You can calculate the total weight of a sales order in Business Central by using the Calculate Weight function. The function adds up the weight from each sales line and fills out the measurement fields on the order header.
For the calculation to work, each sales line must have a weight. Business Central adds this automatically if you have set up weight on the item card or the item unit of measure.
You find the Calculate Weight function under Prepare on the sales order. The result appears on the Shipping and Billing FastTab.
If you edit the calculated weight on the order header and then run Calculate Weight again, Business Central overwrites your changes. Make corrections on the sales line instead so the order recalculates correctly.
When you use partial shipment, you need to recalculate the weight after some items have shipped so the net shipment weight is correct.
Setting up weight on items in Business Central
Before you can calculate weight on a sales order, the individual sales lines need to carry a weight. This happens automatically if you have set up weight on the item card or on the item unit of measure.
Once that setup is in place, every time you add an item to a sales line, the weight follows along. You can see the weight on each line of the sales order.
Calculating total weight on a sales order
To get the sum of the weight across all the lines on a sales order, go to Prepare and choose Calculate Weight.
After running the function, open the Shipping and Billing FastTab. The measurement field is now filled out with the total weight, calculated as the sum of the individual lines.
Note that the package field is not filled out if you did not specify a package on the actual sales line. The calculation only sums up what is present on the lines.
Editing weight on the order header
You can change the measurements directly on the order level after the calculation runs. Keep in mind that this is not a permanent change.
If you run Calculate Weight again on the document, Business Central overwrites any manual edits you made on the header. If something needs to be changed, do it on the sales line. The order then recalculates the correct total based on the lines.
Recalculating weight for partial shipments
If you use partial shipment and some of the items have already been shipped, you need to recalculate the order. This ensures the net shipment weight reflects what is actually left to ship.
Q&A
How do I calculate the total weight on a sales order in Business Central?
Go to Prepare on the sales order and choose Calculate Weight. Business Central sums up the weight from each sales line and fills out the measurement field on the Shipping and Billing FastTab.
Why is the weight not appearing on my sales lines?
Each sales line needs a weight before the order can calculate a total. The weight is added automatically only if you have set up weight on the item card or the item unit of measure.
What happens if I edit the calculated weight on the order header?
Your manual edits on the header are overwritten if you run Calculate Weight again on the document. To make a lasting change, edit the weight on the sales line so the order recalculates correctly.
Why is the package field empty after calculating weight?
The package field stays empty because no package was filled out on the actual sales line. The calculation only sums the values that are present on the lines.
Do I need to recalculate weight when using partial shipments?
Yes. When some items have already been shipped, recalculate the order so the net shipment weight reflects the remaining items.