Workbench Guide
Each workbench window is associated with a single company. As the user opens data associated with the company to view or edit, the workbench lines new tabs up at the top of the workbench.
Tabs can be dragged out into windows of their own, and dragged between windows belonging to the same company, so several windows can be open for one company at once. That is what allows data to be viewed on multiple screens, and what makes drag-and-drop between two views possible — such as dragging parts from the Parts Browser onto a part collection — since only one tab is visible at a time within a single window.
Companies
If the user is an internal user at multiple companies, then the user can open a new workbench window for another company by clicking on the "Companies" drop down menu and selecting the company to open. The new workbench window will be associated with the selected company.
QuickBooks
If the user has an active QuickBooks Online account, they can connect to it using the QuickBooks button in the workbench menu bar.
The QuickBooks connection will only last for a limited time, so the user will need to re-authenticate each session and after periods of inactivity.
Once connected customers and invoices can be exported or linked to the QuickBooks Online account.
Invoice export limit: Without the paid QuickBooks Online Integration feature you can export up to 5 invoices to QuickBooks Online; activate the feature on the Subscription Settings page to export unlimited invoices. See Open Invoices for how exporting works.
Connecting to a QuickBooks Online Sandbox
Users who want to test QuickBooks integration without affecting a live QuickBooks Online company can connect to a QuickBooks Online Sandbox account instead. To do this, open the Settings menu, select "QB Settings", and check the "Connect to a sandbox account" checkbox. The next QuickBooks connection will then be made to the sandbox account rather than the live account.
Parts
The Parts button opens a menu with two views:
- Parts Browser — the main parts list, where all the parts for the company can be added, browsed, edited, and organized into groups.
- Part Collections — named lists of parts, such as a seasonal catalog or the parts for a particular job. A part can be on many collections at once without leaving its part group.
Sales
The Sales menu provides access to all sales-related features, including the Customer List, the Open Orders List, the Open Shipments List, and the Open Invoices List.
Reports
The Reports menu provides analytical views of sales orders, shipments, and invoices — both summary and line-item level. Each report can be filtered before it runs, and its data can be copied and pasted directly into spreadsheets.
Settings
The Settings menu holds the reference lists a company configures once and reuses across its orders, shipments, and invoices: the Accounts (chart of accounts), Order Terms, Ship Vias, and Exchange Rates lists, plus the QuickBooks (QB) Settings dialog.
Refresh UI
Refresh the user interface to see changes from other tabs.
Refresh Data
Reload the data from the server to see any data changes. This also refreshes the user interface to reflect any data changes.
Tips
Context sensitive tips pop up automatically when the user accesses different features of the application.
The popups can be disabled so they don't pop up automatically.
They can be accessed at any time by clicking the "Tips" button in the workbench menu bar.
AI Assistant
The chatbot button in the workbench toolbar opens the AI Assistant, which answers questions about Backbone MRP and can link directly to the relevant screen — including opening a workbench tab inside the desktop app.
If the user's company has an Anthropic or OpenAI account configured, it is used to answer user-guide questions. The assistant follows whichever company is currently active, and its answers are scoped to that company.
The assistant's reply streams in as it is generated, appearing word by word rather than all at once after a wait, so you can start reading the answer right away.
Natural-Language Data Search
The same AI Assistant window can also search your company's own data in plain English. Check Search my data (Orders & Parts) at the bottom of the window, then type a request such as “open orders over $5,000” or “parts with 'bolt' in the name” and send it.
Instead of a written answer, the assistant replies with two things:
- How it understood your request — the record type it chose (Orders or Parts) and each filter it applied (field, comparison, and value). This lets you confirm the AI read your request correctly before trusting the results.
- The matching records — a summary list of the orders or parts that met those filters.
The search only ever looks at the currently active company's data, using the same secure, permission-checked access as the rest of the app — the AI never sees or runs a raw database query. If a part of your request wasn't understood, the assistant says so in its interpretation note so you can rephrase and try again.
Company Web Page
Administrators see a web button in the workbench toolbar that opens the current company's page in the browser-based web portal. This is a quick way to jump from the desktop app to portal-only features such as company settings, subscription management, and user invitations.
Log Out
The log-out button in the workbench toolbar signs the user out of the Backbone MRP app and returns to the login screen. Because the app normally auto-logs-in between sessions, logging out is the way to switch to a different account.