Materials are the extra items you take along on a removal, on top of your vehicle's standard equipment. Think of furniture hoists, roll containers, packing paper and blankets.
In this step you add all your materials so that you can later link them to jobs and keep track of who has what.
What counts as material and what doesn't?
Before you start entering data, it's important to understand what Bas means by "material". It refers to the extras - items you don't have in every vehicle as standard, but that you take along or reserve specifically for a job.
Counts as material
These are the items you register as material in Bas:
Material | Explanation |
Furniture hoist (GEDA) | Scheduled per job |
Roll container | Taken to a job and brought back |
Packing paper | Consumable you register per job |
Stretch wrap | Consumable |
Blankets | If provided separately on top of the standard vehicle equipment |
Driving plates | For protecting the floor or garden |
Doesn't count as material
These are items that are in your vehicle as standard. You don't need to register them as material:
Ratchet straps - Standard vehicle equipment
Keys and tools - Standard vehicle equipment
Crowd barriers - Standard vehicle equipment
Furniture sliders - Standard vehicle equipment
The rule of thumb is: if everyone on your team knows this belongs in the vehicle as standard, then it isn't material in Bas. Material is everything you plan as an extra for a specific job.
Step 1 - Opening the materials overview
Go to WMS > Material. Here you'll see an overview of all materials in the system. In a new environment, this overview is empty.
Click New material to add your first material.
Step 2 - Entering material details
Enter the following details for each material:
Field | What you enter | Example |
Name | A recognisable name | Roll container |
Purchase price | What you pay (excl. VAT) | EUR 150.00 |
Sale price | What the customer pays per use (excl. VAT) | EUR 25.00 |
Supplier | Who supplies this material | Example Packaging |
Setting prices
For materials you have two types of prices:
Purchase price - what the material cost you. Useful for depreciation and replacement planning.
Sale price - what you charge the customer for using it. For a roll container, for example, this is the hire price per job.
Tip: Not every material has a sale price. Blankets and driving plates are often not charged separately to the customer, but are included in the total price of the removal. In that case, only enter the purchase price for your own records.
Step 3 - Dimensions: enter them or not?
This is the most crucial point when adding materials. The question is simple but the consequences are significant: do you enter dimensions, or not?
The rule
Ask yourself: does this material take up loading space in the removal van?
Situation | Enter dimensions? | Example |
The material is filled with the customer's belongings | No | Roll container, crate |
The material itself takes up space | Yes | Driving plates, wooden crate (empty) |
The material is a consumable | No | Packing paper, stretch wrap, labels |
Why is this so important?
If you enter dimensions for a material, that material is included in the cubic volume calculation. The system then thinks: "This roll container takes up X m3 in the removal van."
But a roll container is precisely something that gets filled with the customer's belongings. The contents of the roll container are already counted as volume. If you also count the roll container itself, you're counting the volume twice.
Note: This is a critical pitfall. Don't enter any dimensions for materials that serve as containers and are filled with the customer's belongings. A roll container with dimensions in the system will produce an incorrect cubic volume calculation.
Step 4 - Linking a supplier
Just like with boxes, you link a supplier to your material. This gives you insight into your purchase costs and makes it possible to keep track of stock.
Click the + next to the Supplier field
Enter the supplier name
Optional: enter contact details
Click Save
If you've already created a supplier while entering boxes, you can simply select it here from the list.
Step 5 - Saving and repeating
Click Save. Your first material is now in the system.
Repeat steps 2 to 4 for every material you use. Go through your materials list and ask yourself for each item:
Is this an extra that I schedule per job? Then add it as material.
Is this standard vehicle equipment? Then don't add it.
Is it filled with the customer's belongings? Then don't enter dimensions.
The GEDA discussion: material or vehicle?
Almost every removal company runs into the same question: "Where do I register the furniture hoist (GEDA)?" The answer depends on how you use the GEDA.
Option 1: GEDA as material (recommended for most companies)
Choose this option if you: - Only want to record that the GEDA needs to go along to a job - Don't need capacity planning for the GEDA - Have one or two GEDAs
The GEDA then appears as material that you link to a job. Your team sees: "GEDA needed for this job." Done.
Option 2: GEDA as vehicle
Choose this option if you: - Have multiple GEDAs - Want to see in the schedule who gets which GEDA - Want capacity planning for your GEDAs
The GEDA then appears as its own row in the schedule (as type Vehicle, not as Truck).
The rule of thumb
"If it's not a point of contention, set it up under material."
Do you have one or two GEDAs and is it never a discussion who gets one? Then set it up as material. That's the simplest option.
Tip: Start with the GEDA as material. If you later find you do need capacity planning for it after all, you can still switch to the vehicle option.
Example: a typical materials list
Below is an example of a complete materials list:
Name | Dimensions | Purchase price | Sale price | Explanation |
Roll container | None | EUR 150.00 | EUR 25.00 | Gets filled, so no dimensions |
Furniture hoist (GEDA) | None | EUR 8,000.00 | EUR 150.00 | Registered as material |
Packing paper (roll) | None | EUR 15.00 | EUR 5.00 | Consumable |
Stretch wrap (roll) | None | EUR 8.00 | EUR 3.00 | Consumable |
Blankets (set of 10) | None | EUR 45.00 | -- | Not charged separately |
Driving plates (set of 4) | 200 x 80 x 3 cm | EUR 120.00 | EUR 35.00 | Does take up loading space |
Note that most materials don't have dimensions. Only the driving plates have dimensions because they take up loading space themselves and aren't filled with the customer's belongings.
Tips
Start with your 5-8 most used materials. You can always add more materials later.
Only register the extras. You don't need to add standard vehicle equipment (ratchet straps, tools).
Not sure about the GEDA? Choose material. For most companies, having the GEDA as material is enough.
Enter the purchase price for expensive materials. For a furniture hoist worth EUR 8,000 or a set of driving plates worth EUR 120, it's useful to register the purchase price.
Link the supplier straight away. Just like with boxes: get it right the first time.
Watch out for
Entering dimensions for materials you load in is the most critical mistake. A roll container with dimensions in the system causes an incorrect cubic volume calculation.
Registering standard vehicle equipment as material makes your materials list unnecessarily long. Ratchet straps, tools and crowd barriers don't belong there.
Registering the GEDA as a vehicle when you only have one adds unnecessary complexity to your schedule. In that case, choose material instead.
Not setting a sale price for materials you charge on means your staff won't see a price when they link material to a job.
Next step: Adding vehicles - add your removal vans and box trucks with dimensions and costs.