Link a Manufacturing Resource to a user account

A Manufacturing Resource (also called a Team Member or Worker) is a person or machine that can be assigned to work orders, production builds, and operation steps. To use the Shop Floor Terminal or enter timesheets, a human resource must be linked to a user account.

This guide covers three ways to create that link: linking when creating a new user, linking an existing user to an existing resource, and creating a resource at the same time as a new user.

Who can set up resource-to-user links?

• A Firm Admin or user with User Admin permission can create and edit user accounts.
• The Manufacturing Resource section appears in the user form only when your company has the Bills of Material feature enabled.
• All resources and user accounts apply to the company (firm) selected after sign in.

Before you begin

1. Confirm your company has the Bills of Material feature enabled. Without it, the Manufacturing Resource section is hidden.
2. If you plan to link an existing resource, confirm the resource already exists under Manufacturing → Manufacturing Resources.
3. Confirm the entity (organization) has default labor GL accounts configured in Settings. These accounts are used when auto-creating a new resource.

Option 1: Link an existing user to an existing resource

Use this method when a user account already exists and you want to connect it to a resource that was created earlier.

1. Sign in and select your entity.
2. Open Setup → User Admin (or the Users screen).
3. Click the user you want to link.
4. Scroll to the Manufacturing Resource section.
5. If the user is already linked to a resource, the current resource name is shown.
6. From the dropdown, select the resource you want to link. Only resources that are not yet linked to another user appear in the list.
7. Select None (no link) to unlink the user from any resource.
8. Click Submit to save.

After saving, the user can sign in and use the Shop Floor Terminal, enter timesheets, and appear as the operator on any job they work on.

Option 2: Create a new user and a new resource at the same time

Use this method when you need both a new login and a new resource for the same person.

1. Sign in and select your entity.
2. Open Setup → User Admin.
3. Click Add User (or the New User button).
4. Fill in the username, full name, email, password, and entity access as usual.
5. Scroll to the Manufacturing Resource section.
6. Check the box labeled Also create a new Manufacturing Resource (Human Resource role).
7. Click Add User to save.

Versa creates the user account and a new Human Resource automatically:

• The resource name comes from the user's full name or username.
• The resource is assigned the Human Resource role.
• The resource is linked to the user's default entity.
• Default labor GL accounts are pulled from the entity's settings.
• The daily capacity defaults to 8 hours.

If the resource could not be created (for example, GL accounts are not set up), the user account is still created. You will see a message explaining the resource issue, and you can create the resource manually later.

Option 3: Create a resource first, then link it

This is the traditional method and gives you the most control over the resource details.

1. Create the resource under Manufacturing → Manufacturing Resources → New Resource. Fill in the name, role, GL accounts, and daily capacity.
2. The resource is created without a login.
3. Go to Setup → User Admin.
4. Edit the user you want to link (or create a new user).
5. In the Manufacturing Resource section, select the resource from the dropdown.
6. Save.

How to check if a user is linked

1. Open Setup → User Admin.
2. Click the user to open the edit form.
3. Scroll to the Manufacturing Resource section.
4. If a resource is linked, its name appears with a Currently linked to label.
5. If the dropdown shows None (no link), the user is not linked to a resource.

What changes when a resource is linked to a user

• The user can sign in and use the Shop Floor Terminal — timers, materials reporting, and scrap reporting all identify the user as the operator.
• The user can enter timesheets under their own name.
• The user appears in timesheet-only user lists if they have only the Timesheet permission.
• Unlinking a resource does not delete the resource or the user. It only removes the connection, so the user can no longer use the Shop Floor Terminal until re-linked.

If you do not see the Manufacturing Resource section

• The section is hidden: Your company does not have the Bills of Material feature enabled. Contact your Versa administrator or support to enable it.
• The dropdown is empty: No unlinked resources exist. Either create a resource first (Manufacturing Resources → New Resource), or use the "Also create a new Manufacturing Resource" checkbox when creating a new user.
• A resource is missing from the dropdown: The resource may already be linked to another user. Each resource can only be linked to one user at a time. Edit the other user and unlink it first.
• You see "Also create a new Manufacturing Resource" but it fails: Confirm the entity's Settings has default labor GL accounts configured. The resource needs a labor cost account to be valid.

Tips

• A resource can be linked to only one user at a time. To move a resource from one user to another, edit the first user and set the dropdown to None, then edit the second user and select the resource.
• Machine resources do not need user accounts. Only human resources who will log in need a link.
• If you are setting up multiple shop floor operators, Option 2 (create user + resource together) is the fastest path — one screen, one save.
• The resource's daily capacity can be edited later under Manufacturing Resources. It affects work center load calculations and time-spreading in the Record Time modal.

Related features

• Shop Floor Terminal — see the companion article Use the Shop Floor Terminal to run work orders and production builds.
• Work Centers — see Set up Work Centers for manufacturing resources and operations.
• Record Time — see Record time for resources assigned to work orders and production builds.

What this guide does not cover

• Creating work centers or assigning resources to work centers — see the Work Centers guide.
• Setting up operation sequences on a Bill of Material — see the BOM Operation Sequences guide.
• User permissions beyond the Manufacturing Resource link (general permissions are managed on the Permissions screen).