and Hours, with the labor and overhead they add.

• The totals for material, labor, overhead and the order as a whole.

This estimate is kept on the order. The variance report later compares it with the actual cost.

The availability check

Check stock availability compares each material's Required quantity with the stock In stock, the quantity already Reserved by other orders and what is Available. Each line shows OK or how much it is short. A line marked via substitute is covered by the component's alternative item. The result reads All materials available or the number of materials that are short.

What happens next

The order is saved with a work order number and the Planned status. It holds a copy of the BOM's materials and the routing's operations, scaled to the planned quantity. You can still edit it from the list's Edit action. Once it is released, it can no longer be edited, and the form shows Only work orders in the planned status can be edited. Continue with Work order statuses and actions.

Common questions

The BOM list is empty. Why? No BOM is approved yet. The form tells you how many drafts are waiting for approval.

Can I create work orders in batches? Yes, from a production plan. See Plan production and generate work orders.