Allocating and using stock on a task

The Materials panel on a task is where you plan and record the stock a job uses: cable, pipe, paint, spare parts and so on.

There are two steps:

1. Allocate — set stock aside for the task. Nothing leaves the store yet.
2. Consume — record what was actually used. This takes it out of stock and adds its cost to the task.

You can also transfer stock to the site's store before using it.

The Projects module only appears when your subscription plan includes Projects.

Before you start

• The item must be a stocked (Inventory) item, active, and ticked Consumable without sales on the item record. Other items do not appear in the list.
• The task must be open (not Done or Cancelled), and its project must be open.
• To consume stock you need permission to record stock consumption. To transfer you need permission to move stock between stores. Without them, those buttons do not appear.

What allocating does

An allocation is a soft hold. It reduces how much of the item the till and invoices see as available to sell, so the stock is not sold to someone else while the job waits for it. It never stops anyone from consuming or transferring that stock.

If you allocate more than the store has, the allocation is still saved. You get a warning such as "Only 4 in stock in this store, and 10 is now allocated or on open orders." Use it as a prompt to order more.

Steps: allocate stock

1. Open the task and, in Materials, click Allocate.
2. Choose the Item.
3. Choose the Package (for example a box or a roll) and the Quantity. If the package holds several units, the form shows the total in base units.
4. Choose From store: the store the stock will come from. It defaults to the task's department.
5. Check Cost per base unit. It fills in with the item's average cost.
6. Optionally enter Bill per base unit. This is the price you charge the customer if you bill the materials. Leave it empty if materials are included in your service price.
7. Add a Note if useful and click Save.

The table shows each item's store, Allocated, Consumed and Held quantities, its planned Cost and the Bill rate.

Steps: consume allocated stock

1. When the materials have been used, click Consume allocated.
2. The Stock Consumption screen opens, already filled in: one line for each open allocation, with the quantity still to use, and the task's number and title in the purpose and note. A banner at the top says which task it will be linked to.
3. Change the quantities to what was really used. Remove lines for anything not used yet.
4. For a batch-tracked item, open the quantity on that line to choose the lots. The earliest-expiring lots are suggested first and expired lots cannot be used. Change the draw if you actually used a different lot.
5. Click Save. You return to the task. Consumed goes up, Held goes down, and the cost appears under Costs & documents.

Using more than you allocated is allowed. The allocation simply stops holding anything.

Steps: transfer stock to the site

1. Click Transfer to site.
2. The Stock Transfer screen opens with the task's department as the destination (when it differs from the source) and the task in the reference.
3. Choose the items and quantities, then click Save.

A transfer only moves stock between stores. It adds no cost to the task. The cost comes when the stock is consumed.

Release and Hold

• Click Release on an allocation you no longer need held, for example when the customer is supplying the part. It stays on the list, greyed out and marked released, and holds nothing.
• Click Hold on a released allocation to hold it again.
• Use the pencil to edit an allocation. Use the bin to remove one that has not been consumed.

When a task is marked Done or Cancelled, all its open allocations are released automatically. If the task is reopened, those allocations hold stock again. Allocations you released yourself stay released.

Tips

• Allocate when you plan the job, not on the day. That is what stops the stock being sold in the meantime.
• Set the Bill per base unit if you charge for materials separately. You can then bill consumed materials with one tick when you invoice.
• The Material usage report compares allocated with consumed for every task.

Common problems

• The item I want is not in the list → only active, stocked items ticked Consumable without sales can be used on a task. Edit the item first.
• "This item is not marked as consumable, so it cannot be used up on a task." → tick Consumable without sales on the item.
• "Only stocked (Inventory) items can be allocated." → services and other non-stock items are billed as service lines instead. See Billing a task or project.
• "Choose the store the stock comes from." → pick From store.
• There is no Consume allocated button → nothing is still held. Every allocation is fully consumed or released, or you do not have permission to record stock consumption.
• The Allocate, Release and Hold buttons are missing → the task is Done or Cancelled, or the project is closed. Reopen the task first.
• "Reopen the task before allocating stock to it." or "Reopen the task first." → the task is finished. Reopen it to To do or In progress.
• The Stock Consumption screen shows a red banner and Save is greyed out → the task cannot take new documents, usually because it, or its project, is finished. The banner says which.
• "Some of this allocation has been consumed. Release it instead of deleting." → consumed stock stays on the record. Use Release.
• "Some of this allocation has been consumed, so its item cannot change." → release this allocation and add a new one for the other item.
• The till says less is available than is on the shelf → some of it is allocated to open tasks. Release allocations that are no longer needed.