"Patel Engineering Works," a small-scale manufacturer of custom machine parts, faced a problem common to many growing manufacturers: they didn't know their *true* cost per unit. They used Tally for their final accounting and GST, but the real business—production—was run on a complex web of Excel spreadsheets.
The Problem: Guesswork is Expensive
Mr. Rajesh Patel, the owner, was a brilliant engineer but was frustrated with his finances. He knew his raw material costs, but he was "guesstimating" his labor, overhead, and waste on every job. This led to critical errors:
- Inaccurate Quotes: He was losing bids by quoting too high and, worse, winning bids but *losing money* by quoting too low.
- Raw Material Chaos: His team would start a production run only to find they were out of a specific screw or bracket, as Tally's inventory wasn't linked to production.
- No Profit Visibility: He only knew if he was profitable at the *end of the quarter*, not on a per-job basis.
His Tally software could tell him what he *spent*, but not what a specific *job cost him*.
[Image of a complex, confusing Excel spreadsheet for job costing] Patel Engineering's old system: a mix of Tally reports and confusing spreadsheets.
The Solution: Real-Time Job Costing with Coinmate
Mr. Patel switched to Coinmate, and the impact was immediate. The first step was to digitize his "recipes" into Coinmate's **Bill of Materials (BOM)** feature.
Step 1: Defining the Bill of Materials (BOM)
For each finished product, his team entered the required components: 1x Steel Casing, 4x Rubber Gaskets, 8x M5 Bolts. They also added labor and overhead as "service items" to the BOM.
Step 2: Issuing a Production Order
Now, when a new job for 100 units came in, they created a single **Production Order**. Coinmate automatically did three things:
- Checked stock and warned them they were low on M5 Bolts.
- Consumed the required raw materials from inventory (800 bolts, 400 gaskets, etc.).
- Created a "Work-in-Progress" entry, showing the value of the materials in production.
Step 3: The "Magic" - Real-Time Job Costing
When the job was finished, they marked the Production Order as "Complete." Coinmate instantly calculated the **exact cost of production** by adding up the consumed materials, labor, and overhead from the BOM. For the first time, Mr. Patel could see: "This job for 100 units cost me exactly $1,204.50."
[Image of the Coinmate Production Order UI showing a completed cost breakdown] The Coinmate screen, showing an accurate, real-time cost per unit for the completed job.
The Result: 15% Cost Reduction and Accurate Quoting
The new visibility was transformative. Within two months, Mr. Patel had completely changed his operations.
- Accurate Quoting: He now quotes new jobs with 100% confidence, knowing his exact cost base. He started winning more (and more *profitable*) bids.
- Raw Material Control: The AI's "Stock-Out Risk" alert, now tied to production, stopped all mid-job panics.
- Cost Reduction: He analyzed his Job Cost reports and discovered one component was responsible for 40% of his cost. He found a new supplier, cutting his total production cost by **15%**.
"I Finally Know My True Profit Per Unit."
In Mr. Patel's own words: "Tally was just a calculator. Coinmate is a partner. I don't guess anymore. I know *exactly* which jobs make me money and which don't. The Bill of Materials feature alone is worth the price. I'm not just an engineer anymore; I'm a smart businessman."