How to Add a Part to a Work Order | Latner Software Documentation

Adding a part to a work order records the stock a mechanic used on a job, so the cost lands on the work order and the quantity is reserved out of your warehouse straight away.

Overview

A service job is rarely just labour. Filters, hoses, seals and oil all come off a shelf somewhere, and Latner wants to know which shelf, so the job costs what it really cost and the storeman isn't surprised at stocktake.

Parts are added from the work order's Options menu and appear as Stock lines on the Actuals tab.
Every part comes from a specific warehouse, and only warehouses attached to the work order's branch can be chosen.
Adding the part allocates the quantity immediately - it moves from Qty Available to Qty Allocated on the stock record. It isn't consumed until the work order is completed.
Cost, Retail Price and Description default from the stock item and can be changed on the line.
Cost feeds the work order's Actuals Cost and retail price feeds Actual Retail, which is what a chargeable work order invoices.
Parts can only be added, edited or deleted while the work order is Open.

Before You Begin

Make sure the following are in place before you start.

Requirement	Where to Find It
Add Stock to Work Order permission	Security › Configuration › Permission Groups › your group › Service › Option
A work order in Open status	Service › Work Orders
Stock on hand in a warehouse belonging to the work order's branch	Stock › Stock, on the part's Warehouses tab
Enable Picking Lists for Work Orders (optional)	Security › Settings › Service

The Add Stock to Work Order permission on the Mechanic group. Without it, Add Parts never appears in the Options menu

The Warehouse list on the Add Parts form is filtered to the work order's branch, and the parts search is filtered to that warehouse. If the warehouse list comes up empty, the branch on the work order has no warehouse attached to it.

Adding the Part

Step 1 - Open the work order

Go to Service › Work Orders and open the job the part belongs to. Check the Work Order Status banner at the top reads Open - parts can't be added to a work order that has been completed or cancelled.

The work order header - Work Order Status, Tech Status and Parts Status are all shown in the banner, and Branch decides which warehouses you can draw parts from

Step 2 - Choose Options › Add Parts

Click Options at the top right and choose Add Parts.

The work order Options menu - Add Parts sits with Add Timesheet and Add Expense, the three ways of putting actuals onto a job

Step 3 - Check the job details

The Add Parts form opens with the job it belongs to already filled in and locked.

Work Order Number - the work order you're adding to, read only.
Equipment - the machine on the work order, read only. On a capital preparation work order this is replaced by Serial Number, showing the serialised stock item being prepared instead.

The empty Add Parts form - Cost and Retail Price start at $0.00 and fill themselves in once a part is chosen

Step 4 - Choose the warehouse and search for the part

Pick the Warehouse the part is coming out of, then click Search Parts and choose the part. The search results show Stock Number, Warehouse, Description and Quantity Available, so you can see whether the part is actually on the shelf before you commit to it.

Warehouse - required. Changing it clears whatever part you had selected, so choose the warehouse first.
Search Parts - required. Type any part of the stock number or description to narrow the list.

The parts search - Quantity Available is per warehouse, so a part sitting on zero here may still be on hand at another branch

Step 5 - Enter the quantity and check the prices

Choosing a part fills in Cost from the stock item's average cost, Retail Price from its retail price and Description from the part description. All three can be overridden on the line without changing the stock record itself.

Quantity - required. Must be a whole number greater than zero, and no more than the quantity available in that warehouse.
Cost - what the part cost you. Feeds Actuals Cost on the work order.
Retail Price - what the part is charged out at. Feeds Actual Retail, and is the figure a chargeable work order invoices.
Description - required. This is the wording that appears on the work order line and on the customer's invoice.

A completed Add Parts form - two air filters at $46.80 cost and $78.00 retail each, with the description carried over from the stock item

Step 6 - Save

You have two ways to finish:

Save - saves the line and hands you a fresh, empty form, ready for the next part. Use this when a job needs several parts.
Save and Finish - saves the line and closes the form.

After Adding the Part

The part appears on the work order's Actuals tab as a Stock line, with Total Cost and Total Retail Price calculated as the unit figure multiplied by the quantity.
The Financial Details card updates - Actuals Cost and Actual Retail now include the part.
On the stock record, Qty Available drops and Qty Allocated rises by the quantity you added. The work order also shows up on the part's Work Orders tab.
The stock isn't actually consumed yet. Qty Used and the stock movement are only written when the work order is completed, and reopening a completed work order puts the allocation back.
Adding a part does not change the work order's Parts Status. That is maintained separately through Options › Update Parts Status, and moves to Requested on its own when a technician sets the tech status to Parts Requested.
To edit or remove a line, tick it on the Actuals tab and use the pencil or bin icon above the grid - double-clicking the row opens the same form in update mode.

The Actuals tab with two part lines, and the Financial Details card totalling them into Actuals Cost and Actual Retail

The part's Warehouses tab - two of the 36 on hand have moved from Qty Available to Qty Allocated, and Qty Used stays at zero until the job is completed

Parts can only be added, changed or deleted while the work order is Open. Once it is completed or cancelled, Latner refuses the change with a message beginning Cannot add detail line to work order in. If a part was missed, use Options › Reopen Work Order first - reopening also returns the previously used stock to allocated, so the figures stay straight.

FAQs

Add Parts doesn't appear in the Options menu. Why?

Two things hide it. The first is the Add Stock to Work Order permission - without it the menu item is not rendered at all. The second is status: Add Parts only shows while the work order is Open.

The part I need shows a Quantity Available of zero. Can I still add it?

No. The line is rejected with Not enough quantity available for Stock and the part number. Either transfer stock into that warehouse first, or raise a purchase order for it from the work order with Options › Create Purchase Order - when that order is receipted, the part is added to the work order as a stock line automatically.

Can I change the cost or retail price on a part line?

Yes. Both are seeded from the stock item but are editable on the line, and changing them here has no effect on the stock record's average cost or retail price. If the work order is chargeable, the Retail Price you set is what the customer is invoiced.

Can I add a fraction of a part, like half a litre of oil?

Not on a stock line - part quantities must be whole numbers. Decimal quantities are only accepted on Expense lines, so bulk consumables measured by volume are usually handled either as an expense or as a stock item whose unit is the measure you buy it in.

Why hasn't the stock come out of my warehouse yet?

Because the job isn't finished. Adding a part reserves it, which keeps it from being promised to anyone else, but the quantity is only used and a stock movement written when the work order is completed. Until then the part is sitting in Qty Allocated.

Can a mechanic add parts from a phone?

Yes. The mobile work order screen has a Parts section with an Add Stock button, using the same permission and the same rules. The mobile form also shows the part's bin location and lets the stock number be scanned rather than typed.

What is the Picking Status column on the Actuals tab?

It only appears when Enable Picking Lists for Work Orders is switched on under Security › Settings › Service. With it enabled, every part line starts as Unpicked and is tracked through the picking process, and Options › Create Picking List becomes available on the work order.

Watch the Demo

Prefer to watch it? Step through the same flow here.