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Materials & Supply Tracking

You can track project material requirements, plan budgets, and track actual procurement costs by clicking the Materials button in the top action toolbar.

Planned Materials (BOM)​

Before executing a project task, define the planned materials list in the materials drawer. This acts as the project Bill of Materials (BOM):

  • Enter the required Item, Estimated Quantity, Unit, and Estimated Unit Cost.
  • This defines your planned materials budget..

Actual Material Issuances (Project MIN)​

Actual material delivery to the project is recorded via a Project Material Issue Note (MIN). In the database, this logs a voucher in the vchr table with specific fields:

  • doc_type = 'MIN'
  • doc_type2 = 'PROJ'
  • tran_type = 'PROJ'
  • id2 = <proj_id>
  • post_sts = 'P' (Posted)

Accounting Entry & Query Rules​

Posting a Project MIN triggers a stock transfer:

  1. Debit Project Material Cost / WIP (Positive Row): Tracks material consumption on the project (usually recorded in line_no 101, 102, etc. with positive quantity qty2 and amount amt).
  2. Credit Inventory (Negative Row): Adjusts warehouse stock down (usually recorded in line_no 10101, 10102, etc. with negative quantity and amount).

[!IMPORTANT] Actual Material Cost Query Rule: To calculate actual project material cost, the system queries and sums only the positive project cost rows:

WHERE doc_type = 'MIN'
  AND doc_type2 = 'PROJ'
  AND tran_type = 'PROJ'
  AND id2 = <proj_id>
  AND post_sts = 'P'
  AND line_no >= 101
  AND line_no < 10000
  AND acct_id2 IS NOT NULL
  AND qty2 > 0
  AND amt > 0

Negative inventory rows must be excluded from this calculation. If you sum all rows (positive cost + negative inventory offset), they cancel each other out, incorrectly reporting the actual project material cost as $0.00.

Variance Tracking​

The materials grid compares plan vs. actuals to compute variances:

  • Quantity Variance: Calculated as Actual Quantity - Planned Quantity. Positive quantities indicate material waste or extra consumption.
  • Cost Variance: Calculated as Actual Cost - Planned Budget. Shows whether item procurement exceeded target pricing.
  • Default List: If no materials have been consumed, the actual columns show "No actuals yet".

Testing Checklist​

Verify the following materials tracking behaviors:

  1. Estimate Budget: Add a material estimate in PLAN status. Ensure it correctly computes Estimated Qty × Estimated Unit Cost and adds to the materials budget.
  2. No Actuals State: Verify that when a project has no posted vouchers, the actuals grid displays "No actuals yet".
  3. Voucher Validation: Post a Project MIN voucher. Ensure doc_type = MIN, doc_type2 = PROJ, tran_type = PROJ, id2 = project ID, and post_sts = P.
  4. WIP Calculations: Verify that the project actual material cost increases by the positive voucher amount, and that negative inventory offsets do not cancel the cost.
  5. List Update: Verify that posted Project MIN vouchers appear in the materials list view.
  6. Security Locks: Ensure material estimates cannot be added, edited, or deleted once the project is in DONE or CANCEL status.