The work center card in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central defines a resource you use on production orders. It controls how the work center is costed, scheduled, and posted to finance.
On the Posting tab you set the direct unit cost, indirect cost, and overhead rate per unit of measure. If your unit of measure is minutes and you enter a direct unit cost of 2.5, the work center costs 2.5 of your local currency per minute. The system shows you how much of the actual unit cost comes from the direct cost and how much comes from indirect cost and overhead.
You make a work center a subcontractor by entering a subcontractor number, which is a vendor number. For subcontractors you can set unit cost calculation to Units instead of Time, and you can enable Specific Unit Cost so each routing has its own price.
The flushing method controls when capacity ledger entries are created. Use Manual to enter time yourself, Forward to create entries automatically when you release the production order, and Backward to flush output when you finish the released production order. Be careful with Forward on the last work center in a routing, because it automatically outputs the finished quantity when you release the order.
On the Scheduling tab you define capacity, efficiency, and a shop calendar code, which together determine how many minutes are available per day when the calendar entries are calculated.
General fields on the work center card
On the General tab you define the work center number and a name, for example a machine department. You can assign a work center group, but this only groups work centers for sorting when you have a larger production scale. There is no functionality attached to the group itself.
You can define alternate work centers if this one can be substituted by others. You can block the work center if it is no longer allowed to be used, and you can see the last date it was changed.
Posting and cost setup on the work center card
The Posting tab sets up all the costs that apply to the capacity ledger entries coming from this work center when you use it.
The direct unit cost is the normal cost for using the work center per unit of time. It is set up per unit, and the unit of measure code at the bottom tells you what that unit is. In this example the unit of measure is minutes, so a direct unit cost of 2.5 means it costs 2.5 of your local currency per minute.
You can add an indirect cost and a fixed overhead rate. For example, adding an overhead rate of 0.5 increases the unit cost. The result is the actual unit cost used in your capacity ledger entries, and Business Central lets you see how much comes from the indirect and overhead rates and how much comes from the direct cost.
The unit cost calculation can be based on Time, which is normal for the work centers you use in-house, or on Units, which you typically use for subcontractors where you buy per piece.
For a subcontractor you can also set the Specific Unit Cost checkmark. This lets you define a specific price for each routing. Even if you use the same subcontracting work center across many routings, each routing can carry a different cost based on what the subcontractor does for you.
You can enter dimensions for project and department, which are the two global dimensions in this example. The General Product Posting Group controls where the finance handling goes in your chart of accounts.
Making a work center a subcontractor
To turn a work center into a subcontractor, enter a subcontractor number. This is a vendor number, and adding it automatically makes the work center a subcontractor.
Flushing methods and capacity ledger entries
The flushing method determines how output and capacity ledger entries are handled.
- Manual: The output journal or production journal suggests the lines you need to enter time on, and you enter the time yourself.
- Forward: When you release the production order, Business Central automatically creates all the capacity ledger entries based on the expected quantities.
- Backward: When you finish the released production order, it flushes the quantity output and all the capacity ledger entries.
Be aware of one trap. If you set the flushing method to Forward on the last work center in a routing, releasing the production order automatically outputs the finished quantity. Make sure that is what you want before you use Forward in that position.
Scheduling, capacity, and efficiency
On the Scheduling section you set the unit of measure your work center operates in, on a days, hours, or minutes basis.
Capacity tells the system how many of this work center you have, and efficiency tells it how productive they are. You might have two machine work centers running at 85% efficiency. These values feed into the calculation of calendar entries, for example how many minutes are available per day.
You also select a shop calendar code, where you define the working hours per day.
Queuing time on the work center
Queuing time is set up on the work center as a default for a given time frame. For example, you might set one hour before the work center is used if goods need to settle for temperature reasons or similar.
You can also use queuing time for subcontractors. Set a default queuing time of one or two days depending on how long the subcontractor needs to handle the item.
Consolidated calendar and machine centers
The consolidated calendar is used when you want the underlying machine centers, if they are defined, to roll their calendar workload up into the work center. This lets you see the load at the work center level.
Location codes and warehouse bin setup
If the work center has a location code attached, it is because the work center sits in a specific location. When the work center is in a warehouse, it makes sense to select the open shop floor bin code and the to- and from-production bin codes. These tell the warehouse people where to put and pick goods when delivering to and from the work center.
Q&A
What is a work center in Business Central?
A work center is a resource you use on production orders. The work center card defines its cost, scheduling, capacity, posting setup, and optional subcontractor and warehouse details.
How do I make a work center a subcontractor?
Enter a subcontractor number on the work center card. This is a vendor number, and adding it automatically turns the work center into a subcontractor.
What does the Specific Unit Cost checkmark do?
It lets you define a specific price for each routing. The same subcontracting work center can then carry different costs across multiple routings, based on what the subcontractor does for each one.
What is the difference between the flushing methods?
Manual suggests lines for you to enter time on. Forward creates capacity ledger entries automatically when you release the production order, based on expected quantities. Backward flushes the output quantity and capacity ledger entries when you finish the released production order.
Why should I be careful with the Forward flushing method?
If you set Forward on the last work center in a routing, the finished quantity is automatically output when you release the production order. Only use Forward in that position if that behavior is what you want.
How is the unit cost of a work center calculated?
The actual unit cost combines the direct unit cost with the indirect cost and the fixed overhead rate. For example, a direct unit cost of 2.5 per minute plus an overhead rate of 0.5 increases the total unit cost. Business Central shows how much comes from the direct cost and how much from the indirect and overhead rates.
What determines how many minutes a work center has available per day?
The capacity, efficiency, and shop calendar code together determine availability. Capacity sets how many work centers you have, efficiency sets how productive they are, and the shop calendar code defines the working hours per day.