Update entity settings
Configure the operating rules and customer enforcement statuses that govern the manufacturing site you have selected in Bulk.
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In Bulk, an entity is a single manufacturing site: one plant or location inside your organization. Entity settings control how that one site handles work: what it requires before an inbound document can start, how it counts quantities on new jobs, and how it restricts work for individual customers. An inbound document is a piece of customer paperwork (for example a purchase order or a drawing) that arrives into Bulk and is processed into production work.
Every value on this page applies only to the entity you currently have selected. An organization that runs several plants can therefore give each plant its own rules: one site can insist on quantity 1 per job while another counts real batch quantities, and each site can hold a shared customer independently.
Use this page when you are setting up a new site, or when a site's document policy, job-quantity model, or customer-hold rules need to change.
Before you begin
- Select the correct site first. The settings you change apply to the entity shown in the page subtitle, not to your whole organization. Switch sites from the entity selector before you make changes if you manage more than one plant.
- You need a role that can configure entity settings. By default the Super user, Entity admin, and Manager roles can change these settings. Other roles that can open Settings: such as Invoicing or Dashboards: can view the page but cannot save changes. See Roles and permissions for how these grants work.
- Operating-rule switches save when changed. Confirm the site and review the existing policy before changing a switch. Customer status forms save only when you select their create or save action.
Open entity settings
Go to Settings → Entity → Settings. In the current navigation this entry is labelled Settings, without a Beta badge. The page header reads Settings, and the subtitle names the site you are configuring: for example, "Configure operating rules for Gotham Applied Sciences".
The page has two tabs:
- Operating rules: document and job behaviour for the site.
- Customer statuses: rules that gate work for individual customers.
Operating rules
The current tab groups six switches under Inbound, Jobs, Processes and Workstation. Each switch saves when changed. There is no separate Save changes or Reset footer.
Inbound requirements
- Require PDF: when on, a PDF must be attached before a new inbound document can be created. Turn it off to allow a draft without a PDF.
- Require a part: inbound items need a part before they can be marked ready.
- Require a process: inbound items need a process before jobs are created.
New sites start with these three requirements on.
Job quantities
Always quantity 1 makes new inbound items and production jobs use quantity 1 and prevents editing the job quantity. Leave it off to use the entered quantity, for example when producing counted batches. The default is off.
Process cycles
Require cycles makes every process have at least one active cycle. When it is on, new processes are created with their first cycle, and the last active cycle of a process cannot be deleted or made inactive. Existing processes without a cycle are flagged in the process list so you can add one. The default is off. See processes.
Workstation logout
Allow stop on logout makes the logout confirmation offer stopping eligible running timers. Turn it off to keep those timers running when someone logs out. The default is on.
Changes require the entity operating-rules configuration permission and are recorded for audit. See activity logs.
Customer statuses
A customer status is a named policy: such as "Invoice hold": that restricts what your team can do for any customer it is assigned to. Each status sets an effect for five operations, and Bulk enforces those effects when someone tries to create or advance that customer's work.
The three effects are:
- Allow: no restriction.
- Warn: the action is allowed, but the user sees a warning first.
- Block: the action is prevented, and the user sees an explanation.
The five operations, shown as the columns of the Enforcement matrix, are Inbound submit, Production creation, Invoice draft, Invoice issue / send, and Customer delivery. Invoice issue / send and Customer delivery accept Allow or Block only: they have no Warn option.
Add a status from a preset
The Preset starters section offers four ready-made setups. Select one to add it to your matrix:
- No limitations: no extra restrictions for the customer.
- Invoice hold: production and draft invoices are allowed with a warning; invoice issue, send, and customer delivery are blocked.
- Production stop: inbound work can stay in draft, but production jobs and orders are blocked.
- All stop: inbound submit, production, invoice drafts, invoice issue, send, and customer delivery are all blocked.
A preset that you have already added is marked Created and cannot be added again; edit it from the matrix instead.
Create or edit a status
Select Create status to open the form inside the Customer statuses tab. To edit an existing status, open its row context menu and choose Edit status. The form contains:
- Name and an optional Description explaining when the policy applies.
- Operation rules with an Allow / Warn / Block choice for each operation. Invoice issue/send and Customer delivery offer only Allow and Block.
Select Create status, or Save changes when editing, to save the policy. Cancel discards the unsaved form. To remove a saved status, open its row context menu, choose Delete, and review the confirmation. Deletion archives the status; customers keep their assignment until you change it.
Defining a status here does not restrict anyone on its own. A status only takes effect once it is assigned to a customer, which you do on the Customers master-data page. After assignment, Bulk evaluates the status whenever someone creates or advances that customer's work.
Example: Gotham Applied Sciences
A Wayne Enterprises administrator plans an Account review status for accounts that need checking before invoice issue or customer delivery. They can allow inbound submission, warn when production or invoice drafts are created, and block invoice issue and customer delivery.
The matrix shows two saved status templates. The filled Account review form below is a separate unsaved draft. Cancel discards that draft, and none of these example statuses is assigned to a customer. A saved policy takes effect only when it is assigned to a customer on the Customers page.
Expected result
Your operating-rule changes take effect immediately for the selected site: new inbound documents and jobs follow the PDF and quantity rules you saved. Customer statuses you create appear in the enforcement matrix and begin gating work as soon as they are assigned to a customer. All changes are scoped to the entity in the page subtitle and leave your other sites untouched.
Changes and permissions
The current design does not lock operating rules or customer statuses merely because the site already has production jobs. There is no production-job lock notice or Contact support footer. Backend permissions still control who can save changes.
Check the site before changing a rule
Operating-rule switches save immediately. Customer status forms require an explicit create or save action. Cancel a status form if you only want to review possible rules.
Troubleshooting
- Saving fails with a permission message. Your role can view entity settings but not change them. Ask a Super user, Entity admin, or Manager to make the change.
- A preset is greyed out and marked "Created". You have already added that preset. Edit the matching status from the enforcement matrix rather than adding it again.
- You cannot set "Warn" for invoice issue / send or customer delivery. Those two operations are Allow or Block only by design; there is no Warn option for them.
Related
- Entity settings overview
- Configure an invoicing profile
- Configure invoice fields
- Customers: assign a status to a customer
- Manage sites (entities)
Entity settings
The per-site settings that control how one entity handles inbound documents, production jobs, customer gating, and the invoices and credit notes it issues.
Configure an invoicing profile
Set the seller identity, invoice timing, approval policy, and post-issue confirmation that Bulk freezes onto each invoice and credit note an entity issues.