Production accounting + management accounting for furniture production

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Link to original post in RU

Our company is engaged in the production of furniture both through project contracts and individual orders.

The automation project started by chance. We were looking for software to manage workshop operations. Everything available on the market was either expensive, complicated, not customizable, and so on. A random discovery of Totum turned out to be a game-changer. Initially, it only had operations management capabilities. Prior to Totum, we also used 1C:Enterprise for managerial accounting, Planfix as a CRM, and Basis-Sklad for operational material and component supply. Gradually, all these blocks were implemented in Totum, and we abandoned the other software.

The project was and continues to be led by one person. I am responsible for production preparation and software. I only had a programming background in my school years, where I dabbled in Turbo Pascal. Throughout my work in different companies, I encountered the need for automation in various aspects and at different times, so I completed small local projects on Planfix and ElmaBPM to meet those needs.

This is to illustrate my amateurish level of expertise. The project started in November and has been mainly carried out in my spare time outside of primary responsibilities. Sometimes there have been long breaks (the last module, supply, was completed after approximately a 2-month break).

The advantages we have identified are:

• Very quick start. You can begin with the main problem and automate it today, gradually refining it in the process. Development and usage become a continuous, integrated process.
• Familiar tabular data work format.
• Breaking down behaviors into simple, understandable code makes it easier for non-programmers to work with.
• Excellent documentation and very supportive and knowledgeable customer support. I acknowledge that this is thanks to a small team. I genuinely hope that the situation will not worsen with growth.

Subjective downsides we have encountered:

• The notification system is not very clear to me. Because of this, we hardly use it. I simply haven't found the time to set it all up. Even if it's configured, creating notifications for non-programmers is a challenging task. As a result, using comments, for example, as a means of communication within the team is impossible.

Improvements on notifications: GitHub Link

• Some non-obvious sequence of updating tables through recalculate when there are multiple tables that influence each other. I can't always predict the result.
• Codes that affect behavior can be in completely different fields. If you're out of the loop for a long time, the logic becomes opaque. Perhaps this is related to certain development etiquette rules on Totum that I haven't mastered. It would be great if the developers could formulate them.

Currently, the following blocks are active:

Sales Block:

• Deals - managing counterparties, progressing through statuses. Each deal should have current steps. The absence of steps or delays can be immediately seen in the overall deal overview.
• Contracts - the "main line" of the sales block. Money inflows, production orders, manager incentives, agency payments, etc., are tied to contracts. From the contract card, the production manager can create a production order or enter the requirements for components that will not go through the workshop, and so on.

Production Block - Key functionality:

• Production Orders - the "main line" of the production block. Orders are linked to process sheets, component specifications, tasks, delivery deadlines, etc. From the order card, you can create related process sheets, upload specifications from an external design program (using a handler like this (Импорт данных из эксель в простую таблицу totum-ru-issues-and-discussions#32)), and deduct components. The specifications section shows the status of each item - deficit, whether it has been ordered, whether there is enough quantity to issue it, etc.
• Process Sheets - used to record operations. In our case, they are mostly performed with homogeneous material (resulting in a semi-finished product) or assembly process sheets (resulting in a finished product or intermediate semi-finished product).
• Batch Cuttings - designed to combine a batch of cutting for one material to optimize loading and waste.

Task Block:

Intended for recording and managing any tasks for yourself or colleagues. Works similarly to deal stages. Each task should have steps with specific dates, and they should not be overdue.

Workshop Block:

Designed to display operations available for execution in the workshop, as well as to record their execution. It is designed to be user-friendly.

Finance Block - Main subsections:

• Accounts and Cash - display balances for all accounts, as well as deficits based on payment plans on a specific date.
• Payment Accounts - record payment plans. Linked to the Supply block.
• Financial Operations - a table that records all movements on the accounts. To avoid recalculating all operations, it contains a record of the balance.
• Income Plan - forecast of income from contracts based on prepayments and additional payments.
• Reports section - the most interesting part was the reports section for this block. Currently, it includes VAT Analysis by items, Money as of a specific date by accounts, and Financial Plan Analysis. The last one allows forecasting cash gaps and financial status based on all known planned payments and receipts.

Supply Block - The most recent block. Main sections:

• Nomenclature Directory - contains nomenclature records with stock balances, information about the main supplier, replenishment type, etc. Currently, it has about 16,000 items.
• Nomenclature Movement Documents - all documents that record movements, such as waybills, write-offs, transfers, etc. Linked to supply requests, production orders, and customer contracts.
• Consolidated Order Needs - the processing analyzes all the needs of current orders based on stock balances and already submitted supply requests. It allows creating a supply request directly from it, using the recommended quantity or adjusting it.
• Supply Requests - record orders to suppliers. Linked to payment accounts.

Translated by GPTChat