Manufacturing Variance Analysis Report by LucidBrainz is a comprehensive cost control solution for Odoo 18 that automatically compares estimated vs actual manufacturing costs across three critical categories: Direct Materials, Direct Labor, and Manufacturing Overhead. Say goodbye to manual variance calculations and spreadsheet chaos! This intelligent module helps you identify cost overruns and savings in real-time, track manufacturing efficiency, analyze budget vs actual spending, and generate professional Excel & PDF reports with color-coded variance analysis. Perfect for manufacturing managers, cost accountants, production controllers, CFOs and financial analysts, quality assurance teams, operations directors, plant managers, and any organization that needs accurate cost tracking, budget monitoring, variance analysis, or manufacturing performance reporting. The module features flexible date range filtering, automatic variance calculations, dual-format reporting (Excel & PDF), color-coded sections for easy identification, completed manufacturing order analysis, real-time cost comparisons, detailed totals and summaries, professional formatted reports, and seamless integration with Odoo MRP module. It intelligently analyzes nine critical cost metrics per manufacturing order: (1) Estimated Direct Material vs (2) Actual Direct Material = (3) Material Variance, (4) Estimated Direct Labor vs (5) Actual Direct Labor = (6) Labor Variance, (7) Estimated Manufacturing Overhead vs (8) Actual Manufacturing Overhead = (9) Overhead Variance. The system gives you complete visibility into manufacturing costs through a simple wizard interface with date selection and report type choice, allowing you to generate comprehensive variance reports showing which manufacturing orders exceeded budgets or achieved cost savings. When you generate a report, the module automatically compiles all completed manufacturing orders within your selected date range, showing MO numbers, all nine cost metrics, variance amounts (positive = savings, negative = overrun), and grand totals for each category, presenting everything in a beautifully formatted Excel spreadsheet with color-coded sections (beige for materials, blue for labor, gray for overhead), bordered cells, professional formatting, and date range information at the top. The PDF version includes your company logo and professional layout using QWeb templates. Ideal for businesses that want to reduce manufacturing costs by 15-20%, identify cost control opportunities, track budget compliance, analyze production efficiency, monitor labor productivity, control material waste, optimize overhead allocation, improve cost estimation accuracy, and make data-driven manufacturing decisions for continuous improvement!

• Three-Way Variance Analysis: Comprehensive cost tracking across Direct Material, Direct Labor, and Manufacturing Overhead. Compare estimated vs actual costs for all three categories in a single unified report
• Manufacturing Order Tracking: Analyzes all completed manufacturing orders (state = 'done') within selected date range. Filters by date_start field ensuring accurate period-based reporting
• Flexible Date Range Selection: "Date From" and "Date To" fields allow analysis of any time period - weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly, or custom ranges. Perfect for periodic cost reviews and budget meetings
• Dual Format Reports: Generate reports in Excel (XLS) or PDF format. Excel version with professional formatting, color-coding, borders, and proper column widths. PDF version with company logo and QWeb templates
• Color-Coded Sections: Visual distinction between cost categories - Beige background for Direct Material (#f5f5dc), Light Blue for Direct Labor (#add8e6), Gray for Manufacturing Overhead (#dcdcdc)
• Comprehensive Data Table: 10-column layout showing: Manufacturing Order, Estimated/Actual/Variance for Materials, Estimated/Actual/Variance for Labor, Estimated/Actual/Variance for Overhead
• Automatic Variance Calculation: System automatically calculates variance = estimated - actual for each category. Positive variance = cost savings, Negative variance = cost overrun
• Grand Totals Row: Bold formatted totals at bottom showing sum of all manufacturing orders for each column. Includes variance totals for quick assessment of overall performance
• Real-Time Cost Data: Pulls current values from mrp.production model fields. Displays actual costs incurred and estimated costs planned at report generation time
• Completed Orders Only: Filters manufacturing orders by state='done' ensuring variance analysis only for finished production. Excludes draft, planned, or in-progress orders
• Nine Key Metrics: Tracks total_estimated_direct_material, total_actual_direct_material, variance_direct_material, total_estimated_labour, total_actual_labour, variance_labour, total_estimated_moh, total_actual_moh, variance_moh
• Simple Wizard Interface: Clean popup form with just 3 fields - Date From, Date To, Report Type (XLS/PDF radio buttons). Fill details and click "Print" button to generate report instantly
• Instant Excel Download: Excel report generates and downloads immediately via URL route. No background processing. XLSX file ready to open in Excel, LibreOffice, or Google Sheets
• Professional PDF Reports: QWeb-based PDF with company header, external layout inheritance, centered title, date range display, and formatted variance table with color-coded column groups
• XLSXWRITER Integration: Uses xlsxwriter Python library for advanced Excel formatting. Features: add_format(), merge_range(), set_column(), write(), num_format_str='#,##0.00'
• Multiple Format Styles: Excel formats defined for: TABLE_HEADER (title), header_format (column headers), head1/2/3_format (color sections), total_format (totals row), STYLE_LINE_Data (data cells)
• Custom Column Widths: Excel columns set to optimal widths - Column A (MO number) = 40 pixels wide, Columns B-J (cost data) = 25 pixels wide. Proper cell alignment and wrapping
• Company Name Header: Top row shows company name (self.env.company.name) in bold header format. Excel row 1 displays organization name for report identification
• Date Range Display: Excel shows "From: date_from" and "To: date_to" in row 2. Both Excel and PDF prominently display analysis period for context
• Number Formatting: All cost values formatted as '#,##0.00' (thousand separators with 2 decimal places). QWeb uses t-options='{"widget": "float", "precision": 2}'
• TransientModel Wizard: variance.report uses TransientModel (temporary records auto-deleted after use). Keeps database clean, no permanent wizard data storage
• Clean Model Structure: AbstractModel for report generation (report.alma_reports.report_variances), TransientModel for wizard (variance.report). Proper Odoo reporting patterns
• Well-Organized Code: Separate folders for wizard/, report/, views/. Clear method names: get_report_data(), action_print_pdf(), action_print_excel_file(), action_print()
• Easy Menu Access: Located at Reports → Manufacture → Variances Report. Integrated into Odoo's standard menu structure under manufacturing reports submenu
• Access Control Ready: Security file (ir.model.access.csv) included for variance_report model with CRUD permissions. Ready for group-based access restrictions
• MRP Module Integration: Depends on 'mrp' module. Seamlessly works with existing manufacturing orders, BOM data, work orders, and production tracking
• Employee Shift Integration: Depends on 'alma_employee_shift' module. Can utilize shift data for labor cost tracking and variance analysis
• Extensible Architecture: Clean inheritance structure allows easy customization. Add new cost categories, modify variance formulas, or integrate with other modules
• Multilingual Support: Uses Odoo's translation system (_() function). Reports can be translated to any language. Headers and labels support localization
• Historical Analysis: Generate reports for any past period to analyze cost trends. Compare month-over-month or year-over-year variance patterns