Understanding Materials in Ontraccr: Purpose, Functionality, and Core Concepts
🧱 Understanding Materials in Ontraccr: Purpose, Functionality, and Core Concepts
⚡️ Executive Summary: Understanding Materials in Ontraccr
- The Materials feature is a centralized system for managing all parts, pricing, inventory, and assemblies across your operations.
- It powers:
- Quoting & Estimating
- Inventory Tracking
- Job Costing
- Field Reporting
- Automated Workflows
- Materials data is structured around:
- Folders (for organizing by trade, supplier, etc.)
- Parts (individual materials)
- Assemblies (composite, install-ready groups of parts)
- Inventory Logic (locations, thresholds, allocation)
- Costing & Pricing (material and labor, with markup)
- This system integrates into:
- Forms and Boards (select and log materials)
- Cost Workflows (auto-budget updates)
- Inventory Workflows (auto-add, subtract, transfer)
- Audit Logs (timeline history of every change)
- A well-maintained materials database keeps field and office teams aligned, speeds up quoting, prevents overuse, and improves profitability tracking.
🧭 What Is the Materials Feature?
The Materials feature in Ontraccr acts as the source of truth for all items used in your work — from raw materials to bundled install kits.
It’s built to solve fragmented workflows caused by scattered price lists, manual data entry, and inconsistent inventory records. It allows you to:
- Store and structure parts and assemblies
- Set accurate costs, prices, units, suppliers, labor rates
- Track quantities across job sites, trucks, and warehouses
- Integrate with every part of your operational system
This isn’t just a catalog — it’s a live, operational database driving your projects forward.
🎯 Why Use the Materials Feature?
The materials system is essential for:
- Creating consistent quotes with live cost and pricing
- Tracking real-time inventory with thresholds and alerts
- Feeding job costing systems with actual usage
- Reducing human error in form and report submissions
- Automating repetitive updates like price changes or stock movements
Instead of working across five tools and two spreadsheets, Ontraccr centralizes materials into a single, reportable, and actionable system.
🛠️ How the Materials Feature Functions Conceptually
The materials system is composed of five main building blocks:
| Component | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Folders | Organize materials by category (e.g., “Wood,” “Electrical,” “Vendor Catalogs”) |
| Parts | Individual materials with cost, supplier, markup, and labor fields |
| Assemblies | Bundled install units made from multiple parts (e.g., an HVAC Kit) |
| Inventory Logic | Tracks quantity, threshold alerts, locations, and allocations |
| Pricing Engine | Automatically calculates price based on cost + markup, for both materials and labor |
Each item can contain:
- Supplier info
- Division assignment
- Cost & markup
- Units of measure
- Cost codes for budgeting
- Quantity and location tracking
🧩 How Materials Fit Inside the Ontraccr System
Materials data connects across Ontraccr to power operational flows:
| Feature | How Materials Connect |
|---|---|
| Forms | Users select materials in daily logs, POs, service reports |
| Boards | Add parts/assemblies to cards like work orders or change requests |
| Cost Tracking | Materials used in a form or board can feed job cost budgets |
| Inventory Updates | Use Update Material blocks to add/subtract quantities automatically |
| Audit Trail | Each item has a timeline of edits, usage, and quantity changes |
Ontraccr ensures that whenever you interact with materials, you’re using real-time, structured, audit-friendly data.
🏗️ Types of Material Records
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Parts | Single material or SKU (e.g., “Tech Cable 10ft”) |
| Assemblies | Collection of parts acting as one installable item (e.g., “Electrical Outlet Kit”) |
Assemblies calculate total cost and labor automatically based on component items.
🔁 Materials in Automation
Once a material is selected, Ontraccr can:
- Push its cost into budgets (via Update Cost or Update Budget blocks)
- Deduct it from inventory (via Update Material block)
- Transfer it between locations
- Apply markup rules for quoting
- Alert admins when stock is low
📌 All of this happens through forms and workflows — no manual tracking needed.
📦 Inventory & Cost Control
The materials system offers full inventory visibility, including:
- Quantity by location (e.g., Truck 1, Warehouse A)
- Allocation vs. available stock
- Threshold alerts (auto-email admins)
- Audit trail of every inventory movement
- Bulk updates to pricing and labor rates
📈 Why the Materials Feature Matters
When used correctly, materials in Ontraccr drive:
- Faster, more accurate quotes
- Clean job cost reporting
- Live inventory management
- Reduced data duplication
- Less back-and-forth between field and office
It bridges the gap between estimating, field usage, inventory control, and project financials — all from a single system.
🧠 Best Practices for Using the Materials Feature
- Use folders to organize by division, trade, or vendor
- Assign cost codes to tie materials to budgets automatically
- Use assemblies to quote bundled items like kits or install packages
- Add markup to cost, not price — the system will calculate the rest
- Track quantity by location if you run field stock or warehouses
- Use Update Material in workflows to automate inventory management
- Regularly export your database for backup or audit review
- Bulk edit pricing when vendors update costs
📌 Quick Summary
| Key Concept | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Materials are operational assets | Used in quoting, costing, and tracking |
| Assemblies simplify complex installs | One line item = multiple parts and prices |
| Real-time inventory is visible | No more manual stock sheets |
| Workflow actions are triggered automatically | Based on materials selected |
| Integrated deeply with forms, boards, and cost tracking | End-to-end visibility and automation |