Issue materials to a work order

Issuing materials is the physical hand-over from the store to production. The components leave the raw material warehouse and wait in the work-in-progress warehouse until the order consumes them. Their value moves with them, so the cost of the order starts to build up.

Before you start

• The work order must be Released or In Progress. A planned order cannot receive materials.

• The source warehouse must hold the quantities you issue. Stock cannot go below zero.

Steps

1. Open Manufacturing › Production › Work Orders and open the order.

2. Select Issue materials.

1. The panel shows the Source warehouse and one line per component, with its unit, the Planned qty, what is already Issued and what is Remaining.

2. In Quantity to issue, enter what you are handing over now. You can issue part of a line today and the rest later.

3. If a line offers Use substitute, tick it to issue the component's alternative item instead of the standard one.

4. Select Issue.

The message Materials issued confirms the movement, and the Materials tab of the order shows the new Issued Qty.

What the system does

• The issued quantity leaves the source warehouse and enters the work-in-progress warehouse set in the manufacturing settings. Any reservation made at release is used up by the same amount.

• If posting is on, a journal entry moves the value of the materials, at their current cost, from the source warehouse's inventory account to the work-in-progress account.

• The Activity tab records the movement with the user and time.

Limits that protect the cost

• The planned quantity. A line cannot receive more than its remaining quantity. Above it, the field shows Cannot exceed the remaining quantity. The standard item and its substitute share one budget. If your process genuinely uses more, switch on Allow over-production in the settings.

• Valid substitutes only. The only alternative you can issue is the one defined on the BOM component.

• Output follows issue. Production can never be recorded beyond what the issued materials cover. Issue first, then report.

What happens to materials that are not used

When the order is completed, any issued material that was not consumed is returned automatically from the work-in-progress warehouse to its source warehouse, with the matching reversal of value. If the order is cancelled, all issued materials are returned the same way.

Common questions

Why is the Issue button disabled? No quantity has been entered, or a line exceeds its remaining quantity.

Can I see who issued what? Yes. The Activity tab of the order lists every inventory and accounting event.