Overview
Luminous uses Bills of Materials (BOMs) and assembly orders together to convert raw-material components into finished goods. A BOM is the recipe (which components, in what quantities); an assembly order is the individual production run that follows that recipe.
For a full walkthrough of creating BOMs and assembly orders, see How do Bills of Materials (BOMs) and assembly orders work in Luminous?. This article focuses specifically on what happens to components that are not fully consumed — or consumed in excess — during production.
The key setting: Consumption Basis (Planned vs. Actual)
Every component line on a BOM has a Basis setting (also called Consumption Basis). This is the primary control over whether leftover materials stay in inventory or are fully consumed when an assembly order completes.
Planned (default)
Luminous deducts the full planned quantity of the component regardless of how many finished units were actually produced.
Example: Your BOM calls for 10 kg of flour per unit. You planned 100 units (1,000 kg planned). Even if production only yielded 85 units, Luminous still deducts the full 1,000 kg when you complete the order.
Use Planned for components consumed in a fixed batch amount — ingredients blended in one go, or packaging materials used in a standard run regardless of small yield variations.
Actual
Luminous deducts only what is proportional to the actual quantity produced (the real yield you enter on the assembly order).
Example: Same BOM — 10 kg flour per unit, 100 planned. If actual yield is 85 units, Luminous deducts only 850 kg (85 × 10 kg). The remaining 150 kg is never deducted and stays in your component inventory automatically.
Use Actual for raw materials consumed one unit at a time, where less output genuinely means less material used.
Important notes:
- The Basis is set per component line, so different components on the same BOM can use different settings.
- You can override Basis on an individual assembly order before completing it without changing the underlying BOM.
- Components are held in pending (reserved) using the planned quantity until the order completes — at that point, the Basis determines the final deduction.
- Inventory is only affected when the assembly order status reaches Completed.
Scenarios: what happens to excess materials
Scenario 1 — You produced fewer units than planned
| Component Basis | What Luminous deducts | What happens to unused materials |
|---|---|---|
| Planned | Full planned quantity | Consumed from inventory — no excess remains |
| Actual | Actual yield × BOM qty per unit | Unused portion is automatically left in inventory |
If you discover after completing the order that components were deducted incorrectly, you can make a manual inventory adjustment on the affected SKUs to correct the on-hand balance.
Scenario 2 — You produced more units than planned (over-production)
Luminous allows you to complete an assembly order with an actual quantity that exceeds the planned quantity. The system records a warning internally but still completes the order and adds the full actual output to finished-goods inventory. Make sure the component quantities on the assembly order reflect what was truly consumed before completing.
Scenario 3 — You need to reverse a completed assembly
If finished goods were assembled but need to be broken back down into components, use a Disassembly Order (created from the same Inventory → Assembly Orders screen). A disassembly order:
- Deducts the finished-goods quantity from inventory
- Returns the component quantities to inventory
This is the right tool when goods were over-assembled, assembled incorrectly, or need to be disassembled for other operational reasons.
Setting up Basis values
- On a BOM: Go to Inventory Admin → Bills of Materials, open or create a BOM, and set the Basis dropdown on each component row.
- On an individual assembly order: The Basis column is visible on the component table and can be changed before the order is completed.
- Via bulk import: The BOM import template includes a
basiscolumn. If left blank, Luminous defaults to Planned.
Quick reference
| Situation | Recommended approach |
|---|---|
| Components consumed in fixed batch amounts regardless of yield | Set Basis = Planned |
| Components consumed per unit produced | Set Basis = Actual |
| Produced fewer units — want unused materials returned to stock | Set Basis = Actual |
| Produced fewer units — standard-cost accounting, full deduction intended | Set Basis = Planned |
| Need to reverse a completed assembly and recover components | Create a Disassembly Order |
| On-hand balance wrong after completion | Use a manual Inventory Adjustment |