Outsourced Steps

15.1 Setting Up an Outsourced Step

In the recipe, tick Outsourced on a step and enter:

• Outsourced service — a service or non-inventory product
• Supplier — required when Procurement is enabled
• Service units per batch — scales with the batch size
• Cost per service unit — the estimate (cost permission)
• Credit account for manual receipt — with Accounting, used when you record the work by hand

15.2 With Procurement

Planning the order creates a draft Procurement purchase order for the supplier, with a service line for that order. Follow Procurement's normal submit, approval, receipt and bill steps. Manufacturing never bypasses purchasing approvals.

Received and billed service cost joins work in progress once, Dr 1210 against Procurement's clearing or purchase account. Partial receipts and linked bills count their own quantities once. The order's Outsourced work panel shows what is received or billed, the cost, a Purchase order link, Check source costs and Cancel remaining work.

Receive or bill the remainder, or cancel the unperformed work, before finishing. After the batch is finished, a receipt for its service is refused. A later bill that changes the cost posts the difference to 5190 Production cost variance; finished stock is not revalued.

15.3 Without Procurement

Record the work on the order under Outsourced work: enter Quantity, Cost, Date received and Supplier / reference, then click Receive outsourced work. The cost is credited to the step's credit account, or to 5160 Production overhead applied if none is set. Book the supplier's actual bill through Accounting as usual.

A manual entry on an unfinished order can be reversed with Reverse; its evidence is kept.

15.4 In Reports

The batch cost page and PDF show outsourced steps separately from materials and internal labour, with each receipt, bill and manual entry. Turning optional modules off never deletes recorded supplier-service costs.