Entering Work Orders

Work order entry helps you create work orders for special processing on products. This processing includes combining current products into a finished product, such as assembling circuit boards, or altering a product for final delivery, such as custom painting.

Use work order entry to define the steps required in the process, who performs them, and how long completing each step takes. In addition, if you are not processing the order in-house, use work order entry to account for the vendor's setup and processing costs. If the customer has repeat orders for this product, create a template for the process.

You must have authorization to enter work orders and your views in order entry are restricted based on your authorization. If you are assigned the WOE.ALLOWED authorization key, you must be assigned Level 2 to create and edit th work orders.

Note: If you enter a product with a Delete status and the quantity exceeds the amount on-hand to sell, a warning displays. For more information about product statuses, see Product Status Codes in Product Maintenance.

To create a work order:

1. From the Orders menu, select Work Order Entry to display the Work Order Entry window and click New Order.

2. Click Create Order to open the new work order.

The system automatically assigns a work order number.

Note:If any items are in a Delete status, the system displays a list for you to manage before continuing with the new order.

3. In the Price Branch field, enter the number that identifies the branch used to determine the pricing rules for the products on this order. You can change the branch at a later date. If costs are different, the system recosts the work order for the new branch.

4. In the Start Date field, enter the date the work order is requested.

5. In the Description field, enter a brief statement that describes the finished product and the process needed, for example, 8" circuit board for Bob's Electrical job 7.

6. In the Process Information area, select a Process and a Vendor for Step 1.

Note: Valid process values are set up in the Valid Vendor Work Order Processing Codescontrol maintenance record. If you change the vendor on a step at a later time, the system recalculates costs for any products associated with the step.

7. Review and adjust the days, setup and process costs, and the unit of measure fields.

   Field	Description
   Days	Enter the number of days required to complete the step. When you complete this field, the system adjusts the completion date for this process and the start date for the next process.
   Setup Cost	Enter the dollar amount that identifies any costs incurred in preparation for processing one unit of the product, based on the unit of measure.
   Process Cost	Enter the dollar amount that identifies any labor or other costs incurred during the process, per unit of measure.
   UM	Enter the measure of an item by which it is costed for processing, such as each or lot, such as the following: Lot - Costs the order for entire quantity as a whole. This is the default. ea - Multiplies the cost by the value entered in the Process Qty field. C - Cost per 100. Adds the cost in 100 value intervals. M - Cost per 1000. Adds the cost at 1000 value intervals. wt - Cost based on weight. Adds cost based on the weight of the finished product.
   Process Qty	Enter the quantity of product to be processed during the specified step.

    

8. Review and change the date fields, as needed.

   Field	Description
   Start Date	The date the work was created.
   Complete Date	The date the work order finished products should be available based on the process days required.
   Required Date	The date the work order finished products are due to the customer.
   Available Date	(View Only) The date the finished product will be ready.

   Note: If you change the dates of the steps, that can change the G/L posting date as well.

9. In the To Be Processed field, select how the system changes the work order status.

   Option	Description
   When Complete	The status is changed only when the order is complete.
   When Specified	Select the option to change the status on a specified date. The default date is the same as the start date. This option is the default setting for the field.
   Do Not Process	Use this option to not have the system automatically update the status. You will have to update the status manually.

   Automatically changing the status works as a phantom process. Use the new Automatic Work Order Ticket Printing window to set up the phantom process. Once the phantom process runs it checks to determine if the Work Order status should change according to the To Be Processed field setting.

10. Enter the products and quantities in and out the user needs to complete the work order for the step you are entering.

Standard availability rules apply to work order products. If you add a quantity that overcommits products, the system displays a warning. You must be authorized to overcommit inventory.

Note: If the finished product you want to add is not in the system, you can create a nonstock product to use. From the Step Detail menu, select NonStock (add/edit) to display the NonStock Product Entry window.

10. To add additional steps, from the Steps menu, select Add Step, and select a Process and Vendor for the step.

The system adds each subsequent step at the bottom of the work order and numbers them sequentially.

11. For each process on the Step Detail tab, enter materials needed to perform the step.

12. Save the information and exit the window.

The system may prompt you to enter the vendor's freight terms in the Freight field.

Note: You can turn on auto reconciliation from the work order, if needed, using the Auto Reconcile menu options. However, this option only auto reconciles the current order. To set up auto reconciliation for all work orders, see Auto Reconciling Work Orders.

See Also:

Inserting and Deleting Work Order Steps

Adding Materials to Work Order Steps

Creating Work Order Templates