Overview
Many companies choose to do all of their purchasing out of INNERGY for the simplicity of following one process. If you choose to manage purchasing for all materials - such as glue, dowels, and even tooling - in the system, you will need to ultimately consume those materials as well. This guide walks through how to develop that process.
Step 1 - Viewing in peAk
This guide is available inside peAk.
Step 2 - Lunch & Learn on Common Workflows
Before configuring Shop Consumables, watch the Lunch & Learn on Common Shop Consumables Workflows. It walks through the most common approaches other INNERGY customers use so you can decide what fits your operation before you start building.
Step 3 - Material Library - Shop Consumables Folder
Navigate to Libraries > Materials. Create a dedicated folder in your material tree structure for Shop Consumables before creating any material records.
1. Create a subfolder in your tree structure called Shop Consumables or a similar name.
2. Decide how you will name materials. There are three approaches:
Generic
Use one single material for all shop consumables and all purchases. Example: "Shop Consumables". Best when you do not need to track individual consumable types.
Semi-Generic
Name materials based on categories. Example: "Screws", "Glue", "Sandpaper". Good balance between simplicity and tracking.
Exact
Each material name matches the exact item being purchased. Example: "#9 x 3" Deep Thread Wood Screws - Combo/Square/Phillips". Best for detailed tracking and reporting.
Pro Tip
Your naming strategy affects how your Purchase Orders look and how granular your cost tracking will be. Discuss this decision with your Implementation Specialist before creating materials - it is much easier to decide upfront than to rename materials after POs have been created.
Step 3 - Libraries > Materials showing a Shop Consumables subfolder
Step 4 - Setting Up Your Materials
When creating material records in the Shop Consumables folder, pay close attention to these key fields:
• Budget Group - Recommend creating a dedicated Shop Consumables Budget Group. This allows you to isolate and report on consumable spend separately from project materials. You can get even more specific by creating sub-groups for different consumable categories.
• GL Accounts - Determine whether Shop Consumables need different GL Accounts than your system defaults. If consumables are expensed differently than project materials, set the correct accounts here.
• Special Characteristics - If you plan to inventory and track Shop Consumables, assigning a Special Characteristic (such as "Shop Consumable") allows you to filter the Materials to Buy grid by this tag - making purchasing much easier.
• UoM Group and Common UoM - Set these based on how you want to purchase the item. Examples: Each, Box, Case, Roll.
• Stock - Decide whether you will stock and inventory these items or expense them when they are received. This is a key decision that affects your inventory balance and job costing workflow.
Step 4 - Material record edit screen showing Budget Group, GL Accounts, Special Characteristics, and UoM settings
Step 5 - Purchase Order
How your material names appear on Purchase Orders depends on the naming strategy you chose in Step 3:
• Generic or Semi-Generic names - Use the Material Note field on the PO line item to add the specific detail your vendor needs to fulfill the order correctly. The material name alone will not be descriptive enough.
• Exact names - You can keep the material name shorter and use the Description field on the PO line item to add additional context. The exact name already carries the key identifying information.
Step 5 - Purchase Order showing Generic, Semi-Generic, and Exact material name examples with Notes and Description fields
Step 6 - Shop Expense Project
If you do not job cost Shop Consumables to specific projects, it is common practice to create a dedicated "Shop Expense" Project in INNERGY to capture all consumable costs in one place.
• Create one main Work Order for all shop expenses - or create a Work Order per month, per year, or however you want to track expense costs over time.
• If you want to job cost consumables to a specific project, you will need to expense to a Work Order when materials come in, or Fulfill to a Work Order from inventory when they are used.
• Alternatively, compile all costs for a period and add them to Work Orders as an
Step 6 - Shop Expense Project showing a dedicated Work Order for tracking consumable costs
Step 7 - Example Workflows
Below are video examples showing how you might handle Shop Consumables in practice. Work with your Implementation Specialist if you have specific questions about your process.
Note
There is no single right answer for how to handle Shop Consumables. The best workflow depends on how closely your organization wants to track consumable costs against individual projects. Your Implementation Specialist can help you evaluate the tradeoffs.
Need Help?
Contact INNERGY Support through the Help Center or reach out to your INNERGY Success Manager.
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