ERP for manufacturing. BOM to dispatch, with variance and job work reconciled as you go.
From bill of materials to dispatch, with variance and subcontract work reconciled as you go instead of at the quarter end.
From early 2027How does Kinnow help a UK manufacturer? The bill of materials (BOM), the work order, the material issued and the finished lot sit in one record, so the cost of a run reaches your books and the gap between planned and actual material shows up the week it happens, not at the costing review. Nothing is filed, paid or posted without a person.
Your business in one paragraph
A plant turns a purchase commitment into a shipped batch. Material comes in against a purchase order, goes out to the line against a work order, some of it goes to a subcontractor and comes back, and the finished lot is costed, invoiced with VAT and dispatched. The owner's worry is rarely the machine; it is the paperwork around it: what the BOM says, what was issued, what sits at a subcontractor, and what the planner promised a customer.
Material drifts from the BOM
Actual use creeps above plan and nobody sees it until a costing review weeks later.
Material out with subcontractors
Orders are matched up by hand, and the stock sitting at the subcontractor is nobody's number.
A whiteboard for capacity
A rush order breaks the schedule because nobody could see how busy each work centre was.
Send us one BOM and one work order and we will show the variance on your numbers.
How your month runs on Kinnow
This is the path from demand to dispatch, with the buying and subcontract (job work) routines that sit under it.
| # | Step | Who | Application | Where a person signs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Order received; the credit check holds it if the customer is over limit | Sales manager | Sell | Credit hold cleared by a person |
| 2 | Kinnow's suggestion-only MRP (material requirements planning) breaks the BOM down against stock and open orders and proposes what to make and buy | Production planner | Make | Planner confirms; nothing is released automatically |
| 3 | Purchase request, then purchase order; the supplier is approved before release | Procurement officer | Buy | A purchase order above a value you set needs approval |
| 4 | Material received; an incoming quality inspection is created when it is accepted; failures raise an NCR (non-conformance report) | Stores, QC inspector | Stock & Ship, Make | A person approves what happens to a failed lot |
| 5 | Work order released; the capacity board shows how loaded each work centre is | Production planner | Make | A run above a quantity you set needs approval |
| 6 | Material issued; operators start and complete operations at the terminal | Shop-floor operator | Make | The operator is named on each step |
| 7 | Job work: material goes out to a subcontractor on a job-work order and comes back; the agent checks the quantities add up | Stores, subcontract coordinator | Make | Short-close or write-off is a person's action |
| 8 | Work order completes; the cost of the run moves from work in progress (WIP) to finished goods in your books | Automatic | Account | Cost variance reviewed by finance |
| 9 | Scrap above the limit is flagged; write-offs go for approval | Plant manager | Stock & Ship | A write-off above a value you set needs approval |
| 10 | Dispatch and invoice, with the invoice checked against the VAT invoice rules; month-end close and the VAT return draft (groundwork completed before launch) | Accounts executive, finance manager | Sell, Comply, Account | Return and close signed by a person |
What the industry setup includes
The ready-made setup for manufacturing (we call it an industry pack) has 6 safeguards, 4 lists of who signs off, in order, 9 reports, 13 starter questions for Ask Kinnow, 10 agents and 20 ready-made routines. For the United Kingdom it is completed with early-access customers, so the limits below are set with you, not preset.
| Safeguard | Effect | Why it is there |
|---|---|---|
| Production run above a quantity you set | Needs approval | Commits material and machine time before anyone has seen the demand |
| Purchase order above a value you set | Needs approval | Buying raw material is where margin is won or lost |
| Stock write-off above a value you set | Needs approval | Either a real loss or a stock error; both need a name against them |
| Manual journal above a value you set | Needs approval | Changes the books without a source document |
| Scrap above a number of units you set on a work order | Warning | Scrap is material already paid for and thrown away |
| Customer credit limit above a value you set | Warning | Credit is a decision, not data entry |
The ready-made routines include Demand to dispatch, Buying raw material and Stock count to write-off.
What the UK country setup adds
A separate United Kingdom setup carries the VAT and payroll controls. Its sign-off steps cover VAT returns, VAT invoices, payroll runs, journals, write-offs and purchase orders.
| Control | What happens | Why it is there |
|---|---|---|
| VAT return | Sign-off by a named person before the return is filed | Kinnow prepares the working and a person files the return |
| Large VAT invoice | Read before it is raised; a credit note puts it right | A wrong invoice is corrected openly, on the record |
| Manual journal | A second person signs | Making Tax Digital (MTD) expects an unbroken digital trail |
| Stock write-off | Review, with the VAT bad-debt relief deadline shown | A write-off can carry a VAT consequence |
| Purchase order | Review where the construction reverse charge may apply | Such an invoice carries no VAT |
| Timesheet overtime beyond the working-time average | Warning | Shift overtime needs the opt-out on file |
Processes, built in
Good-practice processes come switched on, each printable as a step-by-step procedure.
Ask us to walk a work order from BOM to finished lot on your own item.
Agents for Manufacturing
BOM Variance
Flags jobs where the material actually used differs from the plan by 5% or more, up or down.
MakeProduction Schedule Optimizer
Orders work orders by shortest processing time, as a suggestion for a planner to adopt.
Material shortage
Checks a work order's parts against stock on hand and shows any shortfall before the order is released.
Costing variance
Compares a work order's actual cost with the plan and flags material overruns beyond the range you set (10 per cent to start with).
Subcontract reconciliation
Checks that material sent to a subcontractor equals what was used plus scrapped plus returned plus still out, and lists orders that do not balance.
Work-centre capacity watch
Says when to open the capacity board. A load that looks comfortable while orders have no routing is reported as unreliable, not healthy.
Stock Forecaster
Forecasts demand for the next 30, 60 and 90 days for each item and warehouse, with a suggested safety stock and reorder point. It never acts on its own.
Buy3-way match
Matches the purchase order (PO), the goods receipt and the supplier's bill line by line, and holds the bill until any difference is sorted out.
Each agent is validated with each client before it works on their books, and every output waits for a person. Also included: Reject-rate watch, an agent that decides which stock to count first, and an agent that predicts maintenance.
Tax and compliance calendar for a UK manufacturer
Kinnow prepares; a person confirms and files. The UK has no rule requiring invoices to be cleared by the tax authority first; Making Tax Digital (MTD) expects digital records, which Kinnow keeps.
| Obligation | What Kinnow prepares | Who confirms |
|---|---|---|
| VAT return (VAT100, the nine-box return) | The groundwork for a nine-box document and a file, built from sales and purchase records, is completed before launch. Boxes 2, 8 and 9 apply to Northern Ireland only. A person files it through recognised software or HMRC; your adviser confirms each box before first use | Finance manager, adviser |
| VAT filing calendar | Follows your HMRC stagger group (the quarter pattern HMRC gave you), which you set up; Kinnow does not guess it. Monthly filers are supported. Due one calendar month and seven days after the period end | Finance manager |
| VAT invoices on sales | Checks the VAT number (with its check digit), date, running number, customer name, VAT in sterling and tax point. Simplified invoices are allowed up to £250 including VAT | Accounts executive |
| VAT registers | Sales and purchase registers and a summary by VAT rate (20%, 5%, 0%), with reverse charge on cross-border business supplies. VAT rates come from a starter list of items, not the full HMRC list | Accounts executive, adviser |
| PAYE (tax taken from pay each month), National Insurance, pension and student loan | Worked out in the pay run on an annual basis, so a mid-year joiner can differ from HMRC's running total method. Rates are kept for each tax year | HR head, adviser |
| Companies House confirmation statement, annual accounts, corporation tax return and ICO fee | Tracked as dated reminders; your adviser confirms each date. Kinnow does not prepare the return or the accounts | Finance director, adviser |
Ask us to run a VAT return and a month-end close on your own numbers.
What the owner can ask
Questions that come with the industry setup, typed into Ask Kinnow. Each answer names its source report and what it will cost before it runs.
- Which work orders are behind schedule? Which work orders have no routing at all? (Work-order schedule)
- What is my BOM cost variance this month? Which runs are over their cost variance? (Production cost variance)
- Which materials are short for the next run? (Stock valuation)
- What failed inspection this month? What NCRs were raised? (QC inspection register, NCR register)
- When is my next VAT return due? Which supplier invoices are missing a VAT registration number? (VAT filing calendar, purchase register)
- Whose overtime has pushed them past the working-time average?
Illustration · sample data
| Work order · item | Material planned | Material issued | Variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO-0412 · Pulley housing | 120.0 kg | 128.5 kg | +7.1% |
| WO-0415 · Gear blank | 64.0 kg | 65.0 kg | +1.6% |
| WO-0419 · Shaft sleeve | 48.0 kg | 47.5 kg | -1.0% |
Numbers that matter
| Number | Report | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Material and cost variance by run | Production cost variance | Which runs overspent and on what |
| Output by item and line | Output by item | What each line actually produced |
| Inspection failures and NCRs | QC inspection and NCR registers | Where quality is leaking, and from which supplier |
| How loaded each work centre is, with anything above 100 per cent shown as it is | Work-order schedule, capacity board | Whether the shop is over-promised |
| Dead stock value and purchase spend | Dead stock, purchase spend by category | Money sitting idle and where the buying goes |
| Output VAT by rate | VAT rate summary | What is owed and when |
Applications switched on
| Generic term | In your Kinnow |
|---|---|
| production order | work order |
| work in progress | WIP |
| subcontracting | job work |
| quality failure | NCR (non-conformance report) |
Questions
Does Kinnow run MRP?
Yes, as suggestion-only MRP (material requirements planning). It breaks down multi-level BOMs against stock and open orders and proposes what to make and buy. It never creates a purchase order or work order by itself. The Production Planner turns the make recommendations into suggested work orders, and a person releases them.
Does it schedule the shop automatically?
No. A capacity board shows how loaded each work centre is, and it can show more than 100 per cent, because that is what a planner needs to know. The Production Schedule Optimizer suggests an order for the work orders, shortest job first, for the planner to accept or change. Automatic scheduling that works around machine and staff limits is not built.
Can it handle work sent out to subcontractors?
Yes. Job-work (subcontract processing) dispatch and receipt are tracked order by order, and an agent lists the orders where material sent does not equal what was used plus scrapped plus returned plus still out. Closing an order short or writing it off stays a person's action.
What stops a BOM from referring to itself?
A BOM that would loop back on itself, or run deeper than 10 levels, is refused when you save it.
Is there a shop-floor screen?
Yes. A terminal lets an operator start and complete an operation. The time is taken from the clock, and an out-of-sequence or double start is refused. It works in the phone browser; there is no offline mode or native app.
How do rejects reach the supplier?
An incoming inspection is created when goods are accepted above your limit. A failed lot raises a non-conformance report with a decision on what to do (rework, scrap, use as is, return to supplier), and the supplier's pass rate feeds a scorecard that purchasing sees.
Does Kinnow file my VAT return with HMRC?
No. The groundwork to prepare the nine-box VAT return and a file from your own sales and purchase records is completed before launch, and a person files it through recognised software or HMRC. Kinnow does not submit to HMRC. Your adviser confirms each box before first use.
How long to set up?
About two weeks to first results for one company: your lists (Masters), BOMs and opening stock in week one, agents and a first close in week two.
Show me Kinnow for manufacturing.
Answer three questions. Get the applications, the agents and a two-week plan for your business.