Bill of materials
Vinstra Flow does not use the phrase “bill of materials” anywhere in the interface. What it has is the Material tab on a lead, which lists what the design will consume, and a Glass tab for the units. Together they are the bill of materials for the job.
The list is produced from the design and the configurations behind it. You do not type it in.
Read the material list
Section titled “Read the material list”
- Open the lead.
- Go to the Material tab.
What you see comes from the windows on the lead, resolved through the profile, hardware and flynet configurations. Change the design and the list changes with it.
Read the glass list
Section titled “Read the glass list”
Glass is kept on its own Glass tab because a sealed unit is described differently from a length of profile. It carries the spacers, beading and Georgian bar detail set up in Config, Glass.
Substitute a material
Section titled “Substitute a material”Sometimes a job needs something other than the default. You can change it without redrawing the window, using the dialogs on the lead view:
| Dialog | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Change profile product material | A different profile product |
| Change hardware product material | Different handles, hinges or locks |
| Change steel product material | Different reinforcement |
- Open the lead.
- Select the change dialog for the material you are replacing.
- Pick the replacement product.
- Apply it.
The material list and the cost sheet both follow the change.
Print the material list
Section titled “Print the material list”Use Material print options from the lead view. This prints the material rather than the price, which is what you want for the stores or for a supplier enquiry.
When the list looks wrong
Section titled “When the list looks wrong”An empty or short material list is nearly always a configuration problem rather than a design problem.
- Check the window has a System and a Colour set.
- Check a profile window configuration exists for that system, window type and colour, and that one of them is marked Default.
- Check a hardware window configuration exists for the same combination. Missing hardware is the most common cause of a list that looks almost right.
- Check the products behind the configuration exist in Inventory and are priced.
If the list is right but the money is wrong, the problem is in cost configuration or product prices instead. See Pricing and suppliers.
What it does not do
Section titled “What it does not do”The material list does not reserve stock, and it does not create a purchase request by itself. Buying is a separate step in Inventory, covered in Inventory. Nothing stops you quoting a job whose material you do not have.