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Manufacturing: Work Orders and BOMs

The Manufacturing module lets you track simple production — turning raw materials into finished goods. It has two parts: a Bill of Materials (BOM), which is the recipe for what a production run needs, and a Work Order, which is an actual production run that consumes raw materials and creates finished stock.

Available on the Premium plan and above.

What is a Bill of Materials?​

A Bill of Materials is a recipe. It defines:

  • One or more Finished Goods (Outputs) — the item(s) the recipe produces, and how many units come out of one production run.
  • One or more Raw Material Components — the items consumed to make the output, and how many units of each are needed per run.
  • Optional Standard Costs — other costs (electricity, labour, machine time, etc.) typically incurred for a run, charged to an expense account.

A BOM by itself doesn't change your stock — it's just the recipe. Stock only moves when you run a Work Order based on it.

Creating a Bill of Materials​

  1. Go to Manufacturing > Bills of Materials.
  2. Click New BOM.
  3. Enter a BOM Name (e.g. "Assembly Process A").
  4. Set the Status — Active BOMs can be used on new Work Orders; Archived BOMs cannot.
  5. Under Finished Goods (Outputs), click + Add Output and select the Item produced, its Qty per Run, and its unit of measure (filled in automatically from the item).
  6. Under Raw Material Components, click + Add Component for each raw material consumed, and enter the Item and Qty per Run.
  7. (Optional) Under Standard Costs, click + Add Cost to record other expected costs of a run — pick an Expense Account, add a Description, and a Default Amount.
  8. Click Create BOM.

Managing BOMs​

  • Go to Manufacturing > Bills of Materials to see the list, filterable by All, Active, or Archived.
  • Click a BOM's name, or the pencil icon, to edit it.
  • Click the archive icon to retire a BOM without deleting it — archived BOMs stay visible on past Work Orders but can't be selected for new ones.
  • Click the trash icon to delete a BOM. A BOM that already has Work Orders against it cannot be deleted — archive it instead.

What is a Work Order?​

A Work Order is a production run based on a BOM. When you create one, you choose a BOM and a Batch Qty — the system multiplies every output and component quantity in the BOM by the batch quantity to work out exactly how much you'll produce and how much you'll consume.

A Work Order moves through these statuses:

StatusMeaning
PlannedCreated but not yet started. Still fully editable.
InProgressProduction has started; actual quantities can be recorded.
CompletedProduction finished — stock and accounting entries have been posted.
CancelledAbandoned before completion. Cannot be undone.

Creating and Running a Work Order​

  1. Go to Manufacturing > Work Orders and click New Work Order.
  2. Select the Bill of Materials to use.
  3. Enter the Batch Qty — the planned output and component quantities update automatically based on the BOM.
  4. (Optional) Set a Planned Date and add Notes.
  5. Click Create Work Order. The order is saved with status Planned.
  6. When you're ready to begin production, open the Work Order and click Start Production. This moves it to InProgress and unlocks fields for recording actual quantities. If there isn't enough stock of a component on hand, you'll be warned, but you can still start.
  7. As production happens, fill in the Actual Qty produced for each finished good and the Actual Qty Consumed for each raw material component. You can also add Additional Costs (e.g. unplanned labour or materials) under an expense account.
  8. When production is finished, click Complete Work Order. A confirmation explains that this will post accounting entries and adjust stock for all components and finished goods — make sure your actual quantities are filled in first. If there isn't enough component stock to cover the actual quantities entered, completion is blocked until you correct the numbers.

How Work Orders Affect Inventory​

Completing a Work Order is the only step that actually changes your stock:

  • The actual quantity consumed of each raw material component is deducted from that item's stock on hand.
  • The actual quantity produced of each finished good is added to that item's stock on hand.
  • The cost of the components consumed, plus any standard or additional costs, is posted to your accounts — moving value out of inventory/raw materials and into your finished goods.

You can see the results afterward in Reports > Stock Balance and Reports > Stock Transactions.

Cancelling a Work Order​

A Work Order that is still Planned or InProgress can be cancelled from the Work Orders list. Cancelling does not affect stock, since nothing is posted until a Work Order is completed. Cancellation cannot be undone.