Custom software · Demonstration project
ERP for manufacturing and distribution: one system for the connected operations.
We are developing a system for processes that span materials, production, inventory, orders and financial operations. The aim is to trace information between stages rather than leave it in disconnected spreadsheets. Below is what the demonstration contains: the modules, the path of a single order, the roles, and the checks that show discrepancies between the warehouse, the accounts, the cash desk and the bank.
Scope
What the demonstration contains
The figures describe the scope of the build. They are not results from a live company.
The problem
One order, scattered across email, a spreadsheet and two programs.
The build is based on a description of a manufacturing and trading operation where stock and accounting live in a separate program, sales are tracked by hand in a spreadsheet and enquiries arrive by email. The system answers each of those points.
Today
- Sales: tracked by hand in a spreadsheet, taking hours every day.
- Stock and accounting: in a separate program, with no link to production.
- The quote: every ingredient is checked one by one and the unit cost is calculated separately.
- The order: its data sits in email, the spreadsheet, the stock program and the invoices.
- Discrepancies: there is no place to see them on the same day.
In the system
- Sales: one register for every channel, with a duplicate check.
- Stock and accounting: every stock movement and every document is posted automatically.
- The quote: enquiry, ingredient check, supplier prices and unit cost in one place.
- The order: one path from the pro forma to the paid balance, with a clear next action.
- Discrepancies: a control panel compares stock, ledger, cash and bank.
Modules
Six groups of modules on a shared core
Stock, the general ledger and invoices each have a single entry point in the code. Every module goes through them, so the same movement cannot be recorded in two different ways.
Enquiries and quotes
An enquiry with its ingredients, a check that each is permitted, supplier quotes, packaging templates and unit cost per dose and per pack. The quote is approved before it reaches the customer.
Customer orders
History per customer, recurring orders with a late signal, price by batch size, and a 50/50 advance with pro forma, advance invoice and final invoice.
Recipes and production
A per-dose formula with overage, expected loss and potency correction. A batch-level production sheet, stages per dosage form, machines with a minimum batch, downtime and scrap.
Stock and batches
Every row carries a location, batch, expiry date and the owning company. Received raw material stays in quarantine until approved. Transfers with an in-transit status, reconciliation with an external warehouse, and stock counts.
Sales, cash and consignment
A sales register by channel, a cash book reconciled daily against the cash register, instalment payments with due dates, consignment with a limit and reporting, refusals and returns with a credit note.
Accounting and reports
Invoices, general ledger, VAT journals, bank, fixed assets, period closing, and reports per company and for the group. Every document posts itself.
How it works
The path of one order
The order screen shows a track with the steps and a single next action. A step is ticked only by a real record: an issued document, a paid invoice, a stock movement or a production status.
Enquiry and quote
The enquiry is recorded with its ingredients. Each is checked for whether it is permitted, whether it is in stock and at what price suppliers offer it. Unit cost per dose and per pack is calculated from the recipe. The response deadline is one working day and the control panel tracks it.
Confirmation and pro forma
A confirmed order receives a pro forma. It is not a tax document and is not posted.
Advance invoice for 50%
VAT is charged on the advance. The payment is recorded when it arrives in the bank. Until then the order stays on “Waiting for the customer’s advance” and has no button for the next step.
Production planning
A production order is created per product, or the order is fulfilled from stock. If the quantity is below the machine minimum, the system asks for a decision: produce the minimum, merge with another planned order, or charge a small-batch fee.
Release and stages
On release, raw materials are issued by batch, earliest expiry first, and their value goes into the general ledger. If anything is short, the release is refused and no movement is left behind. The order then passes through the stages of its dosage form and through quality control.
Dispatch
Released batches are issued in expiry order and the cost of goods sold is posted. Without stock, dispatch stops with a clear error and moves nothing.
Final invoice and balance
The final invoice carries the full quantities and prices, and the advance is deducted automatically. The order closes when the balance arrives in the bank.
Production
From the recipe to the released batch
Production sheet
Quantity per dose times the number of doses, plus overage and expected loss. A raw material at 97% potency means more is taken. Rounding is always upwards.
Approved batches only
Raw material in quarantine cannot be used. The “What can I produce” screen counts released batches only and shows which material is short.
Stages and drying
Dry capsules go through seven stages, from encapsulation to boxing. Softgels and gummies have a drying stage before control, and the panel shows batches whose drying time has run out.
Control and release
Finished output is booked as work in progress with a batch. After control it moves to the warehouse and becomes available for dispatch.
Roles
Five roles. The check is on the server, not in a hidden button.
Built-in accounting
The document posts itself. A wrong entry is refused.
Accounting is not a separate program into which someone retypes data. A sale, a delivery, a production run and a payment create their ledger entries at the moment they happen.
Debit = credit
An entry that does not balance, contains fractions of a cent or points to an unknown account is not accepted.
Closed period
A closed month refuses new entries. Unlocking is written to the audit trail.
Invoices with gapless numbering
An issued document is neither edited nor deleted. The correction is a reversal or a credit note.
VAT journals
Purchase and sales journals and a monthly return. The panel reconciles VAT on documents with the turnover of the account.
Bank
The statement is imported and payments are matched to invoices. Unmatched transactions stay visible until someone explains them.
Audit trail
Every change to a business record is kept: who, when, what it was before and what it became.
A condition before live use. The posting rules and the chart of accounts are approved by a qualified accountant before go-live. The system does not issue fiscal receipts and does not run payroll.
Control panel
Seventeen checks on the first screen
Each check compares two places that should show the same thing. When they differ, it shows the amount and links to the record it comes from. Each role sees the checks that concern it.
Accounting
Debit against credit. Customer receivables against open invoices. VAT for the month against documents. Bank against payments. Whether the previous month is closed.
Stock
Batch value against the stock accounts. Consignment stock against its accounts. The external warehouse and the websites against the system. No negative stock.
Sales
Cash against the cash register and days left open. Consignment over the limit or unreported. Overdue invoices, instalments and advances. Enquiries not answered in time.
Production and documents
Batches in quarantine, approaching expiry and materials below minimum. Drying past its time. Uploaded documents waiting for review for more than two days.
Who it is for
When a system like this makes sense
Not the right tool when
- Off-the-shelf software covers your process and the only problem is the habit of using it.
- You need a link between two systems that already work well. Then the answer is an integration.
- You want a finished product to install tomorrow. This is a development with an agreed scope.
A good fit when
- You manufacture to order, with batches, expiry dates and recipes.
- You have more than one company sharing a warehouse and want separate books and a common view.
- Advances, consignment or instalment payments are tracked by hand.
- You want the operator to work without seeing prices and margin.
Current stage
This page presents development and functional demonstrations. It is not described as a completed client rollout. Real-company scope, migration and acceptance are agreed separately.
What that means in practice:
- The data in the demonstration is sample data.
- The links to the external warehouse and the online stores are simulated. Real integrations are built for the specific company.
- Sign-in is a role switcher. Real accounts and two-factor protection are part of a rollout.
- The stages for dry capsules are fully described. For the other three forms they are preliminary.
- Reading a document from a photo runs on a sample reader.
- The logic for money, stock, numbering and permissions is covered by automated tests.
Questions
What people most often ask about a system like this
Is this a working system or a mock-up?
A working demonstration with sample data. The modules are connected and an order runs from quote to paid invoice, with stock and the general ledger changing at every step. It is not a completed client rollout and we do not present it as one.
Can we start with only some of the modules?
Yes. The scope for a real company is agreed separately. We usually start from the process that causes you the most trouble and define how it will work with your other systems.
Does the system replace the accounting program?
In the demonstration accounting is built in: every document is posted automatically and there is a general ledger, VAT journals and period closing. Whether it replaces your current program is decided for the specific company and requires a qualified accountant to approve the rules before go-live.
Who sees prices and recipes?
Purchase prices, unit cost and margin are visible to the admin, the accountant and the owner. Exact recipes are visible to the admin and the production operator. Permissions are checked on the server, not merely by hiding a button.
What happens if someone enters a wrong document?
Financial records are not deleted. The mistake is corrected with a reversal or a credit note, and the change stays in the audit trail with the person’s name and the time.
How is data moved from the old program?
Migration and acceptance are agreed separately for each company. The brief for this build provides for a period in which the old and the new system run in parallel and their results are compared.
Similar processes?
Discuss which parts of your operations should be brought together first.