The quick answer
Open the in-process WIP work order and click Enter Completion. If the components were already issued, leave Backflush cleared. Choose the Starting and Ending Operation, enter the Completed Quantity, and replace any run time that differs from the routing estimate on the Operations subtab. Click the Inventory Detail icon, enter the quantity, bin, status and lot number, click Add and OK, then save. Check the lot and bin in the saved Inventory Detail popup and the Built quantity on the work order.
This example completes 14 cases of BW-210 Citrus Hand Soap on WO-6140. Both routing operations are completed, operation 10 ran longer than the routing estimate, and the finished cases go to bin TP-FG-A2 under new lot LT-261116-01. The person, company and item names in the screenshots are fictional example data.
Before you start
You need Work Orders, Assembly Items, Manufacturing Work In Process and Manufacturing Routing enabled. The assembly must be lot numbered and the location must use bins, because that is what makes Inventory Detail required. The work order needs WIP checked and a saved routing, the posting period must be open, and your role must be able to create completions, enter Inventory Detail and edit operation times. This example issues the components separately, so they should already be issued. If they are not, issue them first or use Enter Completion with Backflush.
Quantities, lot numbers, bins and times here are illustrative. Use the ones from your own shop floor.
01 · Check the work order
Open WO-6140 and confirm WIP is checked, the status is In Process, Quantity is 14 and Built is 0. In this example the order uses the BW-210 Blend and Pour routing at Tacoma Plant.
Open Related Records and then the Builds subtab. It lists Work Order Issue WOI-6141, so an issue exists. Confirm it covers the components you want consumed separately, because that decides which completion button to use in the next step.
02 · Open the completion and set its scope
Click Enter Completion. Use Enter Completion with Backflush only when you want the completion to consume the components as well. Here the components were issued with WOI-6141, so this completion leaves them alone. On the Work Order Completion, Created From is WO-6140 and Backflush is cleared. Check the Date, Posting Period and Location at the top of the form before you go on.
In Operation Completion, choose 10 as the Starting Operation and 20 as the Ending Operation. The range is inclusive, and operation 20 is the last operation on the routing, so this completion covers all of it. Enter 14 as the Completed Quantity and press Tab. Because the Ending Operation is the last one, Quantity to Build fills in as 14 and is read only. Leave Scrap Quantity blank, because nothing was scrapped.
03 · Record the actual operation time
Open the Operations subtab. NetSuite fills in setup and run minutes for each operation from the routing and the completed quantity, and work-center resources and account setup can change those defaults. For 14 units, operation 10, Blend Batch, shows 56 run minutes for both the machine and the labor resource.
The Blend Batch took longer, so replace Machine Run Time (Min) and Labor Run Time (Min) for operation 10 with 70. In this example Record Setup Time and the other operation values stay as they are, and operation 20 keeps its routing values. If your process captures actual setup time, edit the setup minutes too.
What you type here is the time used for this completion. It changes the labor and machine amounts NetSuite calculates for the transaction and does not change the routing. What posts for WIP, finished goods and any variance depends on your cost templates, resource counts and costing method, so open GL Impact after saving, and the later Work Order Close, when the amounts matter.
04 · Assign the bin and lot
The assembly is lot numbered and the location uses bins, so the 14 finished cases need Inventory Detail. For this final-operation completion, the line quantities have to add up to Quantity to Build. Click the Inventory Detail icon in Assembly Detail. A new line can open with a bin and a status already filled in. Here it opens with TP-FG-A1 and the status Good, so check that the bin is where the cases really go before you accept it.
Enter 14 as the Quantity, choose bin TP-FG-A2, keep the status Good, and type LT-261116-01 as the Lot Number. Whether the lot number is typed or generated depends on the item's lot numbering setup, and a generated lot number still sits on a line with the quantity, bin and status. If the lot has an expiry, enter the Expiration Date as well.
Click Add. The line is committed and a new empty row opens below it. If the output spanned several lots, you would add one line per lot, plus a line for each distinct bin or status within a lot, and the lines together would still total 14. Click OK to return to the completion. The Inventory Detail icon changes to show that detail has been entered.
05 · Save and check the completion
Click Save. NetSuite shows a confirmation and creates Work Order Completion WOC-6142, with Created From pointing back to WO-6140.
Scroll down and check what was recorded. Starting Operation is 10, Ending Operation is 20, Completed Quantity and Quantity to Build are 14, and Scrap Quantity shows 0. On the Operations subtab, operation 10 kept the 70 run minutes. The saved completion also has a GL Impact subtab, which this walkthrough doesn't open. Review it when your role can see it and the amounts matter.
Click the Inventory Detail icon on the saved completion. The read-only popup lists the Serial/Lot Number LT-261116-01, Bin TP-FG-A2, Status Good and Quantity 14. Close it when you have checked the lot and bin.
06 · Verify the work order
Click the Created From link to return to WO-6140, then open Related Records and the Builds subtab. Built is now 14 and Quantity Scrapped is 0. In this account the status still reads In Process after the final operation was completed for the full quantity. Closing the order is a separate step, Work Order Close, and this example stops before it. Other accounts can differ with status setup, close processing and customization, so read the status on your own order.
Check the result
- Completion: WOC-6142 is saved with Quantity to Build 14 and 70 run minutes on operation 10.
- Inventory: the Inventory Detail popup shows lot LT-261116-01 in bin TP-FG-A2, status Good, quantity 14.
- Order: WO-6140 shows Built 14, Quantity Scrapped 0, and both WOI-6141 and WOC-6142 under Builds.
Common questions
What is the difference between Enter Completion and Enter Completion with Backflush?
Both create a Work Order Completion for a WIP work order. Enter Completion records the finished quantity and the operation activity and leaves component consumption to the Work Order Issue. Enter Completion with Backflush can also consume components on the completion, but only the eligible ones for the selected operation range and quantity, so it does not necessarily consume every BOM component. WO-6140 already had an issue, WOI-6141, so the example uses Enter Completion and leaves Backflush cleared.
Why does the completion ask for a bin and a lot?
When the assembly is lot numbered, the completed quantity has to be assigned to a lot in Inventory Detail. When the item and location use bins, each line also needs a bin, and a status when inventory status is in use. The quantities on the lines must add up to Quantity to Build. If the output covers more than one lot, add one line for each lot, and another for each distinct bin or status within a lot.
Where do the setup and run times on the Operations subtab come from?
NetSuite fills them in from the routing and the completed quantity. Setup time is usually applied once for the operation, and run time is usually the routing run rate multiplied by the completed quantity. They are editable defaults, and work-center resources, cost templates and account setup can change them. In the example, operation 10 defaults to 56 run minutes for 14 units and is changed to 70.
Does changing the run time change the routing?
No. The values you enter record the time used for this completion and change the labor and machine amounts NetSuite calculates for the transaction. The routing stays as it was. The effect on WIP, finished goods value, overhead and variance postings depends on the cost templates, resource counts, costing method and account setup, so check the GL Impact subtab of the saved completion and the later Work Order Close when the amounts matter.
Does the work order become Built after the last operation is completed?
In this account it did not. After WOC-6142 the order shows Built 14 and the status stays In Process. Work Order Close is a separate step that finishes the order and processes what is left in work in process, including applicable variances. If your order stays In Process, check the remaining quantity, scrap, prior issues and completions, close processing, and any workflows or scripts. The status your account shows can depend on its setup.
Which values did this example use?
WO-6140 for 14 cases of BW-210 Citrus Hand Soap at Tacoma Plant, completed from operation 10 to operation 20. Operation 10 run time was changed from 56 to 70 minutes. The cases went to bin TP-FG-A2, status Good, under lot LT-261116-01. The issue was WOI-6141 and the completion was WOC-6142. These are illustrative values, so use ones that are valid for your own order, item and location.