# Shop floor production board for ERPNext work orders

> See every open work order by status on one tablet screen, record production as it happens, and get a plain answer on why a job is stuck.

- Workflow type: app
- Services: ERPNext, Slack Bot
- Categories: Operations
- Published: 2026-08-21

## What it does

- Puts every work order that is not started or in progress on one board, a column per status, showing the item, how much has been produced against the ordered quantity, and the planned finish date, with a strip of counts across the top for the day's load.
- Flags anything overdue or sitting at zero progress so the jobs that need attention rise to the top instead of hiding in a list.
- Opens each job to show its required parts and the purchase paperwork behind them, then lets you record production movement, adjust planned dates, and leave a floor note without switching screens.
- Adds a Diagnose this job button that works out what is actually blocking a stuck order and writes the reason back onto the job, plus a one tap shift handover summary to your plant channel in Slack.

## What you'll need

- An ERPNext account with permission to view work orders and post stock movement
- Work orders already being created in ERPNext, with required items listed on each one
- A Slack workspace and a channel where the plant team gets shift updates
- A shop floor tablet or shared screen, though it works on a desktop browser too

## Prompt

Build me a production floor board for our ERPNext work orders. Our plant supervisor keeps it open on a shop floor tablet for the whole shift, so it needs large touch targets, generous spacing, and text that is readable at arm's length. It is a working surface, not a report.

The main screen is a column per status board of every work order that is not started or in progress, read with List Documents on the Work Order DocType (columns for Not Started, In Process, and Material Transferred if we use it). Each card shows the work order id, the item being made, quantity produced against quantity ordered drawn as a progress bar, and the planned end date. Flag anything overdue, meaning the planned end date has passed and the order is not complete, and anything at zero progress, meaning nothing has been produced yet even though the planned start date has passed. Flagged jobs sort to the top of their column.

Across the top, a strip of counts pulled with Get Document Count on Work Order, filtered by status, plus a count of overdue orders and a count of orders due to finish today, so the supervisor can read the day's load at a glance without scrolling the board.

Tapping a work order opens its detail view. Use Get Document on the Work Order to pull the required items child table, showing each component with its required quantity, transferred quantity, and source warehouse. For each required component, find the linked paperwork with List Documents on Material Request Item and Purchase Order Item filtered by item code, then Get Document on the parent Material Request or Purchase Order to show the supplier, status, and expected date alongside the component. The supervisor should be able to see, on one screen, what the job needs and where those parts are in the buying process.

From the detail view, the supervisor can record production movement. Build the draft with Make Stock Entry against the work order, show the resulting draft lines in a confirmation panel with editable quantities, then persist it with Insert a Document and post it with Submit a Document. Make Stock Entry returns an unsaved draft, so the insert and submit steps are both required. They can also adjust the planned start and end dates with Update Document, log a floor note with Add a Comment, and push a shift handover summary to our plant channel using Slack Bot Send a Message, covering what was completed, what moved, and what is still blocked, with a preview before it sends.

Every stuck job gets a Diagnose this job button that kicks off a background agent. The agent reads the work order's required items with Get Document, checks the on hand quantity of each component in the relevant warehouse with Get Stock Balance, then uses List Documents on Purchase Order Item and Purchase Order to find whether the short components are already covered by an open purchase order and when it is expected. It writes back a plain language explanation with Add a Comment on the work order, naming which components are short and by how much, which are already on order and when they land, and the earliest realistic start date for the job. The board reads the latest diagnosis back by listing Comment records filtered to that work order and shows the reason next to the job, so a stuck card explains itself instead of just showing a red flag. Show a pending state on the card while the agent is running.

Two hard rules. The app must never cancel or delete a submitted document, so do not build a cancel or delete affordance anywhere in the interface. And because ERPNext will not let a submitted document be edited, if an update to planned dates is rejected because the work order is already submitted, show that reason in plain words rather than attempting to cancel and recreate anything. Always confirm before posting a stock entry, since posting is not reversible from this board.

The board should refresh on a manual pull and also refresh itself periodically, since the tablet sits open all shift and the supervisor should not have to think about whether what they are looking at is current.

## How to customize

- Change which statuses get their own column, or narrow the board to a single plant, warehouse, or production line
- Set your own rules for what counts as overdue or stalled, and how strongly those jobs are highlighted
- Pick the Slack channel for handover summaries and choose what each summary includes

## FAQ

### Can this accidentally cancel or delete a production record?

No. The board only creates new movement records, updates planned dates, and adds notes. It never cancels or deletes anything already posted, so your production history stays intact. That is deliberate, because a cancelled production record is very hard to unwind.

### Does it work on a shop floor tablet?

Yes, that is what it is built for. Buttons and touch targets are large, the board is readable at arm's length, and it is designed to sit open for a whole shift rather than be opened and closed for each task.

### What does the Diagnose this job button actually do?

It checks the on hand quantity of every part the job needs, looks for the missing parts on open purchase orders, and writes a plain explanation of what is blocking the job and the earliest realistic start date onto the job itself. The reason then shows on the board next to that job, so everyone sees the same answer.

### Do I need to change anything in ERPNext first?

No. It reads the work orders, required items, and purchase records you already have. Nothing needs to be restructured or tagged first.

### Does every supervisor need their own ERPNext login?

No. The board connects to ERPNext once, and anyone you share it with can use it from the tablet without their own login.

Use this prompt in General Input: https://www.generalinput.com/prompts/shop-floor-production-board-for-erpnext-work-orders