Material & Part Costs

Recording material usage is essential for cost tracking. FreeMaint automatically deducts from inventory. On a work order you can also add a part by scanning: open Add part on the work order, then scan into the Scan barcode field — the matching part is selected automatically.

Adding Parts

1. Open the work order
2. Navigate to Parts section
3. Click 'Add Part'
4. Search and select from inventory
5. Enter quantity used
6. Unit cost auto-filled from inventory
7. Stock automatically reduced

Adding a Part When Stock Shows Zero

Sometimes a part physically exists but the system shows 0 in stock (a miscount, or a delivery that was never recorded). By default, out-of-stock parts can't be added to a work order. An administrator can enable «Allow adding parts with no stock to work orders» in Settings → System. Once on, technicians can add the part anyway after a confirmation; the stock goes negative so the shortfall is flagged for a physical recount and correction. The maintenance work is never blocked by an inventory record error.

Planned Parts from a PM Plan

1. Parts registered on a preventive maintenance plan automatically appear on the generated work order as a "Planned parts" checklist
2. Click "Use" on a planned part to mark it as used — its planned quantity is deducted from stock when there is enough on hand; otherwise it is simply confirmed (so plans for parts you don’t keep in live inventory still work)
3. Click "Not needed" (with an optional reason) if the part was not required this time
4. Removing a used part from the parts list reverts its checklist item to pending