ERPNext manufacturing setup guide

Why ERPNext manufacturing setup is harder than it looks

A production team needs ERPNext to plan, release and record manufacturing against accurate stock and cost. Getting there is a sequence of linked masters and transactions, not a single form to fill in. An early error, such as a wrong unit of measure, an unversioned bill of materials (BOM) or a missing operation, carries forward into stock valuation, work order costs and the figures finance reads at period close, and it is often not visible until a stock reconciliation or costing run exposes it.

This topic covers the chain that ERPNext uses to turn a sales or planning need into physical movement and cost. Items define what is stocked and in which unit. BOMs define what goes into a finished item and in what quantity. Workstations and operations define where and how work is done, and the time and cost each step carries. Work orders release a production run against a BOM, job cards record the time and quantity booked at each operation, and stock entries move material into warehouses, out to the shop floor and back as finished goods. Each of these records depends on the ones before it, so the order of configuration matters as much as the content of each record.

The accounting and stock configuration covered in the sibling chart of accounts and accounting setup topic has to be finished first. Manufacturing postings land in stock accounts, cost centers, work-in-progress and variance accounts, and the default warehouses and valuation method you choose there decide how material consumption and finished goods are valued. If those defaults change after production starts, you will be reconciling historical stock entries by hand. Confirm with your finance lead which valuation method, cost centers and warehouse structure are final before you create the first work order.

Plan decisions that are hard to reverse. Decide how you will version BOMs when a formula or supplier changes, who approves a BOM before it is used in a work order, and whether sub-assemblies get their own BOMs. Decide which operations are tracked through job cards and which are not, and whether shop floor staff book time against each card. Confirm with your operations team how scrap, rework and by-products will be recorded, since each has a different stock entry and a different effect on costing. Ask your ERPNext partner to walk through one finished product end to end before any master data is loaded.

Verification matters more than speed. Before you go live, run a test production cycle for each representative product: create the BOM, release a work order, book job cards, post material consumption and finished goods, then check the stock ledger, the valuation and the variance postings against the expected numbers. Record the expected figures in advance so the test shows whether the model is right, not just whether the screens work. Ask for this test plan as a deliverable in any written scope, and confirm with your own staff which items, units and operations are in the first wave.

Which ERPNext manufacturing components you configure

A manufacturing setup in ERPNext is a chain of linked records, and each one writes to a different part of the system. Item masters, bills of materials and operations define what gets made and how, while work orders, job cards and stock entries record what actually happened on the shop floor and in the stock ledger.

Item master stock and manufacturing settings

The item master is the foundation: every finished good, sub-assembly and raw material is an Item. Its stock settings control valuation, serial or batch tracking and default warehouses, and its manufacturing settings determine whether it can have a bill of materials and be produced by work order. Check these before anything else, because changing tracking or valuation on items with existing stock entries is difficult to reverse. Confirm the exact field names and options against your ERPNext version.

Bill of materials structure

The bill of materials lists the components and quantities needed to make one unit of a finished item, and it can nest sub-assemblies as their own BOMs. It feeds planning and the default material requirements on work orders, but it does not move stock by itself. Decide early how scrap, alternative items and costing of operations will be modeled, since restructuring nested BOMs after production starts creates reconciliation work. Confirm the BOM options available in your version.

Workstations and operations

Workstations represent the machines, cells or labor pools where work happens, with hour rates and capacity that feed operation costing. Operations are the named steps, such as cutting or assembly, that a BOM routes through a workstation. Overly granular operations slow down job card entry, while overly coarse ones hide the bottleneck you wanted to measure. Agree the level of detail with the production team before building routings.

Work orders and planning

A work order is the instruction to produce a quantity of an item against a BOM, and it can be created manually or from a production plan driven by sales orders or reorder levels. It reserves planned material and sets the target dates that planning uses. Work orders do not post accounting entries on their own, so their status and quantities should be reviewed alongside stock entries. Confirm how your version handles partial production and reserved stock.

Job cards and time logging

Job cards are created from a work order for each operation and record the time and quantity completed at a workstation. They determine actual operation cost and are the usual place where delays and rework become visible. Decide who logs time, whether operators use the desk or a simplified interface, and how cards are closed when a shift ends mid-operation. Confirm the job card and timer options supported in your release before training operators.

Stock entries for transfer and consumption

Material transfer entries move stock between warehouses, while material consumption and manufacture entries issue components and receive finished goods into the stock ledger. These entries drive inventory valuation and, through the perpetual inventory setup, the accounts that the stock ledger posts to. Errors here cause the most reconciliation problems, so define which warehouse each step uses and who may post each entry type. Verify the postings against your chart of accounts in a test company first.

Decisions to settle before you build production in ERPNext

This table compares six modeling choices that shape an ERPNext manufacturing setup, with the conditions that favor each option and the ongoing cost each one adds. Read each row before you load items, BOMs and workstations, because several of these choices are hard to change once transactions exist. The main takeaway is that the simplest option matching your shop floor usually keeps configuration, testing and upgrades manageable.

Decision	When it fits	Operational cost it creates
Make-to-stock or make-to-order	Make-to-stock fits repeat items planned from forecasts or reorder levels. Make-to-order fits items built against a specific customer sales order.	Make-to-order adds sales order to work order linkage and reservation checks that staff must follow for every customer order.
Single-level or multi-level BOMs	Single-level fits shallow products with few sub-assemblies. Multi-level fits products whose sub-assemblies are built, stocked or costed separately.	Multi-level BOMs need a work order per sub-assembly and a stock rule for each level, which raises planning and BOM maintenance effort.
Time and cost tracking on operations	Track time and cost when you need costed routings, capacity planning or shop floor timing. Routing labels fit when operations only sequence the work.	Costed operations need workstation rates and standard times kept current, and someone must update them after each process change.
Job cards or work orders alone	Job cards fit shops that record operation progress, time or quality at the workstation. Work orders alone fit small lines where supervisors track output directly.	Job cards add shop floor login, data entry discipline, time log review and operator training at each workstation.
Subcontracted operations	Model subcontracting when an outside supplier performs a step and returns goods. Skip it when the supplier only ships finished parts.	Each subcontracted step adds supplier orders, material transfer entries and receipts that must reconcile to the work order and costing.
Custom logic: custom app or Server Scripts	Server Scripts suit small rules on production documents. From version 15 they are disabled by default and must be enabled with server_script_enabled.	Custom apps need code ownership, testing on each upgrade and a deployment pipeline. Frappe Cloud public shared benches do not allow Server Scripts.

How to build ERPNext manufacturing step by step

This sequence takes a team from a confirmed ERPNext version to one finished good that moves through planning, shop floor reporting and stock postings in a test site. Each step closes with a check you can run before moving on. Use it to validate the production model before you load live masters and transactions.

Confirm the ERPNext version and support window
Confirm which ERPNext major version you will run and how long it is supported before configuring anything. Frappe's supported versions page lists version 15 as planned for support until the end of 2027 and version 16 until the end of 2029. Record the version and the matching Frappe Framework version in the project notes, and plan minor release updates as they ship. Check: the target version appears as supported on the vendor page, and the test site reports the version your team expects.
Set up units of measure and item groups
Create the units of measure and the item group tree that manufacturing will use. Set a stock unit for each raw material, sub-assembly and finished good, and define any conversion factors the purchasing or sales teams need up front. Finance and operations should agree on the item group hierarchy, because it drives defaults and reporting. Check: every item in the pilot has a stock unit and an item group, and no conversion is missing for a unit used in purchasing or sales.
Create workstations and operations with tracked costs
Create the workstations where work happens and the operations that run on them, using the costs your team will actually track. A workstation carries the hourly rate or cost basis, and each operation links to a workstation and a time basis. Ask the production controller to name the source for each rate, such as payroll records, machine data or an overhead allocation the finance team already uses. Check: every operation in the pilot maps to a workstation with a rate, and the controller has signed off each rate source.
Build and cost the BOM for one finished good
Build the bill of materials for a single finished good, including raw materials, any sub-assemblies, operations and scrap allowances your process uses. Submit the BOM only after every line has the correct item, quantity and unit. Then run the costing so the BOM shows material and operating cost from the rates in the system. Check: the costed BOM has no missing rates, every raw material has a valuation rate, and any zero-cost line has a documented reason.
Configure work order creation and planning
Create a work order from the submitted BOM and set the planned quantity, planned dates and the warehouses for source materials, work in progress and finished goods. Review the material availability view to see which inputs are short and whether the plan matches demand from sales or the production schedule. Confirm the planning settings in your version, since defaults for reservation and transfer behavior can differ. Check: the work order is submitted with the correct warehouses, and the shortage list matches what the planner expects.
Set up job cards on the shop floor
Turn on job card creation from the work order in the way your version supports, then test it with the operators who will use it. Each operation generates a job card where operators record time, completed quantity and any rejects against the workstation. Keep the entry steps short, because operators who find the screen slow will skip it. Check: a test job card records time and quantity, and the work order operation status updates to match.
Define material transfer and consumption entries
Define how materials leave the stores and how the finished goods come back in. Use material transfer entries to move raw materials to the work in progress warehouse, then use manufacture entries to consume those materials and receive the finished goods. Agree with the warehouse team who posts each entry and when. Check: the stock ledger balances after consumption, the work in progress warehouse shows only the expected residual, and no negative stock appears unless your team has chosen to allow it.
Run one full production cycle in a test site
Run one complete cycle in a test site: plan the work order, transfer materials, record job cards, post the manufacture entry and receive the finished goods. Compare the stock valuation and the general ledger entries with the costed BOM to see where they differ. Record each step and any correction, so the same cycle can be repeated after the production configuration is in place. Check: the stock ledger and general ledger reconcile for the work order, and the finished goods value is explained against the BOM cost.

What goes wrong when teams model production in ERPNext

The most expensive production problems in ERPNext usually start as modeling errors made during setup, not as software faults. Each mistake below has a recognizable symptom, and most can be caught earlier than teams expect if someone checks the right record at the right time. Changing a BOM after work orders reference it. A work order copies the BOM's items and operations when it is created, but the link still points at the BOM name. If an engineer edits the BOM afterward, the work order and the BOM disagree, and planning reports read from the new version while costing and consumption reflect the old one. The usual symptom is a valuation that moves without any purchase or stock event. Catch it at the point of BOM submission: create a new BOM revision for every engineering change, and review open work orders against the BOM they reference before approving the change.

Mixing up item variants and BOM revisions is the second trap. A variant of a finished good, such as a color or size, may need its own BOM, while a revision of the same product should keep the same item code and carry a new BOM. Teams that use one BOM for several variants, or create a new item for every revision, end up with stock split across codes that never reconcile. The symptom is short stock on the item the planner expects and surplus on a sibling. The earliest check is the item and BOM design review before the first work order is released, where you confirm which differences are variants and which are revisions with your production engineers.

Leaving operation rates empty is the third mistake. If operations on a BOM or workstation have no hourly rate, the job card records time but the operating cost component of the work order is zero. Finished goods then look cheaper than they are, and the variance between estimated and actual cost appears as a large unexplained gap when the work order closes. Catch it during BOM costing review, before any production run, by confirming that every operation carries a rate that finance has approved and that the rate basis matches how you pay labor and machines.

Recording consumption after the work order is closed is the fourth. Material transfers or job card time posted late can land on a closed order, or get entered as a manual stock entry against the same item. The result is a variance that never clears because the work order no longer absorbs the cost. Check open and closed work orders at each period end and confirm that all material issues are posted before closing, not after.

Treating workstations as people is the fifth. A workstation represents a machine, a cell or a work center with capacity and a rate. When teams assign individuals to workstations or use them as a way to track who did the work, planning capacity becomes meaningless and labor cost is booked against the wrong resource. Keep people on employee and job card records and keep workstations for capacity and machine cost, and confirm that the design matches how your planners load the shop floor.

Building planning on unreconciled opening stock is the last. Production planning uses stock balances to decide what to make and buy. If opening quantities and valuations were loaded without reconciling them to the ledger and physical counts, every planned material request inherits the error. Symptoms include negative stock on items that appear available and material requests that never clear. Reconcile opening stock to the ledger before the first material request run, and treat that reconciliation as a gate for go-live rather than a clean-up task.

Each of these errors is a design decision as much as a data entry issue. Ask your implementation partner or internal team to show, in a test environment, how each one would appear in the stock ledger, the work order and the cost report before any production data is loaded. Confirm the exact reports and settings in your ERPNext version, since behavior around cost and stock posting can differ between supported releases.

What drives the effort of an ERPNext manufacturing setup

This table lists the factors that most change the work in an ERPNext manufacturing setup, how each one raises effort or cost, and how to keep it contained. Read it before asking for a quote, because the same factors appear in the written scope and the timeline. The main takeaway is that item and BOM depth, shop-floor access and customization choices usually matter more than the software licence, which is free under GPL-3.0.

Driver	How it raises effort or cost	How to keep it down
Finished goods and BOM levels	Each finished good needs its own item and BOM, and every extra level of sub-assembly adds nodes to validate, costing, and stock entries to test.	Agree the product families and BOM depth in the scope, reuse sub-assemblies across products, and confirm the costing method before loading data.
Workstations and operations	Each workstation needs hourly rates, capacity and operation records, and the routing for each item must reference them correctly.	Model only the workstations that carry cost or capacity decisions, and group similar machines into one workstation where the shop floor allows.
Shop-floor users needing job card access	Every operator who records time or completion on a job card needs a user with the right role and permissions, and each role needs testing on tablets or terminals used at the line.	Define a small set of shop-floor roles, limit access to job cards and related forms, and test with the actual devices and users before go-live.
Loading item and BOM masters with Data Import	The Data Import tool accepts CSV or Excel files with child table rows, but the documentation advises importing only a few thousand records at a time, so large catalogues need many batches, error checks and reconciliation.	Cleanse master data before import, use the downloadable templates, load in batches, and keep a log of each run so that failed rows can be corrected and re-imported.
Integrations with other systems	Shop-floor machines, MES tools, PLM exports, barcode devices or external planning tools each need field mapping, authentication, error handling and testing.	List each integration in the scope with its direction, data objects and frequency, and build the first version around the data that drives production planning.
Customization with Server Scripts or a custom app	Server Scripts are disabled by default from version 15 and must be enabled, and they are not available on Frappe Cloud public shared benches. Logic kept in a custom Frappe app needs version control, testing and upgrade checks.	Prefer standard settings and print formats first, document each script or app change, and confirm the hosting option supports the chosen approach before design starts.
Number of environments (test, staging, production)	Each environment needs its own site, data refresh, configuration sync and test runs, and migrations must be rehearsed in staging before production.	Agree how many environments the project and the support model need, automate deployment with bench commands or containers, and plan data refresh rules in advance.

How deployment model changes the manufacturing setup

A manually installed bench gives your team full control over the Python and Node environment, the installed apps and the site configuration. Your team also owns every service the site depends on, so manufacturing configuration must be tested against the exact bench, app versions and database settings that will run in production.

Test on a staging site first: Build Items, Bills of Materials, Workstations and Operations on a staging site that matches production, then run a Work Order through to Stock Entry before changing live data.
Enable Server Scripts deliberately: From version 15, Server Scripts are disabled by default and must be turned on with the server_script_enabled setting. Document which sites use them and why.
Plan migrations as events: Each bench update and migrate changes the schema and may change manufacturing behavior, so schedule a rehearsal on staging and keep a tested restore point.
Own the supporting services: MariaDB, Redis, the scheduler, background workers and the web server are your responsibility. Confirm that scheduled and queued jobs run in the way your production planning expects.
Confirm the version: Check that the ERPNext and Frappe versions you install are on the supported list before go-live.

Before go-live, confirm who runs bench update and migrate, who restores a site if a migration fails and where the staging test results are recorded.

Access control for production data and shop-floor users

Manufacturing data in ERPNext mixes cost-sensitive master records with shop-floor transactions that many people touch every day. The cards below cover the controls that keep those two groups apart and the checks that prove the controls work. Each one should be configured in the environment you run and tested with real user accounts before go-live.

Separate BOM and item cost roles

Creating bills of materials and changing item valuation rates should sit with a small set of planning or costing roles, while recording job cards belongs to floor staff. Review which standard roles on your site can edit Item, BOM and Work Order records, because a role that looks operational can also reach cost fields. Confirm the result by logging in as a floor user and attempting to edit a BOM and an item rate.

Restrict shop-floor users with user permissions

User permissions limit a person to specific records, such as one plant, warehouse or workstation, so a machine operator sees only the job cards and stock movements for their area. Without them, a role that allows job card entry usually allows entry for every workstation in the company. Build the restriction for each linked field you use, then check that work orders and stock entries from other plants do not appear in list views or search.

Map LDAP groups to production roles

When ERPNext authenticates against Active Directory or OpenLDAP, it maps directory groups to ERPNext roles at each login. That means a group change in the directory changes a user's production access the next time they sign in, so the mapping table becomes part of your access control. Document which groups map to which roles, remove mappings that grant more than the job requires, and test a user removed from a group to confirm their roles drop at next login.

Use Social Login Keys for shop-floor sign-in

Social Login Keys let users sign in through an external identity provider such as Microsoft or Google, or a custom OpenID Connect endpoint. For shop-floor access, the question is whether the provider enforces the sign-in conditions you need, such as device or network rules, and whether a disabled account in the provider stops ERPNext access. Confirm how ERPNext links external identities to local users, and keep at least one local administrator account for recovery.

Keep Server Scripts disabled by default

Server Scripts run Python on document events or as API endpoints, and from version 15 they are disabled by default until the server_script_enabled setting is turned on. A script written by a power user can change stock or costing logic without a code review, so enable the setting only for scripts that have been reviewed and tested. Record who approved each enabled script and check that the setting is off on environments where no approved script is required.

Protect API access that creates transactions

API keys and tokens that create work orders, stock entries or job cards can post production activity without any user looking at the screen. Assign each integration its own API user with a narrow role, limit it to the documents it needs, and rotate or revoke credentials when an integration changes. Review the access log for these accounts, and test that a key cannot call methods outside its purpose.

How to verify that ERPNext manufacturing works before go-live

The verification plan should prove that a production cycle closes correctly in your own configuration. Run one complete cycle for each product family you make, using the items, BOMs, workstations and operations you intend to go live with. For each cycle, start from a sales order or planned demand, generate the work order from the released BOM, transfer raw materials to the production warehouse, record job card time for each operation, and complete the work order. Then check that stock balances, the stock ledger and the cost of the finished good reconcile with one another. Use a test company and test warehouses that mirror your live layout so the results carry over.

Reconciliation is where most gaps appear. Confirm that the materials consumed on the work order match the material transfer and the BOM quantities scaled to the produced quantity. Check that the stock ledger shows the expected outgoing and incoming postings in the correct warehouses, with matching posting dates. Then confirm that the finished goods valuation equals raw material cost plus the operation cost booked from job cards, plus any overhead or scrap rules you have configured. Ask your implementation lead to document which valuation method and costing settings apply, because these change how the numbers reconcile.

Failure tests show whether the system guards the controls you designed. Change a BOM after it has been submitted and used by an open work order, then record whether the work order keeps its original BOM, picks up the change, or is blocked. Cancel a material transfer stock entry that feeds an open work order and confirm that the ledger entries reverse and the work order status is flagged. Attempt to record material consumption beyond available stock and confirm whether the system blocks the entry or flags it, which depends on your stock settings, including whether negative stock is allowed. Confirm each behavior in your installed version, since it depends on settings and version-specific logic.

For at least one product, calculate the expected raw material quantities, ledger movements and finished goods unit cost by hand, then compare the results with the system output. Differences usually trace to rounding, unit of measure conversions, missing scrap allowances, or costs not yet booked. Record every test as evidence: test ID, input data, expected result, observed result, the user role that ran it, screenshots or report exports, and the reviewer's sign-off. Run the tests under the roles your production staff will use, since permissions can change what the system blocks. Store the evidence with the go-live approval record so the decision can be reviewed later.

What to monitor, document and maintain after go-live

Go-live is the start of the manufacturing setup's operating life, not the end of the project. The cards below cover what your team must keep running: production monitoring, controlled changes to items and BOMs, stock and accounts reconciliation, backups, upgrade testing and shop-floor procedures.

Monitor open work orders and job cards

Review open work orders for those that are past planned dates, not started, or partly completed for longer than expected. Check job cards that stay in progress or are not closed against the operation they belong to, and look at stock variances between expected and actual consumption on production entries. Assign one owner to review these lists on a set schedule, because stalled orders and unclosed job cards distort both costing and planning.

Log and approve BOM and item changes

Every change to an item master or bill of materials affects future work orders, costing and stock valuation, so each change should have a recorded reason, a requester and an approver. ERPNext keeps version history for many documents, but your team still needs a written change log that links each revision to the production or engineering reason. Confirm which roles can submit or amend BOMs in your environment, and restrict those rights to the people who approve changes.

Reconcile production stock with accounts

Stock movements from manufacturing post to stock and accounting ledgers, so the stock valuation report and the general ledger balances for inventory and work in progress should agree at regular intervals. Schedule a reconciliation that compares them and investigates differences from returns, scrap, partial receipts or manual journal entries. Record who signed off each period, since unreconciled differences tend to surface at period close.

Back up before manufacturing changes

Take a verified backup of the database and site files before any change to BOMs, workstations, operations, custom scripts or an ERPNext upgrade, so that a failed change can be reversed without losing production records. Keep backups in a location separate from the server, and test that a restore works. The backup and disaster recovery topic covers schedules, retention and restore testing in detail.

Test custom apps and scripts before upgrades

Custom apps, Server Scripts and client scripts that touch manufacturing documents can break when ERPNext changes. Run them on a staging copy of production before each minor or major upgrade, including the bench migrate step, and check work orders, stock entries and job cards against expected results. Server Scripts are disabled by default from version 15 and must be enabled deliberately, so confirm which scripts your setup depends on before you upgrade.

Maintain a runbook for shop-floor users

Shop-floor users need short, role-specific procedures for starting and completing job cards, recording scrap and rework, and reporting material shortages. Keep the runbook in the ERPNext help area or a controlled document store, and update it whenever workstations, operations or naming conventions change. Include who to call when a transaction fails, because unrecorded consumption is the most common source of later stock variances.

Questions buyers ask about ERPNext manufacturing setup

How much does an ERPNext manufacturing setup cost?

The software itself has no license fee, so the cost is the work to configure it and the infrastructure to run it. Cost drivers include how many processes you model (bills of materials, routings, workstations, job cards), how many items and historical records you migrate, whether you need custom apps or integrations, and how much training your users need. Recurring costs are hosting, support, and upgrades. The ERPNext pricing page lists Frappe Cloud shared site hosting from 5 US dollars per month, shared servers from 20 US dollars per month, and dedicated servers from 125 US dollars per month, while self-hosting is free. Ask any provider for a quote that separates one-time implementation work from monthly or annual recurring items.

How long does ERPNext manufacturing setup take to complete?

The duration depends on scope, so no fixed timeline applies to every project. The main factors are how many production processes you model, how clean your product and stock data is, how many systems you integrate, and how quickly your process owners make decisions. Testing and sign-off cycles often take longer than the configuration itself. Any duration should appear in a written plan that lists phases, deliverables, and the client tasks each phase depends on. Treat any timeline given before a scope review as an estimate to be confirmed, not a commitment.

What does our team need to provide for the setup?

The project needs four things from your side. First, process owners from production, purchasing, and finance who can describe how work actually moves through the plant and approve design choices. Second, product data such as item codes, units of measure, bills of materials, workstation details, and current stock balances, supplied in a usable format. Third, a test site where configuration can be checked without touching live transactions. Fourth, sign-off from named people for each stage, including the go-live decision. Ask your provider to list these inputs, with owners and due dates, in the written plan so gaps show up early.

Can an internal team set up ERPNext manufacturing without outside help?

Yes, a capable internal team can do it alone if it has ERPNext training, people who understand production planning, and enough time for testing. The difficult parts are rarely the screens. They are the modeling decisions: how to structure bills of materials and versions, how operations and workstations reflect real capacity, and how material consumption ties back to stock and costing. Plan for a test site, a parallel check of outputs against your current records, and a period of supervised use after go-live. Teams that underestimate testing usually feel the cost later in production.

What does a fixed-scope ERPNext engagement cover?

A fixed-scope engagement covers the work listed in a written statement of scope, along with the deliverables and timelines agreed before work starts. For manufacturing, that typically includes process review, configuration of items, bills of materials, workstations, operations, and work orders, any agreed data import, testing support, user training, and handover documentation. Items outside that statement, such as new integrations or extra reports, are handled as separate scope changes. Ongoing support, upgrades, and continuous testing are available as separate retainers, so ask which items are included in the fixed price and which are not.

Is ERPNext free to self-host for manufacturing use?

ERPNext is licensed under GPL-3.0, and the Frappe Framework it runs on is licensed under MIT, so there is no license fee for self-hosting. You still pay for servers or cloud resources, backups, administration time, and any implementation or support you buy. Frappe's supported versions policy also says that customers must be on a listed version and subscribed to a matching Frappe Cloud support plan to receive warranty coverage from Frappe. Confirm the current terms on Frappe's pages and check with your legal team how GPL-3.0 applies to any custom code you distribute.

Which ERPNext version should we choose for manufacturing?

Choose a version that is still in its support window for the whole period you plan to run it. According to Frappe's supported versions page, version 14 reached end of life on January 31, 2026, version 15 is planned to be supported until the end of 2027, and version 16 until the end of 2029. Both supported major versions receive frequent minor releases. Before you commit, confirm the support dates on the official page, check that any custom apps you plan to use support your chosen version, and plan a staging upgrade path if you expect to move between major versions.

Which modeling mistakes cause the most trouble in ERPNext production?

The most common problems come from modeling decisions made early and never revisited. Typical mistakes include bills of materials that do not match how products are actually built, operations and workstations without realistic time or capacity inputs, and work orders that consume materials without reconciling to stock. Teams also skip versioning of bills of materials, which makes costing and traceability hard after engineering changes. Test each product family end to end with a sample order, from planning through job cards to stock entries, before loading full production data. Review these structures with your production planner, not only with the finance team.

How DeployOpen scopes, builds and hands over ERPNext manufacturing

DeployOpen approaches ERPNext manufacturing setup as a written, fixed-scope project inside your own infrastructure, whether that is your cloud account, data center or air-gapped network. We map your production processes to ERPNext's manufacturing modules, build and test the configuration, and document it so your team can run it after handover.

How we scope

We map how your items, bills of materials and production routes are actually built and recorded today.
The written scope lists the workstations, operations, work order and job card flows that are in and out of scope.
We agree which custom fields, reports or print formats are included before any build work starts.

How we build

We configure item variants, BOMs, workstations and operations in a non-production ERPNext site first.
We test work orders, job cards and material consumption entries with sample production runs your team supplies.
Any custom app or server script is reviewed against the ERPNext version you run before it goes live.

How we hand over

You receive the configuration documentation, including BOM structures, operation sequences and stock entry rules.
We run a walkthrough with planners and shop-floor users so they can create and close work orders confidently.
Handover includes a checklist of open items, known limits and the steps to review changes after go-live.

How we support

Ongoing support, upgrades and testing are available as a retainer after the fixed-scope project closes.
Retainers can cover reviewing production configuration changes before they reach your live site.
Ask us to confirm which ERPNext version your site runs and which Frappe support plan applies before planning upgrades.