Ingredient picking records the material you take from the shelves for a manufacturing order (MO). A pick takes that stock out of inventory for the order on the pick date. When products are finished, you complete the order in one go or in parts, and each completion uses the material picked for it, never anything else from stock.
Use ingredient picking when you want to:
prepare material ahead of production, for example on a cart for one MO or for the part you will make first, and know that no other order can use it anymore;
keep stock in Katana equal to what is still on the shelves, not what already sits at the workbench;
record what production actually consumed: each completion uses what was picked for it, and what wasn't used goes back to stock.
Note: Ingredient picking is part of the Manufacturing Management add-on (or the legacy Advanced Manufacturing add-on). Pricing and plan details are available on our Pricing page.
How picking changes a manufacturing order
Five rules explain almost every question about picking:
A pick takes stock out of inventory. It isn't a reservation: from the pick date the material counts as used for that order, and other orders can't use it.
Completions never pick. A partial or final completion uses only what is picked for the order, and never more than is picked. To use more, pick it first.
The order uses its actual quantities. Picking more than needed raises an ingredient's actual quantity to match. If less was used, lower the actual quantity on the MO, or Consuming now at the final completion: what was picked above it goes back to stock on the completion date, latest pick first.
Putting material back depends on when it happens. To correct a pick, or to put material back before or during production, undo the pick: it is deleted as if it never happened. When you finish the order, lower what was used: the leftovers go back to stock on the completion date, as a stock movement of that order.
Make-to-order deliveries ship up to what is made. Delivering the full quantity of a fully picked order completes it, also after partial completions; anything in between waits until you complete it on the MO.
Before you start
Ingredient picking is turned on for the whole company:
Open the profile menu in the top-right corner and go to Settings > Manufacturing.
Turn on Picking ingredients for manufacturing.
Read the two warnings in the dialog (kits and bundles, make-to-order deliveries), then click Turn on.
Picking is a company-wide setting. Check these before you turn it on:
What | With ingredient picking |
Ingredients | Leave stock when picked. Partial and final completions use only the picked material. |
Open MOs | Nothing is picked yet. Pick ingredients on each MO before you complete it. |
Make-to-order | A delivery ships up to what the linked MO has made. Delivering the full quantity of a fully picked MO completes it. A delivery in between is refused in Katana until you complete the rest on the MO. |
Sales channel orders | A shipment from a connected sales channel is never blocked. If the linked MO isn't fully picked or has made too little, the MO is unlinked from the sales order instead. |
Kits and bundles | Not supported: the sales order completes them, and nothing picks their ingredients. |
Tip: Turn on Negative stock prevention and, for batch- and serial-tracked ingredients, Negative stock prevention (traced stock) in Settings > Inventory management > Preferences. A pick that would take stock or a batch below zero is then refused. The first checks only an item's total, so it can't stop a pick from a batch that is empty.
Turning picking off. Unticking the setting asks first. Unused picks on open MOs go back to stock, and completions take ingredients from stock again. Picks already used by completions stay as they are.
Picking ingredients for an MO
Open the MO from the Make screen.
Click Pick ingredients above the Ingredients table. The dialog lists every ingredient with Needed (the actual quantity, or the plan when none is set), what's already picked, and Picking now: what's left to pick.
Change Picking now on any row to what you actually took. To pick only part of the order, lower the quantities. Reset to what's left in the table toolbar undoes your changes. If you take more than needed, the dialog warns More than needed, and the ingredient's actual quantity rises to match.
For batch-tracked ingredients, expand the row and choose the batches you took; each batch shows how much of it is available. Rows that still need a batch show as untraced. If your location uses storage bins, choose the bin too.
Click Pick. The stock leaves inventory for this order, dated now.
If stock doesn't cover a row, the row shows how much is short, and Pick is refused: This pick can't be recorded: 2 rows don't have enough stock. Change the marked rows and try again. Pick what's in stock now and the rest when it arrives. The MO card warns about the same rows before you open the dialog: Not enough stock for some rows. Picking will take stock below zero — review the marked rows.
After the pick, a status next to the Ingredients table shows Partially picked or Fully picked, measured against each ingredient's actual quantity, or its plan when none is set. The table gains Picked, Remaining to pick and Picked, unused for each ingredient. Click Pick ingredients again whenever you take more.
The Picked tab
Every pick is kept as a record on the MO's Picked tab, grouped by when it was picked, newest first: Picked 2026-10-28 09:40 · 4 items. Each row shows the item, the picked quantity, the batches and bins it came from, and its cost.
Used on shows the completion that used the pick. A pick no completion has used yet shows Not used.
When a partial completion uses only part of a pick, the pick splits into the part that was used and the part still waiting, so one item can have two rows. The group still counts it as one item.
What a final completion gave back to stock is listed on top, under Returned to stock with the completion's date and time. See Completing the order below.
Tip: To correct the batch or bin of a pick, or the batch, serial number or bin of a return, expand its row on the Picked tab and change it there. A change of bin alone is saved too.
Undoing a pick
Undo a pick to correct it (the wrong batch, the wrong item, more than the order needs) or to put material back on the shelf before the order is finished, for example when the order is postponed. An undone pick is deleted as if it never happened. It disappears from the order and from the stock history, and stock levels from the pick date onwards are recalculated.
Open the MO and go to the Picked tab.
Click Undo pick at the end of the row you want to undo.
Check the item, quantity and pick date in the confirmation, then click Undo pick.
To undo everything picked for an order that no completion has used yet, for example when the order is postponed, click Undo unused picks above the pick list instead. The confirmation lists what goes back to stock per item; confirm with Undo picks.
Note: A pick stays picked when a completion has used it, when its parts are linked to a product's serial number (unlink them on the Traceability tab first), or when it is dated in a closed inventory period. Undo pick isn't offered on these, and Undo unused picks leaves them out.
Tip: Which one to use depends on when the material goes back. To correct a pick, or to put material back ahead of time, before or during production, undo the pick. Leftovers you carry back when the order is finished are returned by the completion: lower the used quantity, and Katana books the rest back to stock on the completion date, linked to the order. See Completing the order below.
Completing the order in parts
Complete part of the order whenever some products are finished, for example to ship them or to free up floor space. Each partial completion uses only material that is picked and not yet used.
Set the MO status to Partially complete. The dialog Complete part of {MO number} opens.
On the Product step, the line under the product name shows Planned · Completed · Left for the order. Enter the Completed quantity and Completed date (batch and expiry too for batch-tracked products). The helper under the quantity shows where the order will stand, for example After this: 8 of 10 pcs. Click Next.
On the Ingredients step, Consuming now is filled in with the recipe share for that quantity, from what's picked, and each row uses the picked batches first. Change any row or batch that differs from what was actually used.
Click Complete partially.
A row can't use more than is picked. Typing more shows Only {quantity} picked on that row. When the completion needs more than is picked, the dialog says how many ingredients are short and offers Pick the rest: it closes the completion and opens the pick dialog. Start the completion again after picking.
If the product has production operations, partial and final completions end with an Operations step. It shows the planned time for the quantity you complete; change any row to the time actually spent.
The completion appears on the Completed tab as Partially completed on {date}, with its quantity, one row per ingredient and its costs. On the Picked tab, the picks it used now show the completion under Used on.
To undo a completion, click Revert on it on the Completed tab. Its products leave stock, and its ingredients go back to picked, not to stock: they are still at the workbench.
Completing the order
Set the MO status to Done. The dialog Complete {MO number} opens.
On the Product step, the quantity is filled in with what's left to make. Change it if you made more or fewer, then click Next.
The Ingredients step shows each ingredient's Planned, Consumed (by earlier partial completions), Picked, unused and Consuming now. Consuming now is filled in with what's left, from what's picked.
If you used less than you picked, lower Consuming now. The difference shows under Returning to stock and goes back to stock when you complete. It is taken from the latest pick first, so it returns the batch you picked last.
Click Complete.
What happens next:
The order is Done. The Completed tab shows the last completion as Completed on {date}, with one net row per ingredient (what was used) and, under it, Returned to stock: {item} {quantity} · {batch} — edit on the Picked tab.
The Picked tab lists the return on top under Returned to stock, with positive quantities. Katana returns the latest pick first. If the batch or serial number that actually went back is a different one, change it on the return there, like any other batch or serial number assignment. The choices are what was picked for this order. If your location uses storage bins, a return has no bin until you set it there: choose the bin it went back to.
The return is a stock movement on the completion date, named after the order ({MO number} · returned unused).
Tip: If the order made fewer products than planned, the dialog says so: Made {made} of {planned}. Lower Used if less was consumed.
When not everything is picked
If you set an MO to Done before all its ingredients are picked, the dialog Complete {MO number} first shows what is still missing, with Needed, Picked and Picking now per ingredient, and the warning Not everything is picked. Pick the rest, or finish with what's picked as the used quantity.
Pick and finish picks what's left, then completes the order.
Finish with what's picked completes the order with only the material picked so far as the used quantity. The rest of the plan is dropped. When the picked material can't cover the products you are completing, the dialog stops at the Product step and says how many it covers, for example Picked ingredients cover 2 of 6 pcs: Aluminium frame 2 of 6 pcs. Enter what was really made and confirm.
Tip: Finish with what's picked treats everything picked as used. If you made fewer products and used less, lower the ingredients' actual quantities on the MO first, then set it to Done.
Note: You can also set several MOs to Done from the Make screen. The summary sorts them into ready and not fully picked. Ready orders are completed now. The others open one at a time, each with the same pick step; Cancel skips that order only.
Make-to-order sales orders
With picking on, a delivery of a make-to-order sales order row ships what the linked MO has made. In the sales order's Deliver dialog, the production column shows how many are made, and +{n} to complete when the delivery will complete the MO.
You deliver | What happens |
Up to what the MO has made | The products ship. The MO stays open. |
The full quantity, MO fully picked | The MO is completed from its picks, also after partial completions, and the products ship. |
The full quantity, MO not fully picked | Refused: MO isn't fully picked. Pick the rest on the MO first. |
More than made, less than the full quantity | Refused: MO hasn't produced enough. Complete part of the MO first. |
Why a delivery doesn't complete the MO for you. With picking, what was taken from the shelves can differ from the plan: a batch swapped, a part short, more used than planned. A completion records what production consumed and what it cost, so Katana lets a delivery complete an MO only when the picks already say it: everything is picked and the whole order ships. In every other case the completion has to be confirmed on the MO, by someone who knows what was made and used. Completing it silently from a delivery would book consumption nobody checked and hide a wrong record behind a shipped order.
A shipment from a connected sales channel is never blocked: in the last two cases the MO is unlinked from the sales order row instead, and the row ships like any row without a linked MO.
Stock and costs at each step
Picking moves ingredient stock; completions move product stock and record the cost.
Step | Ingredient stock | Product stock | Cost |
Pick | Down on the pick date, from the batches and bins picked. | No change. | Not in a production cost yet. |
Partial completion | No change: the material already left stock when picked. | Up by the completed quantity. | The picked material it used plus its operations, on the Completed tab. |
Revert a completion | No change: its material goes back to picked. | Down by its quantity. | Its production cost is removed. |
Final completion | No change for what is used. | Up by the quantity made. | Material used plus operations. The product's average cost updates. |
Material returned at completion | Up on the completion date, same batch, latest pick first. No bin until you set it. | No change. | The final completion costs less by the returned material. |
Undo pick | Back as of the pick date; later stock levels are recalculated. | No change. | None: the pick is deleted. |
Turn picking off | Unused picks on open MOs go back to stock. | No change. | None. |
Example: an e-bike whose recipe costs 452.45 per bike plus 50.00 of operations, made 2 at a time. Each partial completion of 2 costs 1,004.90. At the final completion 1 m of brake cable (1.50) and 0.04 kg of grease (0.96) were returned, so the final 2 bikes cost 1,002.44, and the order 2,007.34.
Common situations
Situation | What to do |
Some material hasn't arrived yet | Pick what's in stock now. Click Pick ingredients again when the rest arrives. |
Part of the order is finished and a customer is waiting | Partially complete the MO with the finished quantity, then deliver it. |
You picked the wrong batch or bin | Change it on the pick's row on the Picked tab. |
You picked the wrong item or far too much | Undo pick on that row. It disappears as if it never happened. |
The order is postponed or cancelled | Undo unused picks. Everything no completion used goes back to stock. |
Production used less than was picked | Lower Consuming now when you set the MO to Done. The rest goes back to stock. |
Production needs more than was picked | Pick the extra first. A completion never takes material that isn't picked. |
You finish early with what's at the workbench | Done > Finish with what's picked, and enter how many products were really made. |
A completion was recorded by mistake | Revert it on the Completed tab. Its material goes back to picked. |
Frequently asked questions
Is picking a reservation? No. A pick takes the stock out of inventory for that MO on the pick date. Other orders can't use it, and it no longer counts as in stock.
Should I undo a pick or return the material at completion? It depends on when the material goes back to the shelf. To correct a pick, or to put material back ahead of time, before or during production, undo the pick: it is deleted as if it never happened, and stock is recalculated from the pick date. Leftovers after production are returned when you complete the order with the lower used quantity, recorded as a stock movement on the completion date.
Can I pick ingredients for a date in a closed inventory period? No. Picks, undone picks and completions can't be dated in a closed inventory period.
Why can't I undo a pick of a batch or serial number? Its parts may be linked to a product's serial number. Unlink them on the MO's Traceability tab first.
What happens to make-to-order sales orders? A delivery ships what the linked MO has made. Delivering the full quantity of a fully picked MO completes it, also after partial completions. Anything in between is refused until you complete more on the MO. See Make-to-order sales orders above.
Why doesn't Katana complete the MO when I deliver the sales order? It does when the MO is fully picked and the full quantity ships, because the picks already record what was used. Otherwise the picks may differ from the plan, so the completion is left for someone to confirm on the MO instead of being booked unchecked.
Does Katana return unused material automatically? Yes, whatever was picked above an ingredient's actual quantity goes back to stock when the order is done. Picking more raises the actual quantity, so lower it on the MO, or lower Consuming now at the final completion, when less was used.
Can a completion use material that isn't picked? No. Pick it first. In the completion dialog, Pick the rest opens the pick dialog for the order.
Why does the Completed tab show one row for an item I picked several times? The Completed tab shows what each completion used, net, one row per ingredient. The single picks, with their batches and bins, are on the Picked tab.
Why did returned material go to no bin? Katana doesn't know which shelf it went back to. Choose the bin on the return's row on the Picked tab.
Can I turn picking off later? Yes. Katana asks first: unused picks on open MOs go back to stock, and completions take ingredients from stock again. Picks already used by completions stay as they are.
Related articles
Partially completing a manufacturing order (MO) (accounts without picking)
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