Manufacturing
Manufacturing ERP for small businesses
Define what goes into each product, make it with a work order, and know what every unit really cost, on the same stock and books as the rest of the business.
In short
SimpleERP is manufacturing ERP for small producers. Bills of materials roll up material, scrap and labour cost, and a work order moves from plan to start to complete, consuming components and adding finished goods at actual cost.
Illustration of a bill of materials with cost roll-up and a work order moving from planned to in progress to completed.
The daily job: make it, and know what it cost
A workshop, assembler or packer needs three answers: can we make it, did we make it, and what did each unit cost. SimpleERP answers them from the same stock the sales team bills from.
- Check materials before you start, warehouse by warehouse
- Start and complete work orders from a phone on the shop floor
- Cost each unit from what was actually used, not a guess
Bills of materials
A bill of materials rolls up the cost of every unit
List the components and quantities that make one batch, add a scrap percentage and the labour or overhead per batch. SimpleERP prices each component at its current average cost and shows the standard cost per unit as you type.
- Several versions per product, one marked default
- Save as new version when the recipe changes
- Components priced at purchase price until first received, and flagged as estimates
- A BOM can never include the product it makes
| Steel rack 4 shelf, v2 | Quantity | Average cost | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mild steel sheet 1.2 mm | 14.5 kg | $1.20 | $17.40 |
| Angle 25×25 | 6 m | $2.00 | $12.00 |
| Bolts and nuts | 1 set | $1.50 | $1.50 |
| Powder coat | 0.4 kg | $9.00 | $3.60 |
| Materials + 2% scrap + $4.00 labour | $39.19 per rack |
Work orders
Work orders go from plan to start to complete
A work order says what to make, how many, which warehouse supplies the components and where the finished goods go. Source and target can be the same warehouse. Each step does one thing, and a planned or started job can still be cancelled because nothing has moved yet.
Plan
Materials are calculated from the BOM, including scrap, and frozen as the plan. Shortages are flagged with a Create purchase order button.
Start
Marks the job in progress and records when it started. Nothing moves in stock yet.
Complete
Enter the quantity made and what was really consumed. Components leave stock and finished goods arrive in one transaction.
Costing
Finished goods enter stock at what they actually cost
Consumption defaults to the plan scaled to what you made, and you can correct any line. Components leave at their average cost, labour and overhead are added, and the finished product enters stock at the resulting cost per unit, blended into its own average.
- Labour and overhead post to the ledger as manufacturing overhead absorbed
- The confirm message spells out exactly what will move before you press it
- Planned against actual material cost is kept on every work order
- A component with no cost yet is flagged before you complete, so the unit cost is not understated
Illustration of stock on hand by warehouse at average cost, with a low-stock row highlighted and a movement ledger.
Make to order
Link a work order to the sales order it is for
Making to order? Pick the confirmed sales order on the work order, and it plans the quantity still needed after what is already on hand. The work order list shows the sales order beside each job, so the floor knows which customer is waiting. The sales order is then invoiced as usual, in parts if finished goods come off the line in batches.
Shop floor
Built for a phone on the shop floor
Start and Complete work one-handed on a 360 px screen, with large number fields for quantities. Print a one-page job card for the floor with the materials to issue and the quantity to make.
- Start and Complete buttons sized for a thumb
- Planned start and end dates on every job
- Filter work orders by status, product, warehouse and date range
By industry
Manufacturing by industry
Make
Manufacturing
Bills of materials for stators and pumps, work orders that check material and move stock on completion, and the real cost of every unit.
Read moreBricks and blocks
A mix per 1,000 bricks as a versioned BOM, a work order per shift, and the real cost per thousand from what the pan mixer used.
Read moreEngineering and fabrication
Shop drawings as BOMs with offcut allowance, work orders that draw steel from the yard, and the actual cost of every fabricated frame.
Read moreFurniture
A bill of materials per design and a work order per batch that turns white oak, glue and polish into finished tables at real cost.
Read moreElectrical and electronics
A BOM per starter panel rating and work orders that turn contactors, relays and enclosures into finished panels at real cost.
Read morePlastics and packaging
BOMs for jerry cans, containers and closures from granules, masterbatch and regrind, and work orders that cost each run.
Read morePrinting and labels
Bills of materials for repeat cartons and labels, and work orders that cost each batch from real usage.
Read moreTextiles & garments
A bill of materials per style and size, and work orders that turn knitted fabric into finished pieces at real cost.
Read moreLeather & footwear
A bill of materials per article and size, and work orders per lot that cost every pair from real leather use.
Read moreAgro processing & mills
A bill of materials from paddy to rice, a work order per milling run, and the real cost per kilo from actual yield.
Read moreStone crushers and M-sand
Bills of materials from boulders to 20 mm and M-sand, a work order per crushing run, and the actual cost per tonne.
Read more
One system
What it connects to
Manufacturing moves stock and posts overhead; everything else follows from that.
Inventory
Stock on hand by warehouse at weighted average cost, with a movement ledger and a low-stock list.
See howPurchase
Purchase orders, supplier bills that receive stock, debit notes and payables.
See howAccounting
A double-entry ledger with journals, bank registers, statements and a lock date.
See howPayroll
Salary structures, monthly runs and payslips with your earnings and deductions, posted to the books.
See howInvoicing & tax
Tax invoices with VAT, GST or sales tax on every line, numbered by fiscal year and posted in one step.
See howReports & dashboard
A morning dashboard and a catalogue of reports, each with filters, print and CSV export.
See how
Honest limits
Not included yet
- Routings, operations and machine scheduling
- Partial completion: one work order completes once, so split long runs
- Automatic material requirements planning across many orders
- Delivery notes for material sent out to subcontractors for processing
- Batch or lot tracking of finished goods
- Cancelling a completed work order: correct it with a stock adjustment
FAQ
Questions, answered
What is a bill of materials?
A bill of materials, or BOM, lists the components and quantities needed to make a product, plus expected scrap and the labour or overhead per batch. SimpleERP uses it to plan materials and estimate cost.
Can a component itself be manufactured?
Yes, one level at a time. Make the sub-assembly with its own work order first, then use it as a component in the next.
How is labour cost handled?
Enter labour or overhead per batch on the BOM. On completion it is added to the finished goods' cost and posted to the ledger as overhead absorbed. Wages themselves are paid through payroll.
What if I make more or fewer units than planned?
Enter the actual quantity made. Consumption defaults scale in proportion and stay editable, and the cost per unit is worked out from what was really used.
Is SimpleERP suitable for a garment or furniture workshop?
For make-to-stock and make-to-order with simple BOMs, yes. See the manufacturing industry page for what fits and what does not.
Related
Keep reading
Inventory
Stock on hand by warehouse at weighted average cost, with a movement ledger and a low-stock list.
Read morePurchase
Purchase orders, supplier bills that receive stock, debit notes and payables.
Read moreManufacturing
BOMs with scrap and cost roll-up, work orders that move stock, and payroll for shop-floor staff.
Read moreTextiles & garments
Fabric to garment bills of materials, stock by warehouse, invoices with the right tax and payroll.
Read more
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