Production
Work order statuses and actions
What each work order status means, which action moves an order forward, and what release and start do to stock and reservations.
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In this article
A work order moves through a fixed sequence of statuses. Each action is offered only when it makes sense, both in the row's actions menu on the list and as buttons at the top of the work order page. Actions that change stock need the work order management permission.
The statuses
Status | What it means | Actions available |
|---|---|---|
Planned | Created and editable. No stock is touched. | Edit, Release, Cancel |
Released | Checked and handed to the floor. Materials may be reserved. | Start, Issue materials, Report production, Cancel |
In Progress | Production has started. | Issue materials, Report production, Complete, Quality hold, Cancel |
Completed | Finished goods received and the cost finalised. | Reverse |
Cancelled | Stopped. Everything it moved was returned. | None |
Reversed | A completed order that was undone by a reversal order. | None |
A badge On hold next to the status means a quality hold is in place. See Place and release a quality hold. An order whose number ends in -REV carries the badge Reversal WO.
Release a work order
Open Manufacturing › Production › Work Orders.
On a planned order, open the actions menu, or open the order, and select Release.
Confirm Release this work order to the shop floor?
Before releasing, the system checks every material against the stock available in the source warehouse, which is the quantity on hand minus what other orders have reserved. If anything is short, the release is refused with the message Cannot release work order: Insufficient materials in stock. Receive or transfer the missing stock and try again.
If Auto-reserve materials is on in the manufacturing settings, the release also reserves the materials. Reserved stock stays in its warehouse, but other orders and documents see less available. The reservations are listed on the order's Reservations tab.
After release, the order's BOM, routing, quantities and dates are locked.
Start production
On a released order, select Start.
Confirm Start production for this work order?
The status becomes In Progress and the actual start date is recorded. Starting moves no stock and posts nothing. It opens the order for completion.
The usual sequence
Release the order.
Issue materials to move them to the work-in-progress warehouse. See Issue materials to a work order.
Start the order.
Report production per operation as the work progresses. See Report production.
Complete the order. See Complete a work order.
Materials can be issued and production reported from the Released status onwards. Completing requires In Progress.
Common questions
Can I edit a released order? No. Cancel it and create a new one, or complete it and reverse it if it was already finished. See Cancel or reverse a work order.
What does the progress bar show? The completed quantity against the planned quantity. The completed quantity of the order is the lowest quantity completed across its operations, because a unit counts only when every operation has processed it.