Marine dealers often sell and service a rig made up of multiple items, typically:
- A Boat / Hull
- One or more Motor(s)
- A Trailer
These items may be sold together as a package, serviced together on a single job, or moved, replaced, or sold independently over time.
The Rigs feature in ORION allows these related items to be grouped for sales and workshop workflows, while still maintaining accurate, item‑level service and invoice history.
What this feature supports
ORION provides the following capabilities when working with marine rigs:
- Grouping hulls, motors, and trailers into a single rig for sales
- Selling a rig as a package while posting individual items to a deal
- Using one workshop job and invoice while allocating work to specific rig items
- Capturing readings (for example engine hours) per motor
- Viewing invoice history for individual rig items, even when they were not the main job item
- Reporting on service history per rig item using Service History (Individual)
Understanding rigs in ORION
A rig is a logical grouping of related items. Each item still exists independently in ORION, with its own stock record and history, but the rig links them together for ease of use.
Typical behaviour:
- The Hull acts as the primary item
- Motors and trailers are treated as secondary items
- Items can be reconfigured or replaced without losing historical data
Using rigs in the Sales module
Creating and maintaining rigs
Rigs are managed in: Sales → Maintenance → Rigs
From here you can:
- Create a rig header
- Link the relevant sales items (hull, motor(s), trailer)
- Control the display order of items within the rig
The rig price shown here is for display only. Individual item prices are posted to the sales deal when the rig is sold.
{Screenshot placeholder: Rig setup screen}
Linking items to a rig during purchasing
Sales items can also be linked to a rig directly from: Add Stock Purchase Order Item
This is useful when ordering components that are already known to belong to a specific rig.
{Screenshot placeholder: Add Stock Purchase Order Item with rig link}
Selling a rig
When inserting a rig into a sales deal:
- The rig can be selected as a single package
- ORION automatically posts the individual items (hull, motor, trailer) onto the deal
- Each item retains its own pricing and stock behaviour
If an item is removed from a rig during a sale, ORION will prompt before breaking the relationship.
Recommended registration approach
To keep rig items grouped in listings and follow‑ups, it is recommended to:
- Assign the registration to the trailer
- Apply suffixes to the hull and motor(s)
Example:
- GR456 = Trailer
- GR456‑H = Hull
- GR456‑E = Engine
Using rigs in the Workshop
Rigs can also be created and maintained via: Workshop → Maintenance → Rigs
Existing items can be linked to a rig from Item Maintenance, allowing rigs to be built or corrected after sale.
Working with rigs on jobs
Choosing the main job item
The Hull should almost always be selected as the main job item.
This ensures:
- Consolidated invoice history remains with the hull
- Motors and trailers can be replaced or sold later without losing their own history
Linking job sections to rig items
Jobs, quotes, and invoices are structured into sections. Each section can be linked to a specific rig item.
This allows you to:
- Run a single job for the customer
- Allocate work to the correct item (for example, Motor service vs Trailer repair)
- Track service history per component
If no rig item is selected, the section defaults to the main job item.
{Screenshot placeholder: Job section with rig item selection}
Capturing readings per rig item
Each section supports an optional reading, such as engine hours.
Readings are stored against the selected rig item and flow through to service history reporting.
This is especially important for:
- Multi‑motor vessels
- Tracking motor lifecycle and usage accurately
{Screenshot placeholder: Section reading field}
Quick access to rig item details
From a job section, users can quickly open Item Maintenance for the linked rig item to:
- View engine numbers or attributes
- Review prior service history
- Maintain follow‑ups for that specific component
Invoice and service history behaviour
Invoice history
- Invoice history is consolidated against the main job item (typically the hull)
- Individual rig items do not appear as separate invoice headers unless they were the main job item
However, when viewing invoice history from a specific rig item, ORION will also include:
- Invoices where the item was linked via a job section
This ensures motors and trailers retain traceable invoice history even when not used as the main job item.
Service History (Individual) report
A dedicated report is available to view service history per rig item.
Service History (Individual):
- Shows only the sections where the selected item was linked
- Works whether the item was the main job item or not
- Is available from:
- The Reports menu
- The Print button on the Vehicle Maintenance screen
This report is ideal when:
- A motor is sold independently
- A customer requests proof of servicing for a specific component
- Reviewing history on multi‑motor vessels
{Screenshot placeholder: Service History (Individual) report}
Best practice for marine dealers
To get the best results when working with rigs:
- Keep the Hull as the primary job item
- Do not merge rig items into a single workshop item
- Use section‑level linking for motor and trailer work
- Capture readings consistently for motors
- Use Service History (Individual) when providing component‑level history
Summary
The Rigs feature allows marine dealers to manage complex, multi‑item assets without sacrificing accuracy or flexibility. By grouping items into rigs and linking work at the section level, ORION supports real‑world marine workflows while preserving both consolidated and item‑specific history.