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Manufacturers

Manufacturers

Overview

The Manufacturers screen maintains the catalog of brands used by Asset models and Assets. Every asset model must name a manufacturer, and every asset can have its own (the model's is used as the default). Keeping this catalog tidy avoids duplicate brands and makes reporting by brand straightforward.

How to get there

Master > Manufacturers

Direct URL: /master/manufacturers

Key concepts

Term Definition
Manufacturer The brand or supplier that makes the asset (for example Dell, Toyota, Generic).
Code The manufacturer's unique identifier within the company. It cannot be changed once created.
Generic manufacturer A record used when an asset type spans several brands and telling them apart does not matter.
Active (status) Inactive manufacturers stay on existing records but no longer appear as an option on new forms.

How to use it

Create a manufacturer

  1. Click New in the top bar.
  2. In the New Manufacturer dialog, fill in:
    • Code (required): the unique identifier. It cannot be changed later.
    • Name (required): the brand's trading name.
    • Website (optional): the manufacturer's web address, in https://... form.
    • Notes (optional): free text.
    • Active: ticked by default.
  3. Click Save.

Edit a manufacturer

  1. Click the record's Code in the table, or use Edit from the context menu (right-click).
  2. The Code field is disabled: it is not editable.
  3. Adjust the details and click Save.

Delete manufacturers

  • One at a time: right-click the row, choose Delete, and confirm.
  • Several at once: tick the row checkboxes; the top bar button reads Delete (N). Click it and confirm.

If the manufacturer is in use by models or Assets, the system refuses to delete it. In that case, untick Active to take it out of the lists without losing the history.

Automatic import

When you import Asset models from CSV, manufacturers that do not exist are created automatically with the name given in the file. Review the catalog after a large import to consolidate duplicates.

Fields

Field Type Required Description Validation
Code Text Yes The manufacturer's unique identifier. Entered only at creation. Cannot be empty; must be unique within the company.
Name Text Yes The brand's trading name. Cannot be empty.
Website Text No The manufacturer's web address. Shown as a link in the table. None.
Notes Text (multiline) No Internal remarks. None.
Active Checkbox No Enables the manufacturer for new records. None.

Table columns

Column Description
Code The manufacturer's code. Click it to edit.
Name Trading name.
Website Link to the manufacturer's site.
Active The record's status.

Permissions

Action Permission
View the screen Manufacturers.View
Create Manufacturers.Create
Edit Manufacturers.Edit
Delete Manufacturers.Delete

Administrators hold every permission.

Troubleshooting

Symptom Likely cause Resolution
Access denied appears. The Manufacturers.View permission is missing. Ask your administrator for it.
The manufacturer cannot be deleted. It is assigned to Asset models or Assets. Reassign those records to another brand, or untick Active.
The manufacturer does not appear when creating a model. The record is inactive or belongs to another company. Tick Active and check the active company.
Duplicate brands appear after an import. The asset model import creates missing manufacturers using the name in the CSV file. Consolidate the brands and delete the ones not in use.

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