Subcontracting software for work done by subcontractors
Plating, coating, heat treatment, stitching - many products pass through other workshops before they are finished. Ellibo Manufacturing sends materials out on a numbered delivery document, keeps them as your stock while they are away, and bills the job charge for what comes back.
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What goes missing when work goes out
Every trip to a subcontractor is stock leaving your building. Without a record, it quietly becomes a loss.
Material leaves and is forgotten
Two thousand brackets went for plating. Fourteen hundred came back. Nobody can say if the rest are still there or lost.
Each subcontract order shows Needed, Sent, Used, Back and With them. Reports show what every subcontractor holds today.
Stock looks lower than it is
Material at the subcontractor drops off your stock list, so you buy more of something you already own.
Material sent stays your own stock, at a warehouse named for the subcontractor, moved on real transfer orders you can also see in Inventory.
Job charges are billed from memory
The subcontractor's bill arrives with a quantity you cannot check, and you pay it because there is no record to argue with.
Bill the job charge from the order for what has really come back, so the bill in your books matches the goods received.
The real cost of the product is wrong
The finished part is costed at material only, and the plating charge sits in expenses, so your margin is overstated.
Goods back come into stock at material plus job charge, so the product carries its full cost.
A subcontract order, trip by trip
- Set it up once
A subcontract BoM lists what you send, with each subcontractor's lead time and job charge.
- Send materials
Record what goes today and print a numbered delivery note, or have your vendor deliver straight to them.
- Goods come back
Enter the quantity back and their delivery note. Materials are used for that share.
- Bill and close
Bill the job charge, bring back unused material, and the order shows Received.
Everything subcontracting needs
Subcontract BoMs
List the materials sent, the subcontractors, their lead time and job charge for each one made.
Delivery notes
A numbered delivery note PDF for every trip out.
Stock with each subcontractor
Material stays yours at a named warehouse, on real transfer orders.
Vendor delivers to them
A purchase order delivered straight to the subcontractor lands in their warehouse when the bill is recorded.
Full product cost
Finished goods at material plus job charge, with the bill in your books.
Make, buy or send out
What to make and buy suggests a manufacturing order, purchase order or subcontract order for each shortage.
Ready before the next trip out
- Add each subcontractor as a vendor.
- Make subcontract BoMs for the parts they work on, with the job charge.
- Mark those items as "A subcontractor makes it" with a lead time.
- Enter what is with each subcontractor today as your opening trips.
- Choose what subcontract order numbers start with in settings.
Add more Ellibo apps when you need them
One account, the same customers, items and team in every app.
InventorySee subcontractor warehouses and transfers next to your own stock. AccountingJob-charge bills and the full product cost in the same books.Manufacturing for subcontractors: FAQ
Does material sent out stay in our stock?
Yes. It sits at a warehouse named for the subcontractor, made the first time you need it. Each send or return is a real transfer order.
Can our vendor deliver straight to the subcontractor?
Yes. Vendor delivers to them makes a purchase order delivered to the subcontractor. When its bill is recorded, the goods land at their warehouse.
How is the finished product costed?
It comes into stock at material plus the job charge for each one made. Bill the job charge from the order for what has come back.
What if the subcontractor uses their own material?
Then make the order without a subcontract BoM. No materials are sent, and you receive the goods and pay the job charge.
We are a subcontracting shop ourselves. Does it fit?
You can run your own floor with BoMs, orders, the shop floor screen and real cost. Material your customer lends you is not kept apart as their stock, so check that this fits how you work during the trial.
Which plan includes subcontracting?
Professional and Business. Every new business gets a 14-day trial with every feature, and operators on the floor are always free.
Manufacturing for other businesses
More Ellibo apps for manufacturing & making
Know what every subcontractor holds
Start on the Free plan - shop floor operators are free. Add more apps whenever you are ready.