Beginner: General Guidance for an Inventory Tracking Solution?

[jasongriffing]

Hey all,

I am very new to the filemaker game, but I feel like I am picking it up pretty quickly. I work as a subcontractor, and am attempting to build a daily work order solution for my company using filemaker. Part of what I would like to do with this solution is to track the status of parts on a per project basis. For this portion of the application I have the following tables:

Projects

Products

Line Items

A "Line Item" is simply a "Product" that has been sold for a particular project, to avoid a many to many relationship. So each line item can only be assigned to one project, and one product. Simple enough.

What would be the most efficient way to assign products as line items? In other words, I just finalized a sale with John Doe. Now I need to create 25 differenct Line Item records, each assigned to their respective Product_ID. How would some of you more advanced guys approach this?

Ultimately I would like to assign a status to each line item. For example, Need To Order, Ordred, Recieved, Delivered, Installed. I also have a table that I am calling "DWO" (short for Daily Work Orders). I have created a DWO layout, on which I can enter simple information such as Project, Date, Appointment Time In, Appointment Time Out, Services Rendred, etc. At the bottom of the layout I would like to have a section that I will call "Parts Used". I would like a list to show up in this section, that only populates with Line Items that are associtated with the related project, and that have the status "Delivered". Ultimately, the idea is that a Project Manager will track when parts are delivered to their respective jobs. Once they are delivered, the installers (using Filemaker GO) will mark them as "Installed" when appropriate. This seems like it could get a little complicated...just looking for some advice to get me started.

I'm more than willing to do my homework, I don't expect a full step-by-step tutorial. But I would LOVE any general advice on how to approach some of these challenges. Having a great time learning this program!

Thanks so much,

JG

[Vaughan]

I work as a subcontractor, and am attempting to build a daily work order solution for my company using filemaker.

Not what you want to hear: if this system is to make your business more efficient then your time is better spent getting extra sub-contracting work to pay for one of the pre-existing solutions out there. There are many available, and good ones take literally years to build. Claim it off your tax, too.

If this is a hobby project, then go for it... but it's a big, complex job.

What would be the most efficient way to assign products as line items? In other words, I just finalized a sale with John Doe. Now I need to create 25 differenct Line Item records, each assigned to their respective Product_ID. How would some of you more advanced guys approach this?

Exactly the same way the grocery items get on the receipt from the supermarket: one at a time.