Conveyor belts, cruel machinery, and mountains of cash are not necessary for you to automate your production process. You need an intelligent accounting system that can handle the complexity of your workflow.
QuickBooks Enterprise offers the tools you need to run your manufacturing business efficiently. Here are some of the key features:
Inventory Management
Inventory management is a critical component of any business. Whether your manufacturing business uses direct, batch, or mixed-model production, you must track inventory across multiple channels and platforms to optimize item availability. Manual data entry, spreadsheets, and non-integrated systems could be more efficient and prone to errors. With a multichannel inventory management system like Acctivate, you can automate updating inventory and sales channel information in real-time and reduce costs.
Inventory management software in QuickBooks can help you identify bottlenecks and areas for improvement across your entire business. You can use inventory features to set up product pricing, establish reorder points, link multiple suppliers to one inventory item, and use routing manufacturing to schedule production based on customer deadlines. You can also create a bill of materials (BOM) to outline the raw materials, assemblies, and components required for inventory assembly. This can help speed up production and improve accuracy. You can also practice lean manufacturing, eliminating dead stock and reducing storage expenses.
Order Management
QuickBooks manufacturing can manage inventory, sales, and purchase orders. The built-in order management features allow you to quickly identify any bottlenecks in production and help you fulfill customer orders on time.
The build assembly feature helps you determine how many finished products you can make based on the component items you have on hand. If you need to build more than what’s in stock, the software automatically creates a purchase order to get the missing parts.
In addition, you can also track lot numbers and use the built-in e-commerce integrations to connect your sales platform with fulfillment solutions like Shipstation and Ware2Go. This can come in handy if you need to trace the history of a product in case of a recall.
Another helpful feature is setting up multiple price levels for each product. This can be helpful if you have to offer discounts for high-volume or preferred customers.
Job Costing
Job costing is essential for SMEs that work on custom or unique projects to track costs in real time. This helps protect financial well-being, shapes business strategy, and ensures timely accounting reports for tax filing and analysis.
To use job costing, you must set up a Chart of Accounts that allocates direct labor and materials and period expenses to each project. This is also known as job-based accounting, and it’s typical for construction and other client-serving SMEs to utilize.
A robust make-to-order manufacturing solution can help you avoid stockouts by using time-phased MRP to buy only what you need when needed. It can also help you identify inefficiencies, such as a slowdown in production workflow, so you can fix them before they become more costly. Eliminating waste is one of the best ways to save money. For instance, reducing the number of times you transport inventory around your facility can significantly reduce your carrying and overhead costs.
Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP)
The Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP) process takes input from customer orders, forecasts, and inventory to produce scheduling recommendations for production and purchasing. Users can then use the system to generate purchase and work orders based on the availability of raw materials, work center capacity, and other constraints like safety stock or customer service level targets.
MRP can be used for discrete manufacturing, where the final product is made from distinct items that can be counted, and process manufacturing, where components are incorporated into larger subassemblies or finished goods. It can improve manufacturing efficiency, flexibility, and profitability and help reduce the costs associated with inventory storage, production delays, and lost sales.
Eventually, your manufacturing needs will grow beyond the capabilities of QuickBooks alone, and you will need to move on to a more robust ERP solution. E2b technology represents Sage 100 Manufacturing, Epicor ERP, and several other leading options that represent the next logical step for most manufacturing companies.
