Documents & shipping
The last mile of a work order is paperwork and dispatch: the certificates that make the unit airworthy on paper, the QA review that catches problems before the box closes, and the Ship + consolidate action that ends the job.
The Certs & documents table
The Certs & documents section of the work order record lists every document attached to the job — type, file name, document number, review status, and upload date.
Screen: The “Certs & documents” section of a work order. A table with Type, File, Doc #, Status, and Uploaded columns. Rows show entries like CERT_8130_3 with a green “APPROVED” pill, or TRACE with an amber “PENDING_REVIEW” pill.
Document types cover the aviation paper trail — among them:
- 8130-3 — the FAA authorized release certificate.
- EASA Form 1 — the EASA equivalent.
- C of C (certificate of conformity), ATA 106, Material Cert, Trace.
- Test Report, Inspection, Teardown, Workscope, AD / SB, Packing Slip, Photo, and more.
Review status pills
Every document carries a review state — this is QA’s checklist surface:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
DRAFT | Just added; not yet submitted for review. |
PENDING_REVIEW | Waiting on QA — the amber pill to clear before release. |
APPROVED | Reviewed and accepted. |
REJECTED | Reviewed and refused — fix and re-submit. |
SUPERSEDED | Replaced by a newer version. |
Document status does not block the stage buttons — APEX will not stop a job moving to READY TO SHIP with a rejected 8130-3 attached. Make “every document APPROVED” your shop’s QA-stage exit rule and enforce it in the review, not the software.
APEX stores and tracks release certificates — it does not fill them out. Your authorized inspector issues the 8130-3 or EASA Form 1 as today, and the signed document is attached to the work order, where it rides along to the customer portal.
What QA reviews
The QA stage is the natural gate for the paper check. Before advancing to READY TO SHIP,
a solid routine is:
- Every certificate for the outbound unit is present in Certs & documents.
- Every document that needs review is APPROVED — no amber, no red.
- The Lines grid matches the work performed — QA is the last practical moment to fix charges, because shipping freezes the lines.
- The end item’s installed configuration (the Units · assembly table) reflects what is physically in the box.
The work order PDF
The View WO button in the record header downloads the work order as a PDF on your company letterhead: customer and customer PO, type, stage, priority, dates, ATA chapter, the work scope, the charge lines, and the billable total. Letterhead and layout come from Settings → Documents. The button is always available, at any stage — useful as a traveler, a quote attachment, or a pre-invoice summary.
Ship + consolidate
Shipping is the one lifecycle move with money attached, so it is a dedicated action — the Ship + consolidate button on the record header (and in the row peek drawer), never a stage button.
- Open the work order (or its peek drawer) and click Ship + consolidate.
- APEX finalizes the job in one step:
- The stage moves to
SHIPPED, with the ship date and closing date stamped. - A shipment record is created for the job.
- The end item is marked shipped, and the cost of every installed piece part is consolidated into it — an auditable cost roll-up.
- Revenue and cost of goods post to the books at the same moment. The BILLABLE and COGS figures on the header become final.
- The lines grid freezes.
- The stage moves to
- The toast confirms the WO number shipped.
A work order in SHIPPED refuses a second ship, and the SHIPPED stage button is never clickable — shipping only happens through Ship + consolidate. If the books cannot accept the posting (for example, the accounting period is closed), the ship is refused entirely — nothing half-happens.
What the customer sees
If the customer has portal access (invited from their record in the Customers module), the shipped work order is part of their self-service view:
- The work order with its status and a plain-language stage timeline — received, inspected, in work, shipped.
- The unit(s) delivered, by part number and serial.
- Their downloadable documents: the certificates attached to their work orders — the 8130-3 tag files — and their invoices.
The invoice itself is raised and managed in the Accounting module.
Roles: Any staff member with work order access can ship. Given the financial finality, most shops reserve the click for the supervisor or shipping lead — agree on the convention.