Production Runs — The Full Lifecycle
A production run represents a single batch of a recipe, from scheduling through completion. Iraca tracks ingredient consumption, operator time, and finished goods automatically at each stage.
Run statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Scheduled | Planned but not yet started. Ingredients have not been deducted from stock. |
| In Progress | Run is active. Ingredients were deducted from stock (WIP reservation) at start. |
| Quality Check | Batch is finished but pending a quality review before stock is added. |
| Completed | Run is done. Finished goods have been added to inventory. |
| Cancelled | Run was stopped. If it was In Progress, the WIP ingredient reservation is returned to stock. |
Scheduling a run
When you click New Run, the scheduling dialog asks for:
- Recipe — selecting a recipe automatically fills in Planned Operators from the recipe's Expected Operators default.
- Planned Operators — the number of people expected to work the session. You can change this at any time before or at the moment you start the run.
- Lot Number, Planned Quantity, Scheduled Date, and Warehouse.
The planned operator count is saved on the run so you can review it before the session begins.
Choosing ingredient lots
If the recipe uses ingredients with lot tracking enabled, the scheduling dialog shows an Ingredient Lots section listing one picker per tracked ingredient.
Every picker defaults to Automatic (earliest expiry first). Leave it there and Iraca draws from the lot that expires soonest, using undated lots last. This is the right choice for most runs — it keeps stock rotating and prevents ingredients ageing out at the back of the shelf.
Pick a specific lot when the batch has to come from known material: a customer-mandated source, a supplier you're trialling, or stock you're deliberately clearing. Each option shows the lot number, the quantity on hand in the selected warehouse, and the expiry date where one is recorded.
Two things worth knowing:
- The list is per warehouse. Change the Warehouse field and the available lots change with it, because lot balances are tracked separately in each location.
- A chosen lot is a starting point, not a limit. If the lot you pick doesn't hold enough to cover the whole run, Iraca draws what's there and fills the remainder from other lots, earliest expiry first. Each ingredient shows roughly how much the run needs, and if the lot you chose can't cover it you'll see a note saying how much will come from elsewhere. That's a heads-up, not an error — you can schedule the run either way.
Ingredients without lot tracking don't appear here — there's nothing to choose, and their stock is deducted as a single movement.
Whatever is consumed is recorded lot by lot, so Lot Tracking → Trace shows exactly which ingredient lots went into the batch, and a mock recall on any of them finds this run.
Starting a run
When you click Start Run, a confirmation dialog appears:
- Number of Operators — pre-filled from the planned operator count set at scheduling. Adjust it if the actual crew size differs on the day.
Confirming the start:
- Stamps the start time on the run.
- Records the operator count.
- Deducts planned ingredient quantities from stock (WIP reservation) for every ingredient. Per operator per hour ingredients are deducted at a planned one hour per operator, since the real duration isn't known yet; if you changed the operator count on this screen, those quantities are recalculated before the deduction. Their planned figures are restated against the actual duration when you complete the run.
Completing a run
Click Complete (available from Scheduled, In Progress, and Quality Check statuses). In the completion dialog:
- Enter the Actual Output Quantity — what you actually made.
- Confirm or adjust the Actual Quantity for each ingredient consumed.
- If the output product has lot tracking enabled, enter the Lot Number (required) and optional Expiry Date.
How ingredient quantities are calculated
| Quantity type | Planned qty at completion |
|---|---|
| Per unit produced | recipe quantity × (actual output ÷ recipe yield) |
| Per operator per hour | recipe quantity × operators × actual session hours |
| Per run (flat) | recipe quantity (unchanged) |
Session hours are calculated from the moment you clicked Start Run to the moment you click Complete.
Tracking operators and duration
After a run is completed, the detail page shows:
- Operators — how many people worked the session.
- Started — the exact date and time the run began.
- Duration — total session time in hours (calculated automatically).
These values feed into consumable calculations and are available in production reports for trend analysis.
COGS calculation
When COGS tracking is enabled, Iraca calculates cost at completion:
COGS = Σ (ingredient actual_qty × ingredient unit_cost)
+ (labour_cost_per_unit × actual_output)
+ (overhead_cost_per_unit × actual_output)The COGS per unit is stored on the production run and used in inventory valuation.
Cancelling a run
If a run is In Progress, cancelling it returns the WIP ingredient reservation back to stock. If a run is still Scheduled, cancellation simply removes it with no stock impact.
Draft runs
Runs created from the Recipe Studio batch calculator, or from certain import flows, may start as Draft. Use Promote to Scheduled to assign a lot number and move the run into the normal lifecycle.