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Core masters: parts, customers, suppliers, people

How to create and look after the four lists that almost every document in WorkCrest points back to, and why each field matters.

At a glance

Who it is for: Admin, HR and anyone who creates parts, customers, suppliers or employees.
What you can do: create and maintain parts, customers, suppliers, departments, employees and part cross-references.
What you need first: the one-time setup masters (units, item types, shipping terms).

Why these four lists come first

Every quotation, order, purchase order, invoice, stock movement and leave request picks something from these lists: a part, a customer, a supplier or an employee.

What you type here is copied onto the documents later.

A wrong tax code or state on a master becomes a wrong tax invoice. It is worth ten extra minutes to get each record right.

This guide covers Parts, Customers, Suppliers, Employees and Departments, plus Part cross-references (what a customer or supplier calls your part).

The smaller lists that feed them (units, item types, shipping terms, resources) are in One-time setup masters.
If you are the Admin, also read the Admin guide.
If you are brand new, start with Getting started.
Everything is also reachable from the training home.

Setup order

Later records pick from earlier ones, so work top to bottom. You cannot finish a part without a unit and a type, and you cannot finish an employee without a department.

#	Master	Where to find it	Who can change it	Do this first
1	Units of measure and item types	Configuration › Units of Measure, Configuration › Item Types	Admin, Procurement, Sales	See setup masters
2	Departments	Configuration › Departments	Admin, HR	Nothing (leave the head blank for now)
3	Employees	People › Employees	Admin, HR	Departments. Resources, if you will tag skills
4	Parts	Inventory › Parts	Admin, Procurement, Sales	Units of measure, item types
5	Customers	Receivables › Customers	Admin, Sales	Company state, currencies, shipping terms, price lists (all optional except currency)
6	Suppliers	Payables › Suppliers	Admin, Procurement	Nothing
7	Part cross-references	Inventory › Part Cross-References	Sales (customer numbers), Procurement (supplier numbers), Admin (both)	Parts, customers, suppliers

Who can open vs who can change. More people can open these screens than can save on them. For example Plant and Accounts can open Parts, Customers and Suppliers, but only the roles in the table above can save a change. An Admin can always do everything. If a button is missing or saving says you are not allowed, you are in the wrong role for that list: ask the Admin, who can adjust who sees what.

You do not delete these records. Parts, customers, suppliers and employees are never removed, because old documents still refer to them. To retire one, edit it and switch it to Inactive. Each list opens on its Active tab, with an All tab and an Inactive tab beside it showing counts.

1. Parts

What it is: every item you buy, make, stock or sell, and also every service you bill for (job work, for example). One part record is used on purchase orders, quotations, orders, goods receipts, bills of material, jobs and invoices.

Where to find it: Inventory › Parts. Who can change it: Admin, Procurement, Sales.

The Parts list with Active, Inactive tabs, filters for Type, Tracking, Receipt and Stock, a search box, Import CSV and Add part buttons — The Parts list. Tabs show how many parts are active and inactive; the four filters narrow the list; the search box finds a part by code, name or any other part number.

Creating a part

Open Inventory › Parts and click Add part. A form opens with two tabs: General and Inventory & pricing.
On General, fill in Part code and Name. Add a Description if the name alone is not enough for someone to pick the right part.
Choose the Type and the Unit of measure. Think before you pick the unit: it cannot be changed later.
Set Tracking and Receipt routing (explained below), then set the four switches: Active, Purchasable, Stockable, Sellable.
Switch to Inventory & pricing. Fill in the planning fields, the HSN / SAC code, the GST rate %, the Standard cost (if you can see it) and the Selling price.
Click Create part. If a required field on the other tab is empty, WorkCrest jumps to that tab and marks it with a red dot. Use Discard to close without saving.

Field by field, and why it matters

Field	What to enter	Why it matters
Part code	Your own short, unique code (for example RM-001 for a raw material).	It is what people search and pick by on every document. Agree on a pattern (RM- raw material, FG- finished goods) before you start so codes stay consistent.
Name, Description	Plain words, as you want them printed.	The name shows in pickers and prints on documents.
Type	One of your item types, such as Raw Material, Finished Good or Service.	It groups parts in reports and filters. Choosing the Service type changes the rest of the form (see below).
Unit of measure	The unit you count the part in (Nos, Kg, Metre).	Quantities are stored as bare numbers, so the unit gives them meaning. It is locked after the part is created, because changing it would silently change what every old balance and document line means. If you picked the wrong unit, create a new part and deactivate the old one.
Tracking	None (quantity only), Lot / batch, or Serial (per unit).	Lot keeps stock by batch so you can trace a problem to a batch; Serial keeps one row per unit. Choose it at the start. Once a part has stock history the mode is locked, because switching would orphan the per-lot or per-serial balances.
Receipt routing	Direct (to stock) or Inspection (2-step).	With Direct, goods you receive go straight into stock. With Inspection, the whole received quantity is parked in a holding area first and only the accepted quantity moves to stock after someone checks it on the goods receipt. Use Inspection for items you must check before use (see the Quality guide).
Active	On for normal use.	Switch off to retire the part. An inactive part drops out of pickers but stays on old documents.
Purchasable / Sellable	Tick what applies.	Tells the pickers whether the part may be bought or sold.
Stockable	On for anything you keep a quantity of.	Off means WorkCrest never counts a balance for it. Once a part has stock history you cannot change this switch, because it would orphan existing balances.
Reorder level	The quantity at which you want a warning.	The Parts list marks a part as low stock, and reorder alerts use it, when your own stock on hand falls below it.
Lead time (days)	How long it normally takes to get the part.	Feeds purchase and production planning.
MOQ	Supplier minimum order quantity.	Reference for buyers.
Min quantity, Max quantity	Your stock floor and ceiling.	Used by min/max planning. Max cannot be lower than Min (equal is fine, for a fixed order-up-to level).
Net weight, Gross weight (kg)	Optional.	Used by pricing formulas that price by weight. Gross cannot be below net.
HSN / SAC code	HSN for goods, SAC for services. Required.	It is copied onto every tax invoice line as it was at that moment, and drives the HSN/SAC summary your accountant files. A wrong code lands on the invoice.
GST rate %	Pick from the list of standard rates.	The tax rate charged on sales and bills for this part.
Standard cost (₹)	Your planned cost per unit.	The single standard cost used for stock valuation, costing and misc stock values. See the cost note below.
Selling price (₹)	Your default price per unit.	The starting price on quotations and orders. Customer-specific prices and price lists can override it (see the pricing rules in the setup guide and Sales documents).

Service parts hold no stock

When you choose the Service type, WorkCrest sets these fields for you:

Stockable is turned off, Tracking is None, and Receipt routing is Direct.
Reorder level, standard cost, min and max are zeroed.
Those fields are greyed out. If you try to force a service to be stockable, the save is refused.

This is deliberate. A service such as "Job work: turning" is something you bill, not something you keep on a shelf, so it never has a balance and never appears in stock reports.

Give a service part a SAC code and a selling price, and use it on quotations, orders and invoices.

Who can see standard cost. Standard cost is internal cost, so it is shown only to people who hold the cost-viewing access, by default Accounts and Admin. For everyone else the Standard cost field is not on the form at all, and the cost is not sent to their screen. A part they create starts at 0, and when they edit a part the stored cost is left untouched. Accounts (or the cost roll-up) then sets the real figure. If you cannot see the field, that is by design; ask the Admin if you genuinely need the access. A hand-typed cost counts as a deliberate change, so a later automatic update will not overwrite it straight away. Selling and purchase prices are not costs and everyone with access to Parts can see them.

Finding parts

Tabs: All parts, Active, Inactive, each with a count.
Filters: Type (pick one or more), Tracking (None, Lot, Serial), Receipt (Direct, Inspection) and Stock (Low stock, Not low).
Search box: searches the code, the name and any other part number.
- A customer's or supplier's number for the part (from Part cross-references, below) finds your part too.
- If a customer phones with their own number, type it here.
Columns, Compact, Export CSV sit above the table. Click a column heading to sort. Click a row (or the part code) to open and edit it.

Bulk import

For a first load of many parts, click Import CSV. Inside the dialog, download the template, fill it in a spreadsheet, save as CSV and upload it. WorkCrest checks every row and shows errors by spreadsheet row number before anything is saved. Points to know:

The import only adds parts. A part code that already exists is an error; it never overwrites. Duplicate codes inside the same file are errors too.
The type and unit columns take the short codes of your existing item types and units, so create those first.
Numbers must be plain figures with at most two decimals. Active is typed as TRUE or FALSE in capitals. Tracking and receipt routing may be left blank (meaning None and Direct); any other spelling is rejected so a typo cannot slip in.
If you cannot see costs, standard cost is forced to 0 on import.
Fix every error and upload again; nothing is saved while errors remain.

Before you save a part

Is the unit of measure right? You cannot change it later.
Is the type right, and is Stockable on for anything you keep in stock (and off for services)?
Do you want lot or serial tracking? Decide now; it locks once stock moves.
Should it be received Direct or through Inspection?
Is the HSN or SAC code correct, and the GST rate matching it?
Are Min and Max sensible (Max not below Min)?
Is the code unique and in your agreed pattern?

2. Customers

What it is: every business you sell to or quote. It supplies the billing details, the tax treatment, the credit rules and the defaults for new quotations and orders.

Where to find it: Receivables › Customers. Who can change it: Admin, Sales.

The Customers list with its Active, Inactive and All tabs. Click a customer to open its page.

Creating a customer

Open Receivables › Customers and click the button to add a customer (or Import CSV for many at once).
Enter the Name, GSTIN and PAN.
Under Billing address (place of supply for GST) fill the Address, City, State and Pincode. State is required.
If goods go to a different address, fill Shipping address (optional, if different) as well.
Enter the Contact person, Phone and Email.
Set Payment terms (days), Credit limit (₹) and Default currency. Optionally pick a Price list.
Under Shipping terms tick the terms this customer may use and click Default beside the one to pre-select.
Leave Active on and click Create customer.

A customer's own page with an Edit button and the customer's part numbers — A customer's page. Use the **Edit** button here to change the details; the page also lists what this customer calls your parts.

Field by field, and why it matters

Field	Why it matters
Name	Required. Prints on every quotation, challan and invoice.
GSTIN, PAN	Optional on the form, but a registered business should have its GSTIN: it prints on the tax invoice and your buyer needs it to claim credit. Copy it exactly from their registration.
Billing state	The most important field on the record. It decides the tax split. If the customer's billing state is the same as your company state, invoices charge CGST plus SGST; if it is different, they charge IGST. The split is worked out when the invoice is created and stored, never recalculated, so a wrong state produces a wrong invoice that has to be cancelled and redone.
Shipping address	Only needed when it differs from billing. Tax still follows the billing state.
Contact person, Phone, Email	For your team's reference. The email must look like a valid address if you fill it.
Payment terms (days)	Sets the due date on invoices and drives receivables ageing and collection reports. Use 0 for payment on delivery.
Credit limit (₹)	The most this customer may owe you. Order and delivery approvals compare their open exposure against it, so an order that would push them over the limit is flagged. Draft invoices count towards exposure.
Default currency	Required. Pre-selected, with the latest reference exchange rate, when you pick this customer on a new order; you can change it order by order. It must be INR or a currency that is switched on in the currencies list.
Price list	Optional. Prices from this list are tried before the standard list when quoting this customer. Leave blank to use the standard list only. It must be an active price list.
Shipping terms and Default	Limits which terms (for example who pays freight) can be used on this customer's quotations, and pre-selects the default. The list shows only active shipping terms; if it says none exist, add them under Configuration › Shipping Terms first.
Reprice at dispatch	A tag only. Pricing assignments can choose to apply to customers with this on or off. It does nothing by itself.
Active	Off retires the customer from pickers. History stays.

After the customer exists, add what they call each of your parts under Part cross-references (section 5), and any customer-specific prices under Configuration › Customer Prices if you use them.

Before you save a customer

Is the billing state the real place of supply? Check it against the GSTIN (its first two digits are the state code).
Is the GSTIN copied exactly?
Are payment terms and credit limit agreed with the customer? A credit limit of 0 will make approvals strict.
Is the default currency right?
Have you ticked at least one shipping term and chosen a default (if you use shipping terms)?
Is there already a record for this customer under a slightly different spelling? Search first.

3. Suppliers

What it is: every business you buy from. Purchase orders, goods receipts, supplier bills and payments all point at a supplier.

Where to find it: Payables › Suppliers. Who can change it: Admin, Procurement.

The Suppliers list. Click a row to open and edit that supplier; Import CSV loads many at once.

Open Payables › Suppliers and click the button to add a supplier.
Enter the Name (the only required text field), GSTIN and PAN.
Fill the Address, City, State and Pincode.
Enter Contact person, Phone and Email.
Enter the Bank account number and IFSC so Accounts can pay without hunting for details.
Set Payment terms (days), leave Active on, and click Create supplier.

A supplier's ledger page showing orders, bills, payments and net position — A supplier's ledger page: orders, bills and payments for that supplier, and what you net owe them.

Field	Why it matters
GSTIN	Printed on purchase orders and used when recording supplier bills so you can claim input tax credit.
State	On a supplier bill, WorkCrest compares the supplier's state with your company state to split the tax into CGST plus SGST or IGST, the same way it does for customers. An empty or wrong state means a wrong tax split on the bill.
Bank account number, IFSC	Used by Accounts when paying. Check them carefully; a typo sends money to the wrong place.
Payment terms (days)	Sets the due date of bills from this supplier, which drives Payables › Upcoming Payments and payables ageing.
Active	Off hides the supplier from new purchase orders. History stays.

To control which suppliers may supply which parts, see the Approved Supplier List under Purchasing › Approved Suppliers. To record what a supplier calls your part, use Part cross-references (section 5).

Before you save a supplier

Is the State filled in and correct?
Is the GSTIN copied exactly?
Have you double-checked the bank account number and IFSC?
Are payment terms what you agreed?
Is the supplier already on the list under another spelling?

4. Departments and employees

Employees are the people in your business: office staff, shop-floor workers, approvers. Many things in WorkCrest need an employee: leave, reimbursements, approvals, job assignments and who created a document.

Who can change both lists: Admin and HR.
Where to find them: Configuration › Departments and People › Employees.

Departments first

The Departments list — Departments are a short list. Click a row to edit it.

Open Configuration › Departments and click the button to add a department.
Enter a short Code (it is saved in capitals) and the Name.
Leave Department head as None for now. You can only pick a head once employees exist; come back and set it afterwards.
Click Create department.

Then employees

The Employees list with Active and Inactive tabs. Click a row to edit.

Open People › Employees and click the button to add an employee (or Import CSV).
Enter Name, Gender, Phone and Email.
Choose the Department, enter the Designation and the Date of joining.
Pick the Reporting manager (leave as None if there is none) and the Employment type (Full-time, Part-time, Contract or Intern).
Pick a Labour type / skill if this person does shop-floor work (see below).
Leave Status as Active, add any Additional information, and click Create employee. WorkCrest assigns the employee code automatically.

Field	Why it matters
Department	Required. Groups people for reporting and leave views.
Reporting manager	This decides who approves the employee's leave. Leave requests go to the reporting manager only (one level, outside the main approval rules). If an employee has no manager set, the request falls back to Admin and HR, so set a manager for everyone who should be approved by a real person. A manager cannot approve their own leave.
Labour type / skill	Optional. Tags the person with a kind of labour (for example turner, welder). It lists only active resources of the Labour kind from Configuration › Resources. It links the person to a labour rate that job costing uses for planned time, so set it for shop-floor workers and leave it blank for office staff.
Date of joining, Date of leaving	Joining is required. Fill leaving when someone departs, and set Status to Inactive.
Status	Active or Inactive. Inactive people drop out of the Active tab and the pickers; their history stays. Employees are never deleted.
Designation, Employment type	Reference details. Both are required.

Employees without logins. An employee is not the same as a user. A shop-floor worker needs an employee record so jobs, labour and leave can be tracked, but never needs to sign in. Creating an employee does not create a login. Logins are made separately by the Admin (see the Admin guide), and a login must be linked to an employee record before that person can do things like maintain part cross-references or apply for leave.

Before you save an employee or department

Does the department already exist? Create it first.
Is the reporting manager set correctly? It decides who sees their leave requests.
For shop-floor staff, is the labour type chosen?
When someone leaves: set the date of leaving and Status to Inactive.
After the first employees exist, go back to Departments and set each department head.

5. Part cross-references

What it is: a small table of "what they call our part". A customer may order your bracket as their number KAC-4471-B; a supplier may sell your steel sheet under their own code. A cross-reference ties that outside number to your part.

Where to find it: Inventory › Part Cross-References. Who can change it: Sales maintains customer numbers, Procurement maintains supplier numbers, Admin can do both. Your login must also be linked to an employee record, or WorkCrest will ask you to get an Admin to link one.

The Part cross-references list showing a customer row and a supplier row with Edit and Delete — Part cross-references. Each row pairs a customer or supplier with your part and their own part number. Use the tabs to see All, Customer or Supplier only.

Open Inventory › Part Cross-References and click New cross-reference.
Under For choose Customer or Supplier. You only see the choices your role is allowed to maintain.
Pick the Customer or Supplier.
Pick Our part. Only active parts can be chosen.
Type Their part no. exactly as they write it.
Click Add cross-reference. Use Edit or Delete on a row later; unlike the other masters, cross-references can be deleted. Import CSV loads many at once.

Why it matters: the Parts list search finds a part by any of these numbers, and a customer's page lists what they call each part. That saves staff from guessing which of your parts a purchase order line refers to.

Rules WorkCrest enforces. One customer (or supplier) can have only one number for a given part. The same outside number cannot be used for two different parts of the same customer or supplier; you will see "already used for another part of this customer" or "already has a part number for that part". Fix the existing row instead of adding another.

Common mistakes

Mistake	What happens	What to do
Wrong unit of measure on a part	It cannot be edited after the part is created.	Create a new part with the right unit and make the old one inactive.
Trying to change Tracking or Stockable after stock has moved	The save is refused so balances are not orphaned.	Decide at creation. Otherwise make a new part.
Setting a service to Stockable	Refused. Services hold no stock.	Leave Stockable off and use the Service type.
Wrong or blank state on a customer or supplier	The tax split (CGST plus SGST versus IGST) comes out wrong on invoices and bills.	Set the state from the GSTIN before the first document. A stored invoice is not recalculated.
Wrong HSN or SAC code	It prints on every invoice line and the HSN/SAC summary.	Confirm with your accountant before creating the part.
Looking for a Delete button	There is none for parts, customers, suppliers or employees.	Switch Active (or Status) off. Only cross-references can be deleted.
No reporting manager on an employee	Their leave falls back to Admin and HR.	Set the manager when you create the employee.
Cannot see Standard cost	You do not hold the cost-viewing access.	This is intended. Ask Accounts to set costs, or the Admin about access.
Import fails with row errors	Nothing is saved.	Fix the rows named in the error list, check there are no duplicate codes, and upload again. Import never overwrites an existing record.
Duplicate customer or supplier under a different spelling	History splits across two records.	Search before adding. Retire the duplicate by switching it to Inactive.

Where to go next

One-time setup masters for the smaller lists these depend on.
Admin guide for users, roles and who can see which screens.
Getting started for signing in and the wider setup checklist.
Training home for every guide.