Work Orders
Open Manufacturing → Work Order.
A work order tells the production team which item to make, which BOM to use, and the required quantity. It also tracks material transfers and consumption, finished quantity, and the time spent on the run. The copied details stay on the work order if the standard BOM is changed later.
Creating a work order does not move or reserve stock. Stock first moves when you run Transfer Materials. The finished item is added to stock when you run Finish Production. See Core Concepts for the full picture.
The lifecycle
Work order status, from raised to archived
| Status | Meaning | What it allows |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Being prepared | The only status in which the work order can be edited |
| Not Started | Submitted, production not begun | Material transfer, Start, Cancel |
| In Process | Production underway | Job cards, transfers, Finish Production, Stop |
| Completed | Output received and inside tolerance | Close |
| Stopped | Halted mid-run | Close |
| Closed | Archived | Nothing |
| Cancelled | Withdrawn before any output | Delete |
Cancel is refused once Produced Qty is above zero. Stock has moved and a
finished item exists. Cancelling at that point would make the production and
stock records inconsistent. Use Stop instead, then Close.
Creating a work order
Open the screen
Go to Manufacturing → Work Order and click New.
Choose the BOM
Selecting the BOM fills in the production item, pulls every material line with its required quantity, and copies the operation list. Only active, submitted BOMs are offered.
If it is a template BOM, choose the variant
A template (Super) BOM covers every variant of its item, so it cannot produce anything until you say which one. Pick the variant and review the resolved material list. See Producing from a template BOM.
Set the quantity and dates
ERPX calculates the material requirement from Qty to Produce. Scheduling reports use Planned Start Date and Expected Delivery Date.
Confirm the four warehouses
Source, WIP, and Finished Goods default from the BOM. Scrap is optional and only needed if you intend to book process loss.
Decide the run settings
Review tolerance, overproduction, multi-level BOM, and the transfer settings. See Run settings below for details. Set them before submitting the work order whenever possible.
Save, then Submit
Save leaves the order in Draft. Submit moves it to Not Started and freezes the material list.
Check material availability
Open Stock Availability to compare required against on-hand at the source warehouse. Shortages are listed per line, and can be turned straight into a purchase request.
Transfer raw materials
Transfer Materials creates the stock entry that moves material from source to WIP. You can transfer partially, and repeatedly, as material arrives.
A line’s source warehouse must be different from the WIP warehouse. If material is already in WIP, the transfer preview shows it for information only. It is not transferred again and is consumed when you use Finish Production.
Start
Start moves the order to In Process and stamps the actual start date. Job cards can now be generated and worked.
Finish production
Finish Production creates the manufacturing entry that consumes WIP material and receives finished goods. Like transfers, this can be run more than once for a partial output.
Complete, then Close
Complete is allowed once produced quantity is above zero and inside the tolerance band. Close archives the order.
Header fields
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| BOM | The recipe. Determines the production item, materials, and operations |
| Production Variant | Required when the BOM is a template. Which variant this run makes |
| Production Item | The finished good, derived from the BOM. For a template BOM it is the chosen variant |
| Qty | How many to produce. Drives every required quantity |
| Posting Date | The date the work order is booked on. Defaults to today |
| Planned Start / End Date | The intended schedule |
| Actual Start / End Date | Stamped by Start and Complete |
| Expected Delivery Date | What the pending-production reports read |
| Source / WIP / FG / Scrap Warehouse | The four stages. See Core Concepts |
| Source Document | The sales order or production plan this run traces back to |
| Parent Work Order / BOM Level | Set on sub-assembly runs raised by a multi-level parent |
| Description | Free text for the floor |
Run settings
| Setting | Default | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Tolerance Percentage | 0 | How far under or over the target the run may land and still complete. Capped at 15% |
| Maintain Raw Material Ratio | Off | Whether the material requirement scales with the tolerance |
| Allow Overproduction + Overproduction Percentage | Off | Whether output above the target may be booked at all |
| Use Multi-Level BOM | Off | Creates child work orders for sub-assemblies instead of requisitioning them |
| Skip Transfer | Off | Consumes material directly from the source warehouse and bypasses WIP |
| Skip Transfer For Operations | On | Lets job cards complete without their material having been transferred |
| Auto Generic Job Cards | Off | Issues an unassigned physical card for every job card on the run |
Check Maintain Raw Material Ratio carefully. When it is off, the issued material is expected to produce any quantity within the tolerance band. This normally suits cutting and forming. When it is on, the material requirement increases with the output. This normally suits assembly, where every extra unit needs another set of parts.
Material lines
Each line tracks its own quantities independently of the header.
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Required Qty | BOM quantity × run quantity |
| Transferred Qty | Moved to WIP so far |
| Consumed Qty | Booked against recorded output |
| Returned Qty | Transferred but unused, sent back |
| Available Qty At Source / At WIP | Live stock, refreshed by the availability check |
| Rate / BOM Rate / Transfer Rate | Current, recipe, and locked-at-transfer valuation |
| Source Warehouse | Per-line override of the header source |
| Is Additional | Set when the line was added by hand rather than coming from the BOM |
| Allow Alternative Item | Permits substitution at transfer time |
| Include Item In Manufacturing | Off excludes the line from consumption entirely |
Use Add Additional Materials to add something the BOM does not know about, such as a consumable or a one-off substitution, without editing the BOM.
Operations
Operations are copied from the BOM and are what job cards are generated from.
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Sequence ID | Order of work. A job card cannot run ahead of its predecessor |
| Operation / Description | The step being performed |
| Workstation Type | What the estimate is costed against |
| Time In Secs / Mins | Standard time. Seconds are the stored value |
| Batch Size | Units produced per cycle |
| Hour Rate | Copied from the workstation type |
| Fixed Cycle | Cost per cycle rather than per unit |
| Use Actual Rate | Final costing uses measured cost rather than planned |
| Status | Pending → Work in Progress → Completed, rolled up from job cards |
| Planned / Actual Operating Cost | The variance the Production Cost Report reads |
Producing from a template BOM
When you select a template (Super) BOM, you must also choose which variant to produce. ERPX then adds a review step so you can check the resolved materials before creating the work order.
| What changes | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Production Variant becomes required | Without it the work order is refused: “Select the finished-good variant to manufacture” |
| Production Item | Becomes the variant, not the template item |
| Material lines | The concrete items and quantities the template resolved to |
| BOM reference | Stays pointing at the template. The resolution is not saved as a separate BOM |
| Preview | Shows the resolved material list and any warnings before you submit |
The preview may show either of these warnings:
- A quantity fallback was used. A line had no rule matching this variant and fell back to its default quantity. Usually a gap in the rule table.
- This variant has its own BOM, which overrides the template. An ordinary BOM exists for the variant and takes precedence. Expected if you built it deliberately, a surprise otherwise.
The preview uses the same resolution and aggregation as the final work order. It also includes multi-level explosion when Use Multi-Level BOM is on. If a nested template cannot be resolved, ERPX reports it here before creating the sub-assembly work orders.
Sub-assemblies and child work orders
With Use Multi-Level BOM on, submitting the work order creates a child work order for each sub-assembly in the BOM tree.
Each child is an ordinary work order with its own job cards, transfers, and finish entries. The parent consumes the child’s output, so each child must be completed before its parent can finish. Start with the deepest BOM level and work upwards.
Actions
| Action | Available when | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Submit | Draft | Moves to Not Started and freezes the material list |
| Start | Not Started | Moves to In Process and stamps the actual start |
| Stock Availability | Submitted | Compares required against on-hand at source |
| Transfer Materials | Not Started or In Process | Stock entry, source to WIP. Repeatable |
| Transfer Preview | Before transferring | Shows what the transfer would move, at what rate, on a given date |
| Finish Production | In Process | Manufacturing entry, WIP to finished goods. Repeatable |
| Adjust Qty | Not Started or In Process | Changes the run quantity and rescales requirements |
| Refresh Rates | Not yet completed | Re-reads current valuation into the material lines |
| Complete | In Process, produced qty above zero | Moves to Completed |
| Stop | Not Started or In Process | Halts the run. Reversible by Close only |
| Cancel | Not Completed or Closed, and produced qty is zero | Withdraws the order |
| Close | Completed or Stopped | Archives the order |
| Delete | Draft or Cancelled | Removes the order |
| Assign | Any live status | Assigns the run to colleagues and notifies them |
| Cost Breakdown | Any | Planned versus actual, material and operating |
| Connections | Any | Every document created from or linked to this run |
Bulk Approve, Start, Cancel, Delete, and Update Schedule are available from the list view for planning across many orders at once.
Use Adjust Qty when the required output changes after the work order is submitted. It recalculates material requirements for the new target and is available in Not Started and In Process, even after material has been transferred.
Where work orders come from
A work order created from a sales order keeps a link to that order. ERPX uses the link to update the sales order to In Production and to build the production traceability report.
Production Plan
A Production Plan brings demand from several sales orders together, works out the sub-assemblies and raw-material shortage, and creates work orders in bulk. Use it when purchasing and production need one shared view of demand. For a small, independent run, a direct work order is often simpler.
Common validations and troubleshooting
| Message / behaviour | Why | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| “can only modify work orders in Draft status” | The order is submitted | Use Adjust Qty, or add additional materials |
| “can only start work orders in ‘Not Started’ status” | Not submitted, or already running | Submit first |
| “cannot complete work order with zero produced quantity” | No finish entry has been posted | Run Finish Production |
| “can only complete work orders in ‘In Process’ status” | The order was never started | Start it |
| “cannot cancel work order with produced quantity” | Output already exists | Stop, then Close |
| “can only close completed or stopped work orders” | The run is still live | Complete or Stop first |
| “can only delete work orders in Draft or Cancelled status” | The order is live | Cancel it first |
| Finish Production rejects the quantity | Output would land outside the tolerance band | Raise tolerance, enable overproduction, or book less |
| Item reported as already in the WIP warehouse, so no transfer is needed | The line’s source warehouse is the WIP warehouse | Leave the line out of the transfer. Finish Production consumes it from WIP |
| “Work order item N requires a source warehouse different from its WIP warehouse” | A linked stock transfer tried to move material out of WIP into WIP | Set a real source warehouse on the transfer line |
| “The destination warehouse for work order item N must be its WIP warehouse” | A linked stock transfer pointed somewhere other than WIP | Retarget it to the work order’s WIP warehouse |
| Work order flagged Reconciliation Needed | A transaction failed part-way and left the counts inconsistent | Review the transfer logs and the stock ledger before continuing |
| “is a template (Super) BOM. Select the finished-good variant to manufacture” | A template BOM was chosen with no variant | Pick the variant |
| “The selected variant does not belong to this template BOM’s item” | The variant belongs to a different template | Check the item hierarchy |
| “The selected production variant is disabled” | The variant exists but is disabled | Enable it, or choose another |
| Resolved materials are not what you expected | A condition excluded a line, or a per-variant override BOM took precedence | Check the preview warnings and the rule types |
Tips
- Set tolerance before submitting. It is the most common reason a finished run refuses to complete.
- Transfer material in the quantities that actually reach the floor. Partial transfers are fully supported and keep WIP quantities accurate.
- On long runs, finish production in stages rather than with one entry at the end. The finished goods become sellable sooner and the cost report stays current.
- Review Cost Breakdown during the run. If the actual hourly rate is rising above the planned rate, you may still be able to adjust the schedule or workstation assignment.
- Keep a scrap warehouse configured even if you rarely use it. Without one, process loss has nowhere to go.
Related pages
- Core Concepts: warehouses, quantities, tolerance
- Bill of Materials: the recipe behind the order
- Production Plan: where grouped demand becomes work orders
- Capacity Planning: scheduling work across available machines
- Job Cards: executing the operations
- Reports: costing and progress
- Sales Order: where order-driven production starts