Direct Production
A Direct Production is the document you use to record, in a single step, the actual output of a Production Order: it consumes the raw material called for in the order and, in the same transaction, brings in the finished products (and, where it applies, the services and operation hours) that resulted from making them. It updates inventory and costs in one shot, without having to record the raw material dispatch and the finished product entry as two separate documents.
What is it and what is it for?
Manufacturing something really means two things happen: raw material leaves inventory, and the finished product comes in (often together with the operation hours and the services consumed along the way). Direct Production bundles both of those into a single document, always linked to an already open Production Order.
This is the simple way to record production: everything is resolved in one document, ideal for short processes where you don't need to separate "what raw material went out" from "what product came in." If your company has the Advanced Manufacturing module enabled, you also have the option to split the process into two independent documents — Raw Material Dispatch and Finished Product Construction — useful when production spans several days or goes through different stages and you want to track progress separately. Direct Production remains available even with Advanced Manufacturing enabled; it's simply the fastest path.
How to use it
- Open the source Production Order. The order must be Open or In Progress; you cannot generate a Direct Production from a voided or already closed order.
- Press the "Direct Production" button on the Production Order's detail screen. If your Bill of Materials (BOM) has Production Stages configured (requires Advanced Manufacturing), you'll see a dropdown instead, letting you pick the stage you're recording.
- Review the pre-loaded tabs. AdmCloud automatically brings in, from the order and its BOM, the finished products, raw material, services and (if your company uses Work Centers) the operations. Adjust quantities, lots, serials, bin location or attributes to match what was actually produced.
- Attach supporting files if you need to (for example, a photo of the finished product) on the Files tab, then press Save.
- From the document's read-only view you can print it with a template, review the accounting entry it generated, duplicate it to record a similar production run, or void/ delete it if you have the corresponding permission.
Screens in this area
| Screen | What it does |
|---|---|
| List | Shows every recorded Direct Production, with the product's image, number, date, location and the Bill of Materials (BOM) used. Columns can be customized and your own layout saved, just like other AdmCloud lists. |
| Report | A simplified view, meant for printing or a quick review, filterable by date range and location. |
| Create / Edit | The document's form, with the Finished Products, Raw Material, Services, Operations (where it applies) and Files tabs. You can only reach "Create" from a Production Order's button; there's no standalone "New" button on the List. |
| Details | A read-only view of the saved document, with buttons to edit, duplicate, print, view the accounting entry, void or delete it. |
| Generates the document using the assigned print template (HTML or PDF), with a breakdown of finished products, raw material, services and operations. |
Lines and key fields
Each line on the document belongs to one of these types, organized into separate tabs:
| Tab | Content |
|---|---|
| Finished Products | Item, quantity produced, rejected quantity (if your company tracks rejects), unit of measure, bin, lot and expiration date, serials and attributes — each column only shows up if your company has that feature enabled. |
| Raw Material | Item consumed, quantity, unit of measure, bin, lot, serials and attributes. |
| Services | Services consumed during production, with their quantity and cost. |
| Operations (requires Work Centers) | The operations routing that was actually run: operation, work center, operator, equipment, hours and the date/time range for each one. Each resource's cost per hour only shows up for users who have the item-costs permission. |
The document's header also captures the date, the location (warehouse), the subsidiary (if your plan has subsidiaries enabled), notes and the source Production Order and BOM.
Validations when saving
- The document must have at least one line (finished product, raw material or service).
- The selected location must belong to the document's subsidiary.
- The accounting period for the document's date must be open.
- The source Production Order must exist, must not be voided, and its BOM must not be voided either.
- On each line: if the item requires serials, a lot or a bin, they must be provided; if it uses attributes, they must match the item's setup; the unit of measure must belong to the item's UOM plan.
- If the finished product is linked to a BOM, it must exist as that BOM's finished good, and its unit of measure must match the one defined there.
- The raw material quantity recorded across all Direct Productions (and Dispatches) tied to the same Production Order cannot exceed the quantity called for in the order, unless the user has the "Exceed quantity registering Raw Material dispatch" permission.
- The document number cannot be changed once it's been created.
Availability, modules and permissions
- Requires the Manufacturing module to be enabled on your plan (on the Enterprise edition, it's turned on/off as its own module).
- The Operations tab and columns, selecting by Production Stage, and tracking a finished product's rejected quantity require the Enterprise Advanced Manufacturing module.
- The Lot, Serials, Attributes and Bin columns only show up if your company has those inventory features enabled.
- The Subsidiary column and filter only show up if your plan has subsidiaries enabled.
- Viewing the cost of finished products, raw material, services and operations requires the item-costs permission, separate from the permission to use this screen.
- Adding, editing, deleting or voiding requires the "Records of Finished Products" permission at the matching level.
Tips and common mistakes
Can't find the button to create a Direct Production? It isn't created from this screen's List. Always open it from the Direct Production button (or the stage dropdown, if your BOM uses stages) on the corresponding Production Order's detail screen.
Need to separate the raw material dispatch from the finished product entry? That's only possible with the Advanced Manufacturing module, using the Raw Material Dispatch and Finished Product Construction screens instead of Direct Production.
An "exceeds raw material quantity" message isn't a system error. It means that, adding up every Direct Production (and Dispatch) already recorded against that Production Order, you're consuming more raw material than the order had planned. Adjust the quantity, or request the permission to exceed dispatches if the actual consumption is correct.