Factory Module¶

The Factory module is the production and inventory control center for CTB Admin. Use this module to define materials and product categories, track material stock movements, manage inventory levels, and maintain finished product records with accurate costing information.

What you can do in this module¶

Organize materials and products — Create categories to group related materials and finished goods for easier management and reporting.
Add and track raw materials — Create material records with pricing, supplier information, and inventory tracking settings.
Monitor stock movement — Record inventory inbound and outbound entries to track material consumption and receipts.
Define finished products — Create product definitions with bill-of-materials, costs, and pricing for use in invoices and production orders.
Review inventory status — View current stock levels, historical movement, and cost analysis for materials and products.
Support production workflows — Maintain accurate product and material data that feeds into production orders and sales invoicing.

Module structure¶

Section	Purpose
Categories	Create and organize product categories, material types, and groupings
Materials	Define raw materials with codes, descriptions, suppliers, and pricing
Material Inventory	Record stock movements (in/out), track inventory levels, and view history
Products	Create finished products, define bill-of-materials, set pricing and costs

Typical workflow¶

Set up categories — Create product and material categories to organize your inventory structure.
Add materials — Create material records with supplier and pricing information.
Track inventory — Record material receipts and consumption using inventory entries to keep stock levels current.
Define products — Create finished product records and link them to required materials with costing information.
Use in production — Reference products and materials when creating production orders, invoices, and purchase records.
Review reports — Use module overview pages to analyze stock levels, costing, and material movement.

Key terms¶

Term	Definition
Category	A grouping label for materials or products to organize inventory (e.g., "Fabrics", "Garments", "Components").
Material	A raw material or component with a unique code, pricing, and supplier information.
Inventory Entry	A stock movement record that increases (in) or decreases (out) the quantity of a material.
Product	A finished good defined by its components, manufacturing cost, and selling price.
Bill-of-Materials	The list of materials and quantities required to manufacture one finished product.
Cost Price	The manufacturing or acquisition cost of a material or product.
Selling Price	The amount charged to customers for a product.

When to use each section¶

Categories¶

When organizing your first materials and products
When adding new product lines or material types to your inventory
When you need to group items for reporting or easier navigation

Materials¶

When receiving new raw materials from vendors
When onboarding suppliers or changing supplier relationships
When materials have price changes or need updated descriptions
When setting reorder levels or defining material specifications

Material Inventory¶

When materials arrive from vendors (inventory in)
When materials are consumed in production (inventory out)
When you need to review historical stock movements
When auditing or reconciling physical inventory counts

Products¶

When creating a new finished product or product line
When defining the bill-of-materials and manufacturing costs
When updating product pricing or supplier information
When linking products to client orders or invoices

Common tasks¶

Add a new material category — Go to Categories → Add Category, fill in the name and description, and save.
Create a material record — Go to Materials → Add Material, enter the material code, description, supplier, and pricing, then save.
Record material receipt — Go to Material Inventory → Add Inventory Entry, select "In", choose the material, enter quantity, and save.
Define a finished product — Go to Products → Add Product, link to a category, define bill-of-materials with materials and quantities, set cost and pricing, then save.
View material history — Go to Materials → [Select Material], then check the history tab to see all inventory movements.
Check product costing — Go to Products → [Select Product], review the cost calculation and bill-of-materials on the detail page.

Tips and common issues¶

Categories are foundational — Create your category structure before adding many materials or products; restructuring later is tedious.
Material codes should be unique — Use a consistent naming scheme (e.g., "FAB-001", "BTN-002") to make materials easy to find and reference.
Inventory entries must balance — Always record inventory movements as they happen (receipts and consumption) to keep stock levels accurate.
Bill-of-materials drives costing — Ensure all materials in a product's BOM are recorded with correct quantities; wrong quantities inflate cost or profit calculations.
Prices are locked in history — Material and product prices at the time of use are recorded in transaction history; changing prices going forward does not affect past invoices or orders.
Reorder levels prevent stockouts — Set reorder levels on materials so you know when to request replenishment from vendors.
Review costs regularly — Periodically check product costing against actual material consumption to spot inefficiencies or pricing issues.

Business — Supplies vendor records used when creating materials; client records used when creating invoices with products.
Trade — Uses products and services defined here when creating invoices, checks, and payment records.
Employee — Uses material and product information for task assignments and production tracking.
Settings & Admin — Configure system-wide settings that affect material and product behavior (e.g., tax rules, default units).