🧮 walter75 - Calculation User Guide

Complete guide to product cost calculation and pricing

v27.0.0 Manufacturing Costing

📋 Overview

The walter75 - Calculation app helps manufacturing companies calculate accurate product costs and determine optimal selling prices. Calculate material costs from BOMs, labor costs from Routings, apply overhead formulas, simulate different production quantities, and track actual vs. planned costs.

Main Benefits:

✅ Precise cost calculations based on BOM and Routing
✅ Flexible formula engine with custom variables
✅ Lot size simulation for production optimization
✅ Post-calculation for actual cost tracking
✅ Integration with Sales Quotes and Production Orders

🛠️ Initial Setup

Configure Number Series

Search for: Sales & Receivables Setup

Scroll to Numbering section
Field: SEW Calc Nos.
Assign a number series (e.g., "CALC")
This generates automatic calculation numbers like CALC0001, CALC0002, etc.

💡 Tip: If the number series doesn't exist, create it via No. Series page first

Create Calculation Variables

Search for: Calculation Variables

Create reusable variables for formulas:

Example: Overhead Percentage

Code: OVERHEAD-PCT
Description: Overhead Percentage
Type: Percentage
Value: 20 (represents 20%)
Base: Material (apply to material costs)
Global: Yes (available in all calculations)
Valid From Date: 01.01.2025

Example: Setup Cost

Code: SETUP-FIXED
Description: Fixed Setup Cost
Type: Absolute Value
Value: 150.00 (fixed amount in currency)
Global: Yes

✅ Variable Types:

Percentage: Value entered as whole number (20 = 20%), used as decimal in formulas (0.20)
Absolute Value: Fixed amount added to calculation
Factor: Multiplier (1.2 = add 20%, 0.8 = reduce by 20%)

Create Calculation Templates

Search for: Calculation Templates

Templates define the structure of calculations and can be reused across multiple items.

Template Header

Code: STANDARD
Description: Standard Calculation Template
Price Source Item: Unit Cost (where to get material costs)
Price Source Capacity: Work Center Direct Cost
Include Material: Yes
Include Labor: Yes
Include Overhead: Yes
Status: Draft (during creation)

Template Lines

Add calculation structure in the Lines subpage:

Line No.	Type	Description	Formula	Bold
10000	Header	Material Costs	-	Yes
20000	Material	Raw Materials from BOM	{MATERIAL}	No
30000	Formula	Material Overhead	{MATERIAL} * {OVERHEAD-PCT}	No
40000	Sum Line	Total Material	-	Yes
50000	Header	Labor Costs	-	Yes
60000	Labor	Work Center Costs from Routing	{LABOR}	No
70000	Formula	Setup Cost	{SETUP-FIXED}	No

Release Template: After creating lines, use Release action to make template available for calculations

💼 Working with Calculations

Creating a New Calculation

Open Calculation List

Search for: Calculations or SEW Calc Headers

Click New to create a calculation

Fill Header Information

No.: Click AssistEdit (...) to generate from number series
Template Code: Select template (e.g., STANDARD)
Item No.: Select the item to calculate
Description: Auto-fills from item, can edit
Calculation Date: Date of calculation (defaults to today)
Lot Size: Production quantity (e.g., 100 pieces)
Status: Starts as Draft

💡 Screenshot Placeholder: Calculation Card - Header Information

Apply Template

After saving, use action: Calculate from Template

This copies all template lines and evaluates formulas based on:

Item's Production BOM (material costs)
Item's Routing (labor costs)
Defined variables (overhead, setup costs, etc.)
Specified lot size

💡 Screenshot Placeholder: Template Applied - Lines Populated with Costs

Review Calculated Costs

Check the Totals section:

Total Material Cost: Sum of all material costs
Total Labor Cost: Sum of all labor costs
Total Overhead Cost: Sum of all overhead costs
Total Cost: Grand total

Check the Pricing section:

Target Sales Price: Suggested selling price
Margin %: Calculated margin percentage

💡 Screenshot Placeholder: Calculation Totals and Pricing

Quick Calculation from Item Card

Faster Workflow:

Open any Item Card
Set SEW Default Template Code (one-time setup)
Click action: New Calculation
Calculation is created automatically with item and template pre-filled

💡 Screenshot Placeholder: Item Card with Calculation Actions

📐 Working with Formulas

System Variables

Reference calculated values from BOM/Routing:

{MATERIAL} - Total material cost from Production BOM
{LABOR} - Total labor cost from Routing
{OVERHEAD} - Total overhead cost
{TOTALCOST} - Sum of Material + Labor + Overhead

Custom Variables

Use variables created in Calculation Variables:

{OVERHEAD-PCT} - Custom percentage variable
{SETUP-FIXED} - Custom fixed cost variable
{ANY-VARIABLE-CODE} - Any variable you defined

Formula Examples

Formula	Description
`{MATERIAL} * 1.2`	Add 20% to material cost
`{LABOR} + {SETUP-FIXED}`	Add fixed setup cost to labor
`({MATERIAL} + {LABOR}) * {OVERHEAD-PCT}`	Apply overhead % to material + labor
`{TOTALCOST} * 1.5`	Calculate selling price (50% margin)
`(10 + 5) * 2`	Simple math (result: 30)
`100 / 4 + 10`	Operator precedence (result: 35)

⚠️ Important: Variables must be defined in Calculation Variables before use. The formula parser will show an error for undefined variables.

📊 Lot Size Simulation

Simulate different production quantities to find the optimal lot size.

Create Simulation

From a Released calculation, click: Simulate Lot Sizes

A new simulation is created with link to the calculation

💡 Screenshot Placeholder: Simulation Card Opening

Set Parameters

Target Sales Price: Desired selling price (optional)
Target Margin %: Desired margin percentage (optional)

Click: Generate Scenarios

System creates scenarios for common lot sizes: 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000

Review Scenarios

The Simulation Lines subpage shows:

Column	Description
Scenario Code	SMALL, MEDIUM, LARGE, X-LARGE, XX-LARGE
Lot Size	Production quantity for this scenario
Setup Cost	Fixed one-time cost (editable)
Material Cost	Total material for this quantity
Labor Cost	Total labor for this quantity
Unit Cost	Cost per piece (Total Cost / Lot Size)
Suggested Sales Price	Calculated based on target margin
Margin %	Profit margin at suggested price
Break-Even Qty	Minimum quantity to cover setup cost
Is Recommended	System's recommended scenario ✓

💡 Screenshot Placeholder: Simulation Scenarios with Unit Cost Comparison

Understand Recommendations

The system calculates a Recommendation Score based on:

Proximity to target margin
Low unit cost
Reasonable break-even quantity

The scenario with the highest score is marked Is Recommended = Yes

🔗 Integration with Sales Quotes

Automatic Calculation Creation

Enable Auto-Calculate

Open a Sales Quote

On the quote header:

SEW Default Calc Template: Select template (e.g., STANDARD)
SEW Auto Calculate: Enable (Yes)

Add Item Line

Add an item to the sales line

System automatically:

Creates a calculation using the default template
Calculates costs based on item's BOM/Routing
Links calculation to sales line
Populates cost fields on the line

💡 Screenshot Placeholder: Sales Quote with Auto-Calculated Costs

View Cost Breakdown

Select a sales line with a calculation

In the FactBox on the right, see:

Cost Breakdown: Material, Labor, Overhead costs
Total Cost: Sum of all costs
Margin Status: Visual indicator (Above/Below Target)
Margin %: Current margin at unit price

💡 Screenshot Placeholder: Cost Breakdown FactBox

Adjust Pricing

On the sales line:

SEW Calculated Cost: Shows total cost
SEW Target Price: Shows suggested selling price
Unit Price: Manually adjust as needed
SEW Calculated Margin %: Updates automatically

Manual Calculation Link

Alternative Workflow:

If auto-calculate is disabled, you can manually link calculations:

Create calculation separately via Calculations list
On sales line, select the calculation in field: SEW Calc No.
Cost fields populate automatically

🏭 Integration with Production Orders

Link Calculation to Production Order

Create Production Order

Create a Production Order for an item with a calculation

Link Calculation

On the production order:

SEW Calc No.: Select the calculation
SEW Planned Cost: Auto-fills from calculation
SEW Alert Threshold %: Set alert level (default 10%)

💡 Screenshot Placeholder: Production Order with Calculation Link

Monitor Actual Costs

As production progresses:

SEW Actual Cost to Date: Updates from capacity/item ledgers
SEW Cost Variance: Shows deviation from plan (amount)
SEW Cost Variance %: Shows deviation (percentage)
SEW Cost Alert: Turns red if variance exceeds threshold

⚠️ Cost Alert Example:

Planned Cost: 1,000 EUR | Actual: 1,150 EUR | Variance: 15% → Alert triggered if threshold is 10%

Create Post-Calculation

Finish Production

Complete and Finish the production order

Create Post-Calculation

From the calculation linked to production order:

Click: Create Post-Calculation

System creates a new calculation with actual costs:

Material cost from actual item consumption
Labor cost from actual capacity time
Same overhead formulas applied

💡 Screenshot Placeholder: Post-Calculation with Variances

Analyze Variances

Compare pre-calculation (CALC0001) vs. post-calculation (CALC0001-POST):

Material Variance: Actual - Planned material
Labor Variance: Actual - Planned labor
Total Variance: Overall cost difference

Use this data for continuous improvement and future calculations

📄 Printing Reports

Open Calculation

Open the calculation you want to print

Start Print

Click: Print Calculation action

Report request page opens

Configure Report Options

Show Variables: Include variable definitions
Show Details: Include formula details
Show Components: Include BOM/Routing components

Preview or Print

Click Preview or Print

Report shows:

Calculation header information
Cost breakdown by line type
Formulas and results
Total costs
Pricing information

💡 Screenshot Placeholder: Calculation Report Preview

📝 Calculation Lifecycle

Status Workflow

Status	Description	Actions Available
Draft	Initial state, fully editable	Edit, Calculate, Release
Released	Approved, locked for changes	Transfer to Item, Simulate, Reopen, Archive
Archived	Completed, read-only	View only

Actions Explained

📝 Release

Locks calculation from editing, enables transfer to item and simulation

🔓 Reopen

Returns to Draft status for modifications

📦 Archive

Permanently archives calculation, read-only

🔄 Transfer to Item

Updates item's Unit Cost with calculation total

🔄 Recalculate

Re-evaluates all formulas with current data

📊 Export to Excel

Export calculation details for external analysis

📚 Change History

Every change to a calculation is automatically tracked.

View History

From a calculation card, click: Show History

Opens the Calculation History page

Review Changes

Each history entry shows:

Change Type: Created, Modified, Released, Archived
Change Date/Time: When the change occurred
Changed By User: Who made the change
Field Name: What was changed
Old/New Value: Before and after values

💡 Screenshot Placeholder: Calculation History List

🎯 Best Practices

✅ Calculation Tips

Create Templates: Define standard calculation structures once, reuse everywhere
Use Variables: Centralize overhead rates and factors for easy updates
Release Before Transfer: Always release calculations before transferring to items
Link to Quotes: Use auto-calculate for faster quote creation
Simulate First: Run lot size simulation before committing to production quantities
Track Production: Link calculations to production orders for variance tracking
Post-Calculate: Create post-calculations to learn from actual costs

⚠️ Common Pitfalls

Missing BOM/Routing: Items must have Production BOM and Routing for cost calculation
Undefined Variables: All variables in formulas must exist in Calculation Variables
Wrong Price Source: Choose price source that matches your costing method
Editing Released Calcs: Reopen first before making changes
Forgetting Lot Size: Unit costs vary significantly by production quantity

🆘 Troubleshooting

Formula Errors

Error: "Invalid formula syntax"

✅ Solution: Check formula for typos, ensure all parentheses match, verify operator placement

Example: 10 + * 5 is invalid → 10 + 5 * 2 is valid

Error: "Variable not found: {VARNAME}"

✅ Solution: Create the variable in Calculation Variables first

Cost Calculation Issues

Material Cost is Zero

✅ Check:

Item has Production BOM assigned and certified
BOM components have costs (Unit Cost, Standard Cost, etc.)
Price Source is correctly set in template

Labor Cost is Zero

✅ Check:

Item has Routing assigned and certified
Work Centers/Machine Centers have hourly rates
Routing operations have Setup Time and/or Run Time

Transfer to Item Not Working

Error: "Cannot transfer, calculation not released"

✅ Solution: Release the calculation first (action: Release)

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