Production - Making Finished Products from Components

1. Turn production on

Production is a module. An admin enables it under Settings → Preferences → Modules. After it is on, you will see Production in the menu, and a Bill of materials section on products that can be produced.

2. Mark what each product is for

On the product, choose an inventory role:

• Finished product: You make it, then sell or transfer it. This is the item on the production run.
• Raw material: You buy it and use it as a component. It stays off POS and invoices.
• Both: You can make it, sell it, and also use it inside another product.

Services, serialized items, and parent products with variations cannot have a bill of materials. If a product has variations, put the bill of materials on the variation you actually produce.

3. Add a bill of materials

Open a finished product (or an item marked Both) and fill in Bill of materials. This is the recipe.

• Makes: How many finished units this recipe produces. Usually 1. If the recipe is for a batch of 10, set Makes to 10.
• Component: An item that will be deducted when you produce.
• Qty: How much of that component the recipe uses for the Makes quantity.
• Waste %: Extra component you expect to lose. Leave at 0 if you do not track waste on the recipe.
• Substitutes: Other items you are allowed to use instead of that component on a production run.

Tracksales estimates the cost of one finished unit from component cost, qty, waste, and Makes. Save the product after you add the recipe.

Qty and waste are the recipe math. Production uses them to suggest how much to deduct: qty × (1 + waste %) × (how many you make ÷ Makes). You can still change the actual quantity on the production run.

4. Substitutes

A substitute is an allowed stand-in, not an automatic switch. The bill of materials still names the usual component.

When you create production and that component has substitutes, a Use list appears. The original component stays selected until you pick the substitute. Then that run deducts the substitute instead.

Substitutes do not switch on their own when stock is short. Short only warns you. You choose what to use. Selling with Made to Order also ignores substitutes and deducts the original component.

5. Record a production run

Go to Production and start a new run. Choose the branch, the date, and the finished products you are making.

1. Search and add each finished product that has a bill of materials.
2. Enter how many you are making. Tracksales shows the components that will be deducted.
3. If a line is short, there is not enough of that component on hand at the branch.
4. If substitutes exist, pick what to use. The component name follows your choice.
5. Change Actual if you used a different amount than the recipe suggested.
6. Add labour and overhead if you want those costs on this run. They default from the recipe when present.
7. Save.

You can also use Add from low stock to pull in finished products that are below reorder at the selected branch.

When you save, choose what this run is:

• Draft: Saved for later. No stock moves yet.
• Planned: Scheduled for the production date. Still no stock movement.
• Start: Components start being deducted.
• Complete: Remaining components are deducted and finished stock is added at that branch.

6. Statuses

• Draft and Planned can still be edited. Stock has not moved.
• In progress means some component stock has already been taken. Finish the run with Complete production.
• Completed means finished goods are in stock. You can print or void (if the finished quantity is still at that branch).
• Voided reverses posted stock. Use this if the run should not count.

From the production list you can filter by status, open a run, print it, complete it, or void it. Draft, planned, and voided runs can be deleted. Completed and in-progress runs are voided instead of deleted.

7. Print

Open a production run and print it when you need a kitchen or commissary sheet. The printout shows the finished products, the components used, and the costs on that run.

8. Made to Order

The default production model is make, then sell: you produce first, then sell from finished stock.

If you assemble at the selling branch when the customer buys, turn on Made to Order under Settings → Preferences → Production. Selling a finished item then also deducts its components at that branch.

Do not record a production batch for the same sale, or components will be deducted twice. Leave Made to Order off if you produce in a commissary and ship finished goods to branches.

9. Waste

Use Waste when finished or component stock is thrown away, spoiled, or lost. That is separate from the waste % on a recipe. Recipe waste % only increases how much production expects to use. A waste document actually removes stock and records the reason and cost.

10. Reports

With production enabled, reports include:

• Made, Sold & Wasted: How much you produced, sold, wasted, and still have on hand.
• Food cost: Component cost against what you made.
• Waste: Waste documents by item, branch, and reason.

Common questions

Why did my substitute disappear after I saved the product?

Add the substitute on the bill of materials, then save the product. When you reopen the product, the substitute should still be listed on that component.

When does a substitute get used?

Only when you pick it in Use on a production run, and that run is started or completed.

Can I list components without qty or waste?

The recipe still needs a quantity to know how much to deduct. If qty is left blank, Tracksales cannot save that component line. Waste % can stay at 0. Fill qty on the product, or type the real Actual amount on each production run.