An assembly is a product made from other products, Its recipe is the list of parts that go into it. For example, a Gift Box made from a mug and a ribbon.
Here is what this auto build feature does. The moment a customer ships an assembly to Amazon or Walmart, or sells one on an invoice, ConnectBooks automatically records the build behind the scenes. The parts go down, the finished product goes up, and the sale or shipment comes out of the assembly item, instead of pushing the parts negative. It is optional and stays off until the customer turns it on.
The 2 settings
Find both under Stores & Files, then Inventory Files, then open your file, then File Settings, then Inventory & Warehouse. They work independently, both start off, and both need Assemblies enabled for the file first.
Auto Build Assemblies on Shipments. Builds when an assembly is sent to Amazon FBA or Walmart WFS on a transfer shipment. Also needs shipment transfers turned on.
Auto Build Assemblies on Invoices. Builds when an assembly is sold on a customer invoice.
When it builds, and when it does not
It builds when the assembly is sold on an active invoice, or shipped to FBA or WFS. If the customer later changes the quantity, the build changes to match. If they swap the assembly for a different one, the old build is replaced.
It does not build when the setting is off, when the invoice is still a draft (drafts do nothing until the customer makes them active), on a credit memo or return, or when the recipe is broken. A recipe counts as broken if it has no parts, or one of its parts is turned off or is not tracked as stock.
It undoes the build if the customer removes the line, deletes the invoice, changes the item to something that is not a kit, or sets the quantity to zero. In other words, if the sale goes away, the build goes away too.
Why fractions does not work
A build has to be a whole number, because you cannot pack half a Gift Box. So if a customer sells 2.5 of a kit, ConnectBooks skips it rather than guess. It will not round it up or down. As soon as the number is whole, it builds.
One exception is when the unit itself holds a whole number of items. Say your assembly is a Case of 4 Mugs. If a customer sells 0.5 cases, that works out to 2 whole mugs, so the build goes through. The rule is really about the finished items being whole, not the number on the line.
Quick scenarios
What the customer does | What happens | Why |
Sells 10 assemblies on an active invoice | Builds 10 | setting is on, recipe good, whole number. |
Saves the invoice as a draft | Nothing yet | Drafts wait until made active. |
Changes 10 to 15 | Build changes to 15 | The build follows the sale. |
Sells 2.5 of an assembly | Nothing | Cannot build half a kit. |
Deletes the invoice | Build is undone | No sale, no build. |
Issues a credit memo | Nothing | This works on invoices, not returns. |
Turns the switch off, then edits an old invoice | Nothing changes | Off means ConnectBooks stops touching that file. |
A few things to know
If they turn it off later. ConnectBooks stops making, changing, or undoing builds for that file. Anything it already built stays as is, and the customer can manage it by hand.
Locked or closed periods. A build in a closed period follows the same password rule as the invoice. If the customer can edit the invoice, the build goes along with it.
What they will see. A new build shows up, tied to the invoice or shipment. Their parts go down, their finished kits go up, and the sale comes out of real stock.
Frequently asked questions
My stock went negative after I sold a kit.
That means Auto Build was off, so the sale used up kits that were never made. Turn on the invoice or shipment switch and ConnectBooks will make the kit from its parts at the point of sale. This fixes new sales going forward. Anything already negative still needs a build by hand.
I sold more assemblies than I had parts for, and now my parts are negative.
That is expected, and the build still happened. Auto Build makes the assembly at the point of sale no matter how many parts you have on hand, so if you sell 10 kits but only had parts for 6, it builds all 10 and your parts drop to negative 4. It will not stop at 6 or skip the sale. Think of the negative as a flag telling you to buy or receive more parts to catch up. Once you bring the parts back in, your counts settle back to real numbers.
I sold 2.5 of a kit and nothing was built.
That is expected. A build has to be a whole number, so ConnectBooks skips 2.5 rather than round it. Change it to a whole number and it will build.
I turned it on but nothing builds.
Check 4 things: Assemblies is enabled, the invoice is active and not a draft, the recipe is complete and all parts are active, and the quantity is a whole number. For shipments, also confirm shipment transfers are on.
There is a build I did not create.
That is Auto Build doing its job, tied to the invoice or shipment that triggered it. ConnectBooks only manages the builds it made, and never touches the ones you made yourself.
Does it work for returns or credit memos?
No. It works on invoices and shipments only.