Bricks and blocks
Inventory software for brick kilns and block yards
Raw material in tonnes and bags, bricks in thousands and blocks in pieces, kept apart by shed and yard, valued at weighted average cost and corrected after every count.
In short
SimpleERP is inventory software for brick kilns and block units. A fly-ash brick unit counts fly ash in tonnes, cement in bags and bricks in thousands, across a curing yard and a ready yard, at weighted average cost.
Illustration of stock on hand by warehouse at average cost, with a low-stock row highlighted and a movement ledger.
A stock day at Brazos Brick Works
The yard at Brazos Brick Works is counted twice a day. In the morning the yard foreman walks the curing rows and writes how many thousand fly-ash bricks are ready to load; in the evening he counts what the trucks took. Raw material is counted less often: fly ash in tonnes off the bulker from the power station, cement in 50 kg bags, gypsum in bags and sand by the tractor load.
Stock goes missing in the gap between those counts. Bricks still curing get counted as ready, a truck leaves with 6,000 while the slip says 5,000, and cement runs out on a Saturday because nobody noticed only 30 bags were left.
SimpleERP splits the site into warehouses the way the yard foreman already thinks: the raw material shed, the curing yard and the ready yard. Bricks enter the curing yard from the day's work order, move to the ready yard by transfer once they have cured, and leave only on an invoice.
What units, yards and reorder levels does a brick unit need?
Add tonne, bag and 1,000 pcs as units once, then give each product the unit it is bought or sold in. Reorder levels matter on the raw material; bricks are pressed to the week's orders.
- A warehouse per yard, so curing and ready stock never mix on one line
- Reorder level on cement and fly ash; the low stock list shows what is under it and you place the order
| Item | Unit | Kept in | Reorder pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fly ash | Tonne | Raw material shed | Two days of pressing; the bulker needs a day's notice |
| Cement, 50 kg | Bag | Raw material shed | 80 bags, so a Sunday never stops the pan mixer |
| Gypsum | Bag | Raw material shed | Bought monthly against a low level |
| Sand | Tonne | Open heap | Bought by the tractor load as the heap drops |
| Fly-ash bricks 230 mm | 1,000 pcs | Curing yard, then ready yard | No reorder; pressed to the week's orders |
| Solid and hollow blocks | pcs | Curing yard, then ready yard | No reorder; pressed to the week's orders |
How do bricks get from the press to the ready yard?
Each shift's work order completes into the curing yard, so the 8,600 bricks pressed today are in stock but not yet loadable. After about two weeks of watering, a transfer moves them to the ready yard, which is the warehouse every truck invoice draws from.
- Ready yard count that excludes green bricks, so nobody promises what cannot be loaded
- Transfer as a posted document, with the date the bricks were moved
Illustration of a bill of materials with cost roll-up and a work order moving from planned to in progress to completed.
How is the count fixed after breakage or a short-loaded truck?
When the yard foreman's count of the ready yard is 1,200 bricks under the system, a stock adjustment in count mode sets the yard to what he counted and records the reason, breakage while stacking. A truck invoiced for 6,000 that carried 5,000 is corrected with a credit note for 1,000, which puts them back in the yard and cuts the builder's bill.
- Every change has a reason, a date and the name of the person who made it
- Movement ledger per product, linked to the invoice, transfer or count behind each line
What is the yard worth at month end?
On 31 October the ready yard held 42 thousand fly-ash bricks at a weighted average cost of $125 per thousand, so $5,250 of stock, plus the raw material in the shed at its own average. The figure comes from the stock ledger and agrees with the inventory account in the books.
- Stock valuation by warehouse, with CSV export for the accountant
- Average cost moves with fly ash and cement bills, not with a rate typed once a year
One system
What changes the yard count
Supplier bills fill the shed, work orders fill the curing yard, transfers move bricks to the ready yard and invoices empty it.
Bricks and blocks
Bricks in thousands by yard, batch costs from a BOM, truckload invoices and builder credit.
See howInvoicing & tax
Tax invoices with VAT, GST or sales tax on every line, numbered by fiscal year and posted in one step.
See howAccounting for brick plants
Builder cheques, gate cash, diesel and supplier credit in one double-entry ledger, with the month-end checks a brick unit needs.
See howPayroll for brick kilns
Monthly staff on salary with shifts and advances, and the loading gang paid on its leader's bill, both posted to the same books.
See howProduction for brick plants
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.
See howInventory
Stock on hand by warehouse at weighted average cost, with a movement ledger and a low-stock list.
See how
Honest limits
What SimpleERP does not do yet
- No batch, lot, serial or expiry tracking, and no barcode scanning
- Weighted average cost only; there is no FIFO
- No automatic reorder suggestions: the reorder level shows what is low, you decide what to buy
- There is no weighbridge link; type the fly ash tonnes from the slip on the supplier bill
- Curing time is not tracked; move bricks to the ready yard with a transfer when they are ready
Getting started
Start with inventory
Sign up with your email
Name, email and a password. No card for the seven-day trial.
Tell us about the business
Pick your country and, if you are registered, type your tax number. Accounts, tax rates, units, roles and numbering are seeded for that country.
Add products and opening stock
Add tonne, bag and 1,000 pcs as units, then fly ash, cement, bricks and blocks with opening stock in each yard.
Post a bill and an invoice
Stock rises on the purchase bill and falls on the invoice, at weighted average cost, with nothing to count by hand.
FAQ
Questions, answered
Can I count bricks in thousands and blocks in pieces?
Yes. Each product carries its own unit, so fly-ash bricks are in 1,000 pcs, hollow and solid blocks in pcs, fly ash in tonnes and cement in bags. Stock reports and invoices both show each item in its own unit.
Can I see bricks still curing apart from bricks ready to load?
Yes, by keeping two warehouses: a curing yard that work orders complete into, and a ready yard that invoices draw from. A transfer moves bricks across when the yard foreman says they have cured, and each yard shows its own count.
What if the yard foreman counts fewer bricks than the system shows?
Post a stock adjustment in count mode with the number he counted and a reason such as breakage or a short-loaded truck. The yard is set to the count, the difference is valued at average cost, and the adjustment stays in the movement history.
Will I know when cement is running low?
Set a reorder level on cement, say 80 bags. When stock drops below it, cement shows on the low stock list, and from there you can raise a purchase order to the cement dealer. Nothing is ordered for you; you decide when and how much.
Related
Keep reading
Bricks and blocks
Bricks in thousands by yard, batch costs from a BOM, truckload invoices and builder credit.
Read moreProduction for brick plants
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 moreInvoicing & tax
Tax invoices with VAT, GST or sales tax on every line, numbered by fiscal year and posted in one step.
Read more
See how inventory works in SimpleERP for bricks and blocks
Seven days free. No card. Your first invoice in minutes.