Bill of Materials

Write the recipe for each product you make, with its raw materials, output quantity, labour and overhead, and see what one unit costs.

A bill of materials (BOM) is the recipe for a product you make: which raw materials go in, how much, and how many finished units one run gives. EloERP uses it to consume materials and price the output.

Before you begin

• The finished product and every raw material exist as products. See All Products.
• Raw materials have a cost price, so the BOM can show a cost. Purchases set it; see Invoices.
• Your role needs the manufacturing BOM permissions. See Users & Roles.

Where to find it

Open Manufacturing → Manufacturing → Bill of Materials. The side menu also has a New BOM quick action.

Make a BOM

1. Click New BOM.
2. Type the BOM Name, for example Office Chair – standard.
3. Search for the Finished Product. If it is not yet marked as produceable, it is marked when you save.
4. Type a Version, such as v1, if you keep several recipes for one product.
5. Choose the Production Type:
   • Make to Stock (Pre-sale, Manual): you make goods ahead and keep them in stock.
   • Make to Order (Post-sale, Auto): goods are made when you sell them, for example a dish or a made-to-measure item.
6. Set Output Qty per Run, for example 10 chairs, and the Output Unit.
7. Type the Labour Cost per Unit and Overhead Cost per Unit if you want them in the cost.
8. Under Components / Raw Materials, click + Add Component for each material.
9. Search the Product, type the Qty for one run, and check the Unit and Unit Cost. The cost fills from the product's cost price.
10. Set Status to Active and click Save BOM.

The cost box shows Material Cost per Run, + Labour, + Overhead, Total Cost per Run and Cost per Unit.

Units and conversion

If you buy a material in one unit and use it in another, pick the Unit and check Conv. Factor. For example, flour bought in kg and used in grams has a factor of 0.001.

Materials with Skip Stock

A component marked Skip Stock is a product that does not keep stock, such as a service. Its cost counts in the BOM, but no stock is taken.

Produce automatically when you sell

For a Make to Order BOM, tick Auto-trigger on Sale Confirmation. Each time a sale invoice with this product is confirmed, EloERP records a completed work order for the quantity sold and takes the raw materials out of the invoice's warehouse. If a component has its own make-to-order BOM, that is produced first.

See what was produced this way on On-Sale Production.

Variants

If the product has variants, such as sizes, pick a Target Variant for a recipe that applies to one variant only. Leave All variants / No specific variant to use the BOM for every variant.

Change or retire a BOM

• Click Edit, change it and click Save BOM. Work orders already made keep their own copy of the materials.
• Set Status to Obsolete to stop using an old recipe while keeping its history.
• Click Delete and confirm to remove a BOM you never used.

Common questions

Why is the cost per unit zero? The components have no cost price. Enter the Unit Cost, or buy the materials so they get a cost.

Do labour and overhead post to the books? No. They show in the cost of each run. Wages and bills are already posted when you pay them. See Work Orders.

Can a BOM use another made product? Yes. Add the semi-finished product as a component. With make-to-order it is produced first; with make-to-stock, make it in its own work order first.