Material Order Overview

A material order lists the physical materials a supplier delivers for a work order — the items, the supplier, and when and where they arrive. Here you build the item list, assign a supplier, schedule delivery, and track material costs.

A material order always belongs to a work order (rarely do you order materials without a crew there to do something with them). Because of that, a material order inherits its trade, project, and contract from its parent work order, and you reach it from within that work order.

To delete a material order, it must be unscheduled — no supplier assigned.

Details

These are the high-level details of the material order such as the work order it belongs to, its type, and its trade.

PO# (required)

This is your number for the material order. It is suggested automatically as MO followed by the project number and a sequence (for example, MO1042-2), and you can edit it.

Trade (required)

The trade the material order works under. It is inherited from the parent work order.

Work Order (required)

The work order this material order belongs to. Only work orders on the same contract and trade are available to choose from.

Type (required)

• Material Order — the initial order of materials for the work order.
• Material Order - WIP — a work-in-progress order placed mid-project, after the initial order (for example, additional materials discovered once work is underway).
• Return — unused materials sent back. The costs on a Return order count as negatives, so they reduce the material total rather than add to it.

Description (optional)

An optional short description for the material order.

Location

This is the job site address the materials are being delivered to, inherited from the project. Click the address to open it in Google Maps.

Material Order Status

The material order status tells you where the order is in the delivery process. Unlike a work order, you do not set the material order status directly — it is derived automatically from the supplier and the dates you enter on the Schedule.

• Draft — no order, back-order, or delivery date has been set yet.
• Ready to Order — the order is ready to be placed with a supplier.
• Ordered — a supplier is assigned and an order date is set.
• Back-Ordered — a back-order date is set and no delivery date has been reached.
• Delivered/Complete — the delivery date has arrived or passed.

Because the status is date-driven, keeping the Schedule dates accurate is what keeps the status — and the parent work order's "Waiting on Materials" state — correct.

Material Order Instructions

These are notes and instructions for the material order — anything the supplier or your team needs to know about this delivery. They appear on the printed material order.

Files & Photos

This is where any files, documents, and photos for the material order are managed. Files added here are also listed within the project's files and photos.

Materials

These are the physical material line items the supplier needs to provide. Each row is one material with its color, size, quantity, unit, and cost.

Use the green plus, or the menu, to add materials:

• Add item — add a single material line. You can pick a material from your catalog or enter a custom (free-text) item.
• Import list — bring in a saved Material List so you don't have to add items one at a time. See Material Per Unit Primary for how a material's primary unit drives order sizing.

A key icon next to an item marks it as a Per-Unit Primary material — the material that defines the size of the order (for example, roofing squares). The order's per-unit costs are calculated against the total of these primary materials.

Event vs. Supplier costs

When you have permission to see financials, the Using [Event / Supplier] costs below selector lets you switch the prices shown between your Event pricing and the assigned supplier's pricing. Switching re-prices the items accordingly.

Working with checked items

Check one or more items, choose an action, and click Submit to:

• Delete Checked Items — remove the selected lines.
• Move to New / Copy to New — move or copy the selected lines into a brand-new material order (useful when part of an order ships from a different supplier).
• Export to Existing Material Order — move the selected lines into another material order already on this work order.

Use Delete All Items to clear the entire list. If a material has been marked inactive or discontinued in your catalog, a warning appears on that line so you can decide whether to keep using it.

A material order is locked for editing once it is in production. Users with production permission can still edit it.

Supplier

This is where the supplier for the material order is assigned. Click the pencil to open the picker and choose a supplier, or reset it to To be determined.

The picker lists the suppliers available for this material order:

• If the project's Event has suppliers assigned to it, only those suppliers are offered (shown under a "Suppliers for Event" heading).
• If the Event has no suppliers assigned, all of your suppliers are available.

Suppliers are grouped into Active Suppliers and Inactive Suppliers. Once a supplier is assigned, their phone, address, and contacts appear here, and the material order can accept bills/expenses.

Assigning a supplier is also what makes a material order count as scheduled — so a material order with a supplier can no longer be deleted.

Schedule

This is where the delivery is scheduled. The dates you enter here drive the material order status (see above).

Order Date

The date the order is placed with the supplier. Setting this, together with a supplier, moves the order to Ordered.

Back Order Date

The date the materials are expected when they are on back order. A back-order date with no delivery date puts the order in Back-Ordered.

Delivery Date

The date the materials are expected on site. Once this date arrives or passes, the order becomes Delivered/Complete.

Delivery Time

The general time window for delivery: Early Morning, Late Morning, Early Afternoon, Late Afternoon, Will Call/Pick Up, First Out, or Anytime.

Location

Where on site to drop the materials: Best Judgement, Roof Top, Drop, Driveway (3rd Stall / Right / Left), Drop in Driveway, or Other — See Comments.

Invites / Time Tracking

These are calendar appointments linked to the material order — for example, a delivery appointment. Use the plus icon to add one.

Bills / Expenses

These are the supplier bills and expenses attached to this material order. Bills are the source of the material order's actual cost.

Depending on your Company Settings, a tracking bill can be created automatically the first time a supplier is scheduled, giving you a place to record the actual cost as invoices come in. A new bill/expense can only be added once a supplier is assigned.

Cost Summary

This is an overview of the material order's costs. Permission is required to see financial data.

Size of Order

The total quantity of Per-Unit Primary materials on the order — the same "how big is this order" measure used for per-unit costing.

Forecast Cost

The estimated cost of the order, totaled from the material line items (quantity × cost).

Actual Cost

The real cost of the order, totaled from the bills/expenses attached to this material order.

$ Per Unit

Forecast and actual costs expressed per unit, dividing each total by the Size of Order.

Taxes

An optional tax rate can be applied to better estimate the order's cost. Tax options come from the active taxes on the project's Event.

Deleting a Material Order

A material order can only be deleted while it is unscheduled — that is, before a supplier is assigned. Once a supplier is on the order, remove the supplier first if you need to delete it. Deleting a material order removes its items and any attached bills/expenses.